Neptune native Warren Coleman keeps cooking on FOX's MasterChef'
Neptune native Warren Coleman, a retired flight attendant now living in Rio de Janeiro, is still cooking on FOX cooking competition "MasterChef."
Coleman is one of 20 home cooks competing on the 14th season of the the show, which premiered in late May.
He earned his spot with a plate of chicken piccata, and survived three episodes before the show's broadcast took a two-week break during the Olympics.
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"MasterChef" returned with a two-hour episode on Aug. 14. In the first half, the home cooks were tasked with creating "the most amazing birthday cake," said host and judge Gordon Ramsay.
Luckily, Coleman loves to bake.
"I love making beautiful things," he said in a previous interview. "I love baking, absolutely adore baking."
For the challenge, Coleman made a raspberry-topped chocolate cake that kept him in the competition.
"Let me introduce you to a cherished recipe that has been a staple in my kitchen for half a century: the Queen of Sheba cake," Coleman told The Asbury Park Press. "This decadent treat holds a special place in my heart, as it was a favorite of my mother's."
His spin on the classic Julia Child recipe includes a raspberry filling and chocolate mascarpone buttercream.
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On this season of "MasterChef," contestants are divided into teams — Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers — based on their age; Coleman, 70, is in the latter. After the cake challenge, the cooks were tasked with using "iconic ingredients" from their generation, Ramsay said
Coleman initially was to create a dish using four ingredients from a box featuring powdered milk, canned meat, bran flakes, iceberg lettuce, white bread, cottage cheese, canned spinach, canned fruit salad and gelatin, among other ingredients. But a twist in the competition gave him Gen Z ingredients of gluten-free bread, canned tuna, plant-based meat, everything bagel seasoning, almond butter, cashew cheese, matcha, oat milk, almond milk, bone broth, kimchi and jackfruit.
The ingredient list didn't phase him.
"I'm what the young folks say ... unbothered," Coleman said on the show.
He went on to prepare boneless chicken thighs with bone broth sauce, pureed cauliflower and his grandmother's recipe for fried eggplant — a dish that once again kept him in the competition.
"MasterChef" airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on FOX.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune native Warren Coleman keeps cooking on FOX show MasterChef
