Land O' Lakes resident Danny Flores was also featured in the first ’sode. Credit: FOX. © 2017 FOX Broadcasting Co.

Clearwater native Paola Annoni Patel duked it out during the MasterChef Season 8 premiere. Credit: FOX. © 2017 FOX Broadcasting Co.
Who caught the Season 8 premiere of MasterChef? We saw two of three home cooks with Tampa Bay connections compete in Wednesday night's hourlong episode on FOX — well, sort of. I only say sort of because the producers/editors/whoever of the chef Gordon Ramsay-led cooking reality series unfortunately skimmed through Tampa steel supplier Danny Flores's face-off against Honolulu swimsuit model Paige Jimenez.

They had to make eggs Benedict for Christ's sake. That's like TV food porn gold, no?

Anyway… Flores prepared a Benny with roasted corn and shallot arepa, paprika-seared jamón and tarragon hollandaise about halfway through the show, while D.C. dentist and Clearwater native Paola Annoni Patel — who said food, her passion, has always played a big role in her life — presented seared duck breast with farro, spring peas, heirloom carrots, pearl onions and tart cherry port wine reduction toward the end.

Here's a highlight of Patel's showdown against Texas stay-at-home mom Reba Billingsley:

Unfortunately, neither Patel nor Flores snagged a white apron from the panel of judges made up of Ramsay and chefs Christina Tosi and Aarón Sánchez. But MasterChef, Flores said, has given him the confidence he needs to dive into bigger cheffy things, including a four-course private dining event featuring traditional Peruvian cuisine with a twist.

Land O’ Lakes resident Danny Flores was also featured in the first ’sode. Credit: FOX. © 2017 FOX Broadcasting Co.
"I was really upset over not receiving a white apron, but the overwhelming support I have received is unbelievable," Flores told CL via email. "It was a great experience overall, and I want to use it for a greater good to make our community better. Setting goals and achieving them is what makes your own reality, not what you see on television."

The premiere showcased the show's first batch of 20 new home cooks, and next week, the other 20, a group that includes Tampa marketing director Jeff Philbin, will compete. Luckily for local MasterChef fans (and anyone else who wants to root Philbin on for a good cause), another Fodder & Shine watch party is set for 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 7. The event, benefiting Feeding Tampa Bay, has food and drink specials, 50/50 raffles and prizes in store.

You could tune into the next 8 p.m. episode from home, too, I guess, though, it won't be as fun.

This article appears in Jun 1-8, 2017.