DC ExtraTime: Ashley the Masterchef?

 #DCBLOG's BEST OF 2017 

From Week 7 of The Challenge XXX

● Updated 8/25/18 to Include Video; person sitting next to Ashley is comedian & Las Vegas personality Gig Schmidt, not Gordon Ramsey as first reported.

BY DC CUEVA                     
■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

With all that we've seen in these first six episodes, it seems as if it was only last week that we saw Ashley M. bolt from Dirty 30 when she had lost all hope to defend her title after her luggage got lost in the airport and had yet another one of those meltdowns. And unlike other instances when someone had to quit and then get bearded by TJ Lavin and trolls on social media, this one was needed both emotionally and physically after her Invasion win and that emotional battle on Champs vs. Pros against Lolo Jones, where she also sprained her ankle… not to mention this past week, the untimely passing of her father.
   Obviously, so much has happened for Ashley in the course of an entire year, and we discussed this at length in our premiere WRAP, in case you haven't checked that out yet. But for those who needed their Ashley fix, they got it in the most unusual of settings and across the TV dial on the broadcast networks.

If you're into a fan of the broader reality TV spectrum beyond just the MTV world, then you likely have heard of MasterChef. It is the king of reality-based cooking shows whose roots date back to 1990 in England, but it was only during the age of reality TV becoming commonplace many years later that it would begin to flourish. The show's format has been franchised in over forty countries, airs in over 200 of them and has seen novices, professional working chefs, celebrities and even kids take to the kitchen to put together the very best dishes in the quest to become winner, gain a cash prize and a cookbook in their name.
   The most successful iteration of the MasterChef franchise came down under where it became one of the highest rated series in Australian television history. In 2010, the U.S. version began on FOX and has become popular in its own right, due in no small part to the presence of chief judge Gordon Ramsey. He has become renowned to fans of this sub-genre for having a fiery temper, being a strict in his demeanor in the stiff upper lip persona Englishman are known for, and dropping expletives much more often than what we saw Ryan Devlin do on the AYTO 5 kids… all in the name of trying to get all that food not only right, but also as perfect as if every last detail is magnified.
   Forbes magazine has Gordon as one of the world's highest paid celebrities thanks to a line of his self-named restaurants located in Europe (chiefly in London), North America and elsewhere, as well as other shows he hosts outside of his MasterChef duties. Four of the ten American-based restaurants that bear his name are, in fact, located in what was once an oasis for all-you-can-eat buffets but has turned into a capital of quality dining - the Las Vegas Strip: a Burger joint inside Planet Hollywood, a recently opened Fish & Chips place at The LINQ near the High Roller Ferris wheel, a Steak House at the Paris hotel, and a Pub & Grill inside Caesars Palace… and that's where this story takes us to.

The midweek episode of MasterChef Season 8 that aired two weeks ago, the night after Episode 5 of Challenge Dirty 30, saw the top 12 chefs take on a big task at the first of its kind themed resort in this heaven for tourists: the 50th anniversary party for Caesars Palace. The dozen who made it to this stage of the game did their two-team challenge not in a big kitchen inside the hotel far from the casinos, but outdoors under the stars and in the pool area of the famed Roman resort in the same spot where many of boxing's greatest fights during the '80s and early '90s (i.e. Hagler vs. Hearns and the "Fan Man" fight at Bowe--Holyfield II) took place.

   In this challenge, the goal of teams lead by aspiring cooks Dino and Daniel, who won the previous challenge on the episode proceeding, were to create a dish to satisfy VIP's from entertainment and hospitality in Las Vegas. During the challenge itself, Daniel's blue team began well as he distributed their task around his entire team, while Dino's red team started slowly and earned Gordon's wrath which, certainly, makes TJ Lavin feel like just another reality competition host. Dino's squad hastily prepared their dish first but after it prepared too quickly, they turn it around and complete first. When dinner time comes around, the party guests chose Dino and his team who had the best dish and won.

From a Twitter user

To the average viewer of MasterChef, they might not know a lot about MTV reality shows and don't usually see the kind of big time drama and sometimes raunchy and risque behavior young adults go through. But for, perhaps, the handful those who were watching that night who also are Challenge fans, they spotted someone familiar at the dinner table and actually had the money spot of sitting next to Gordon Ramsey. One suspecting viewer on Twitter (because the user name contains an explicit word, we won't publish that on here) was watching that episode of MasterChef and tweeted the following to Ashley: "When you're watching MasterChef and spot a VERY unexpected surprise. @MTVASHLEYBROOKE what!?! 🤣🤣 #thechallenge meets #masterchef"
   Ashley then went to her Instagram @MTVAshleyBrooke to then tell everyone that, though she had just won $125,000 for being an unlikely Challenge champion, the chance to help out on a show with one of the richest men in the world was too good to pass up: "It wasn't a challenge (😂) judging these two teams. I am such a @gordongram fan this was a dream come true. #masterchef #thechallenge #fox #mtv #gordonramsay #foodie" Ashley K. commented, "Wait what?! How fun!", while Amanda added, "Hahaha I love that face I'm dead."  
   For a moment, those who watched didn't get to see Ashley go into all-out Smashley mode or cry, or as she told an Instagram user, "usually at the same time." But after what she went through after her surprise finals win, that grueling experience on Champs vs. Pros and everything that took place during this time including a move to Las Vegas and her budding modeling career, she really did need this time to reenergize in preparation for returning to a Challenge. Getting a chance to sit alongside Gordon Ramsey surely adds to her glowing star.

It wasn't a challenge(😂) judging these two teams. I am such a @gordongram fan this was a dream come true. #masterchef #thechallenge #fox #mtv #gordonramsay #foodie

A post shared by Ashley Brooke Mitchell (@mtvashleybrooke) on Aug 20, 2017 at 3:41pm PDT

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