Are you ready for the Queen of Southern Cuisine?
Yes, Ms. Paula Deen is making her iconic appearance on MasterChef Season 11 Episode 3. It’s the final round of auditions, and the latest prospects present their signature dishes, hoping to obtain one of the five remaining white aprons.
Paula is not only bringing her expertise, but she’s bringing her legendary humor, charm, and unpredictability.
Oh, and of course that infectious signature laugh, too. As you’ll see tonight, when Paula Deen laughs, everyone else follows suit. Yes, even Joe.
TV Fanatic scored an exclusive sneak peek at tonight’s episode, and Deen already has us chuckling.
Gordon Ramsay and the other judges have their work cut out for them, trying to dwindle hundreds of aspiring chefs down to 15 prospects.
Previous guest legends Emeril Lagasse and Curtis Stone helped the judges settle on ten contestants for the season. Now, it’s up to Paula to help them pick the remaining five.
Paula is a woman of discerning taste, and from the exclusive clip, she’s not afraid to make her thoughts known.
It also appears as if we may have promising potential, if not for his dish, then for Paula Deen’s fantasies.
The clip introduces us to two hopefuls ready to present the dish of their life to the judges for a shot at joining this legendary season.
Kathleen is from Illinois, and her signature dish is Frutti di Mare risotto. It translates to “fruit of the sea” and typically contains scallops, mussels, clams, and shrimp.
It’s a classic Italian dish that is sure to get Joe Bastianich’s attention.
When it comes to the King of Italian cuisine, he can be the toughest critic of all, so Katheleen can either excel beyond measure or fall flat when it comes to earning Joe’s vote.
From the looks of it, Kathleen is off to an impressive start.
Her dish looks divine, and her personal story reveals someone who is an ambitious, successful risktaker.
Kathleen is a Chief Creative Officer at a tech company, but after spending nearly two decades climbing the corporate ladder of success, she wants to focus on her passion, cooking.
We can only hope her dish tastes as delicious as it looks!
Deen appears impressed by this young woman’s determination and work ethic, but Michael is the one who leaves a different impression.
Michael is blessed with the physique of a Greek god, and it does not go unnoticed nor appreciated by Paula.
Gordon knew what he was doing by telling Michael to remove his jacket. It set Paula up for some saucy goodness that had all the guys chuckling and entertained.
The woman doesn’t have a filter, but that’s what we love!
“Can I get that body under my husband’s head?” She exclaims to everyone’s bemusement.
If you think that’s entertaining, wait until you hear what Michael’s day job is. He piqued Paula’s interest, as she says, “we have sooo much to talk about.”
We would love to be a fly on the wall for those conversations!
Not only does Michael bring the heat with his, um, body of work, but also with his dish.
Michael is a vegan; it reflects on the plate when he presents the judges with vegan crab cakes.
Notoriously, some of the judges have reservations about vegan dishes, and Paula gets straight to the point, inquiring about his ability to cook other types of cuisine.
If you want a good laugh, by all means, check out the clip below!
Will you be tuning into MasterChef: Legends tonight at 8/7c on FOX? Let us know.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.