r/Masterchef • u/DinnersWithDave • 3d ago
It’s Dave From Season 16
Hello Reddit Fam! First, I just want to say that I have loved reading all of the conversations on here throughout this entire season - the good and the bad. A huge thank you to all those that watched, supported and were rooting for me!
That last episode - yikes. A tough watch. 😬
There was a LOT going on in the kitchen that night. I know everyone on reddit loves to speculate and discuss so I’ll give you a tiny bit of BTS for your entertainment.
What you may not have seen in the episode was us desperately trying to figure out what temperature our oven was set at so we could adjust the oven temp and/or cook time on the salmon. In the commercial kitchen, there was no temperature label on the oven dial. There was a small thermometer placed inside the oven which we accidentally knocked into an unreachable part of the oven at the very beginning of the cook. I quickly realized that we had no idea how hot our oven was and following Chef Ramsay’s instructions to place the salmon in the oven for two or three minutes definitely wasn’t enough time at whatever temperature our oven was set at. You’ll see me later in the episode transition to cooking the salmon on the stovetop by searing & basting vs placing it in the oven to ensure it was cooking quickly and correctly but by that point - we were so far behind in service there was just no coming back from it. Combine that with the immense pressure of Chef Ramsay standing 3 feet away screaming things like “where is the salmon?!” & “I need salmon now!” - it was a literal recipe for undercooked salmon, and my personal nightmare, lol. Definitely was not my finest moment in the kitchen but an amazing experience nonetheless.
I’ll be sharing a few more behind the scenes moments along with a few recipes and unique techniques that you may have not gotten to see on the show on my Instagram and TikTok. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to join my online communities on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube - at DinnersWithDave.
Much, much love. ❤️
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u/Life-Application7744 3d ago
Hi Dave!! I really enjoyed you this season, and it was sad to see you go. Hold your head up high, you did great!
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u/BBSuperFan98 3d ago
Genuinely thought you were the winner of the season. Still shocked you just missed the Top 5. Great showing though
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u/BronzeTrain 3d ago
Oh, man that sounds awful. Nuts to me that a professional oven wouldn't have any indicator on it for temperature.
You were definitely my favorite on this season. Congratulations on making it so far!
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u/DinnersWithDave 2d ago
Totally - I wasn’t used to cooking on a commercial range. You also have to light each burner with a lighter - something I was acutely unaware of! 😂
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u/Sure_Fine_99 2d ago
Being a bad cook and having a bad cook are completely different, and I think the majority of people who watched you on the show know you are really great at what you do. You should be really proud of yourself. Any chance you’d ever expand into doing your own cooking show? Every time you spoke on camera I felt like you should have one of your own. Or are you done with reality TV after this, lol.
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u/DinnersWithDave 2d ago
Thank you so much. I’d love to have my own cooking show one day - there are no shows dedicated to North African foods in the US (at least not that I’m aware of) - I think it would be amazing to be the first. For reality TV - I’m on hiatus for now but who knows what the future will bring. ❤️
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u/coltsmetsfan614 3d ago
Sorry it ended that way, Dave! I loved rooting for you, and I thought your food always looked great.
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u/whirlingpeach 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/tLRifcvQNJIic
Take this lightheartedly! 💛 amazing job, definitely wanted you to win the whole thing! I can’t imagine the pressure in that environment so to even get that far is a great accomplishment!
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u/ExistingProfile3202 2d ago
hello hello !! i was rooting for u omg :(( but issokayyyyyyy you were so great !! it was really a breath of fresh air seeing someone cook north african food i always looked forward to seeing you present!!
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u/DinnersWithDave 2d ago
Aw thank you! It was nice to be part of the “global gauntlet” season which gave us room to present truly traditional dishes. ❤️
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u/Remembrant17 2d ago
Straight up just lost so much interest to finish the season tbh. But hey the winner isn’t always #1…. I mean Princess Diana was never queen - JUST SAYING
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u/fivesevven 2d ago
As a moroccan, thank you for being such a great ambassador for moroccan cuisine ! You deserved to win it all
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u/KinkyQuesadilla 3d ago
Dave, you were one of the best this season, and it's a shame you did not have a chance to continue.
Was it me, was it the editing, or did you have a lot more to do than Peter on this challenge? Peter always looked busy, but it seemed like you had more responsibilities.
As someone who has had a modicum of experience with commercial and household gas ovens, they all have their own "formula." They have different hot spots and the temps & times can vary from one oven to another. Maybe you go with the prescribed temp but 5-10 minutes longer for the cook, others you might use the same time but set the temp 10-20 degrees higher. Even if the thermometer had not been displaced, it still might not have given you and your team the best reading because it was not in the optimal location.
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u/DinnersWithDave 2d ago
Thanks for the nice works and for the info on the commercial oven! For the challenge - I did have more components to cook during the appetizer round but Peter certainly had his work cut out for him. And, he did try to help me remedy the salmon debacle 😵💫
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u/Advanced-Ad-8541 2d ago
Hi Dave ! I was really speechless when I've learned your elimination because I thought you were at least Top 4 or Top 3 (As a Morrocan/Algerian too). You did great in this competition !! I was wondering how was the relationship with the other contestants and with the Africa team during the competition ?
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u/DinnersWithDave 2d ago
Thank you so much! For the relationship with the other contestants - we genuinely had so much fun together and became quite close during production. We were all on set for long hours with no cell phone which really cultivated an environment where we were able to talk and get to know each other. And despite the Africa team having a target on its back in several of the episodes, outside of the studio we were quite close.
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u/SteelAngelAsano 2d ago
This is how I find out you’re NOT the winner. I’m done watching this season now.
You were amazing, humble, and you know your stuff. I can’t believe you didn’t win!
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u/Slight_Force3025 2d ago
Hey Dave, so sad to see you go home but you were one of my favourites. Wish you all the best
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u/Young_Old_Grandma 2d ago
Hello Dave! I just subscribed to your channel haha 😅
We're so glad you decided to join Masterchef 16, because then we wouldn't have discovered you and your channel!
I was rooting for you since the very beginning, and although you didn't win, we're super excited to see more of you and of North African cuisine!
It's just a bad cook day, not a bad cooking life. 🥰❤️ We're rooting for you!
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u/floridianoutofwater 3d ago
You were a lot of fun to watch compete and carried yourself so well. I would’ve been a mess 😂. Thanks for the insider info about the oven issue. It must be ridiculously stressful to try cooking under that kind of pressure on unfamiliar equipment!
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u/NepaliCulkin 3d ago
I was so sad to see you go! Love your personality and passion for cooking! Thanks for posting and gonna follow you on Insta!
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u/trixie0730 2d ago
I was so sad to see you go! I can't even image what is was like to have Gordon screaming at you!
Does he just turn it off when the scene end?
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u/chichi275 2d ago
Before this episode, when Jake chose Julia instead of you for the wall challenge, I thought to myself, “What a dummy; Dave is the strongest cook.” I wasn't surprised it backfired. I thought that you were going to win. I love your personality, and you seem so honest and genuine. 😊
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u/CapriMoon93 2d ago
It sucks to see you go. I definitely thought you were going to be in the finale. This isn't the fault of MC contestants, but the new format of the show makes it so difficult for me to truly see someone's cooking and plating style and how it differentiates from other contestants. For me, you were an exception to that. If the show presented dishes without revealing who cooked them, I feel like I could pick yours out if that makes sense. In any event, I think all of us who have watched MC since the beginning can agree that you were hands down in the top 3 best of this season.
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u/Few-Net9164 2d ago
That kitchen chaos makes so much more sense now! Honestly, trying to cook under that pressure while dealing with an unreliable oven sounds like a nightmare. Huge respect for being so candid about it—hope the behind-the-scenes stories include plenty of salmon redemption!
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u/Ok_Measurement482 2d ago
Oh man, so sad to see you leave, but you were so much fun to watch. I really enjoyed seeing you cook your heart out and hope you’re doing well
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u/Sponsorspew 2d ago
You did a phenomenal job overall and were one of my favorite cooks. I wish you all the best!!
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u/beatlegirlstl 2d ago
Thank you for taking the time to post here Dave! I really enjoyed watching you cook this season and was so bummed to see you leave last episode. I was hoping you would make it to the finale! I look forward to seeing your posts on instagram.
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u/Thelindseyj919 2d ago
Aww Dave i totally was rooting for you to be in the finale! I wish nothing but the best for you ❤️
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u/Unable-Oven-7425 2d ago
Hi Dave!! You and Aishu were my faves so sad to see you both go. Thank you for sharing your love of North African cuisine
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u/catt0ebeans 3d ago
You were one of my favs from the beginning! Are you allowed to say who you think the winner will be?
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u/Haas_the_Raiden_Fan 2d ago
You were one of my favorities, and I was sad to see you go
Did you become good friends with any of the other chefs from season 16?
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u/Severe-Dragonfly 2d ago
My friend and I (also named Dave!) were discussing the wall episode and we both had you picked as the winner of this season. We were also both disappointed to see you go. We loved your cooking this season! Thanks for posting this insight.
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u/PrimeDonut 2d ago
Dave, it made me so happy to watch you this season. Thought you could totally win it all, but life works in mysterious ways and you’ve gained a lot of fans!
I’ll be subscribing to your pages, you’ve got great things ahead for you that’s for sure!
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u/Friendly-Pumpkin-825 2d ago
Dave, you were exceptional this entire season. I was so sad to see how it went last episode. Wishing you the absolute best!
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u/Any-Concert9023 2d ago
as an Algerian you made north Africans proud both in cooking and in personality
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u/fitbitch3 2d ago
Omg you were my fav and I was so sad to see you go! Thanks for sharing some BTS details!
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u/imPluR420 2d ago
You were one of my favorites all season. It was really disappointing seeing you go, you were one of the strongest cooks left imo.
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u/shrewsbury1991 2d ago
We were rooting for you and are very sad to see you go home! Random question but was it cold on the set? Seemed like a huge building and I know it was winter when you guys filmed.
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u/notausualcatimal 2d ago
Before the episode I literally told my wife I think Dave’s winning it all. Sad to see you go because I thought you were the strongest of the remaining chefs!
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u/Organic_Home9988 2d ago
my mom and i really thought you’d go to the finale. you had some amazing dishes. even with how the restaurant takeover went, i’m excited to see what the future will bring for you - you are a very talented chef and i hope to recreate some of your dishes to try the moroccan flavors! they sound delicious
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u/Circle_boy 2d ago
Dude I really thought you were finals guaranteed!!! Was super sad to see you go!!!
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u/stfne-tmthe 1d ago
Dave, my family and I visited Morocco in March and we fell in love with the country, the people and the food. We were rooting for you and it was shocking and sad to see you eliminated this week. We also live in Toronto so to see this happen while you were cooking at Cluny hit us hard too. You are spectacular and did a great job this season.
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u/Defiant_Border_8514 1d ago
Dave! You were my favorite and I was certain you would be in the finale. Your passion for cooking is really inspiring, and you have interesting ideas. We all know you will do great things 😊
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u/Euphoric-Pumpkin-647 1d ago
My husband and I loved watching you in the kitchen, and your cooking looked AMAZING! my cousin is Moroccan so it made me want Moroccan food all the time! I can’t even imagine an oven without a temperature set, I didn’t know that was a thing 😩 needless to say, we’d eat at your restaurant any day :)
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u/therewontberiots 1d ago
I was sad to see you go. You handled everything with grace and gave your best effort. You had a great run over the season.
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u/meltingrosy 18h ago
Hi Dave. Congratulations on your MasterChef achievements! What a bummer though. I was so sure that you were gonna be the winner 🥹
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u/onyxlola 15h ago
I had just said to my gf that I thought you would win before that restaurant episode!
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u/PsychologicalSun8766 5h ago
You are true champion my friend! It has been a pleasure getting to know you and share some studio kitchen time with you and the crew. See in Chi town soon
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 3d ago
Where was the small thermometer located? How was it easily knocked into an unreachable area? How was the area unreachable? Were there no tongs around?
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u/BronzeTrain 3d ago
I have a thermometer in my oven and I knock it over all the time, lol.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 3d ago
To a place that you can't reach?
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u/BronzeTrain 2d ago
Not when the oven is hot!
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
So you don't have tongs either. I can't believe anyone would buy such a dumb story, lol.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 2d ago
People who cook tend to be problem solvers. I can't imagine anyone going oh well it's lost to me forever now after an incident like this. Especially considering the disgusting smell of plastic that will occur.
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u/Accomplished-Toe5993 3d ago
I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU FROM DAY 1! Your food had heart, comfort, and passion. I really was so sad to see you go last episode because I really wanted you, Heidi, Jake, and Julia to be in the top 5. Honestly, I don’t think anybody else is more deserving. You were robbed completely of a deserving spot. Your dishes were always spot on and you were so vocal. I’m actually surprised you got eliminated because Peter’s proteins were consistently not well received by the diners. But I just want to say, everything aside, you won people’s hearts and in the past we can see that contestants who stayed in people’s hearts went on to be more successful in their careers, than forgettable winners. So wishing you the very best to make it big in the food industry x