MasterChef Dentist Bakes an Amazing Cake Prior to Being Eliminated From Popular Fox TV Show

Chris Walinski, DDS, impressed Gordon Ramsay and fellow judges with his black forest cake. © 2024 FOXMEDIA LLC. Cr: FOX.

It was an up-and-down night for friends, family and TV fans of Chris Walinski, DDS, who watched the back-to-back episodes of the FOX cooking show MasterChef Wednesday night.

Dr Walinski, who garnered support from many fellow dentists after claiming the coveted white apron as a Baby Boomer contestant on the popular Fox TV cooking show featuring Gordon Ramsay earlier this season, was one of the stars on Wednesday’s first episode which was a birthday cake baking competition.

Dr Walinski’s 3-layer black forest cake with whipped cream frosting and a maraschino cherry topping was selected as the best from his Baby Boomers team and Gordon Ramsay said it was “beautifully constructed and artfully decorated.” Fellow judge Joe Bastianich added, “I think this cake of all the cakes this evening has the most professional esthetic.”

Dr Walinski, who considers main dishes a strength of his in the kitchen, had a feeling his baking effort would be well received during the birthday cake competition. Ramsay spent some time talking with him and even gave him pointers on shaving the chocolate for the outside of the cake.

“Gordon did come over and he helped me,” Dr Walinski says. “He asked me how I was shaving the chocolate, and I was using a peeler. He came back with a big knife, and he started shaving off these pieces to show me. His pieces were too big and they didn't match mine, so I couldn't use them, but we had a nice conversation. So, I kind of had a good feeling that, like, oh wow, he's over here. That's neat.”

Dr Chris Walinski had a long, exciting run this summer on the MasterChef cooking show. | © 2024 FOXMEDIA LLC. Cr: FOX.

While the first of Wednesday’s episodes was a great one for the dentist, Dr Walinski came up short in the second one, which featured a cooking challenge with a box of mystery ingredients from the various generations. His pan-seared chicken thigh with feta & eggplant salad, and jackfruit relish and matcha garnish did not make the cut and his impressive MasterChef journey ended. But not before checking a few items off his bucket list and creating a lot of lasting memories.

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“It was absolutely a life-changing experience. It was just really enjoyable,” he says. “It was fun, it was exciting, it was kind of nerve wracking. And in the end, I'm proud of the fact that I was able to get on the show and not only have Gordon Ramsay taste my food a few times, but to comment on your food.”

Dr Walinski did the dental profession proud and he has been overwhelmed by the great response he has received these last few weeks.

“I can't believe how many people have reached out,” he says. “It seems like every dentist knows and so even people I don't know are sending messages of support.”

Some 45,000 applicants tried out for the show and Dr Walinski made the final cut.

In the season’s second episode of MasterChef, televised in June, Dr Walinski proved to be just as skilled with a pan and a knife in his hand as he is with a dental laser or a scalpel. During this final audition, he was worried a bit that his Japanese-fried chicken dish was a little under-seasoned and that he might be eliminated. However, he claimed the final apron offered to the 5 Baby Boomer contestants. Ramsay said he “enjoyed the meal plenty” and, with the help of Chris’ recently reunited birth father Rod Jones, presented the coveted white apron to the dentist-chef in an emotional moment.

Receiving the apron meant he passed his audition to be one of 20 final contestants on the show’s new season, “MasterChef Generations,” which continues to air Wednesday in Primetime on Fox. Besides the Baby Boomers, the show also has cooks competing as GenZ, GenX and Millennials.