‘MasterChef’s Tiffany Derry Talks New ‘Keeping Up’ Challenge and What’s Next in Season 16 Finale (Exclusive)

With Wednesday (September 2) night’s semifinals completed, there’s just one more episode until the next MasterChef winner is crowned.

The latest episode was particularly unique because, in addition to testing the home cooks’ ability to keep up with Gordon Ramsay, they also had to match culinary wits with Tiffany Derry in a preliminary round. That meant not one but two contestants were eliminated this time — Basia Newman and Julia Cili — which left the Top 3 like so: Heidi Muston, Peter Egede, and Jake Kelley will all vie for the win in next week’s episode.

To reflect on the semifinals and get a sense of the finale, TV Insider spoke to Tiffany Derry!

In the semifinals, we get to see a new element, which is that they have to keep up with you. What was it like for you to cook in the kitchen in front of Joe and Gordon and all these contestants and all of America?

Tiffany Derry: It’s great. I mean, it’s probably where I’m most comfortable, if you give me some pots and pans and let me go. It was fun because, one, they didn’t know, so the whole reveal was exciting to me. I’m like, “Here we are,” take [the jacket] off, and so it was great to be able to do it, and it’s also a skill, too, because you don’t want to go too fast to where you lose everybody, and they don’t get it. But then you don’t want to go slow, so you’re finding how fast to move, and so that was fun. I enjoyed doing that a whole lot.

Geoff George / Fox

I bet. When you were judging the dishes then, were you more picky, or do you feel like you were more sympathetic to them for their effort since you had cooked?

A little bit of both, but it depends on what it was. So if they just didn’t cook the fish properly and season the fish, it’s like, “No. What are we doing? We’re not gonna [overlook that]. It’s too far in the game to not season something and properly cook it.” If I told them that it was three leaves, and they put two, then, I mean, there’s a little room there.

How difficult was the decision to eliminate Basia and Julia in those two rounds?

It was definitely tough. Basia, she is funny. Julia’s just such a sweetheart. And they both really have a skill, and they really are so passionate for what they’re doing. To watch two ladies go home, I’m like, “Oh God!” But you see when they make the mistakes, you see when it’s happening, and we try to get them to pivot and try to get them to keep up. But there’s a pace that has to be set, and it’s finale time. And if you can’t make it in this round, then you’re definitely not going to do well in a finale. So this is sort of that [point when] you’ve got to get over and get to that first.

At this point, it’s probably fair to split hairs over those smaller things, right?

You have to. You have to. I mean, everyone who is here deserves to be here. Everyone who’s here wants to be here. So unfortunately, there’s going to be a couple of people who always do better than the others, and that’s just the way it goes.

What can fans expect from the finale, with the Top 3 going in?  

I think for me it’s that whole arena feel. The energy, oh, the energy is insane. I was telling someone. It reminds me of watching live sports, and you are there, and for me, it felt a little like wrestling. I don’t know why, specifically, but it felt like maybe it’s the roundness of it, and everyone screaming and hollering, and even the chefs working the crowd a little bit. I’m like, “Hey! Focus!” And so they feel that, too. You have your family, you have your friends. It’s just, yeah, that’s special. I really, I love the finale game for sure.

MasterChef, Wednesdays, 8/7c, Fox