I spoiled the Top 6 of this season of "MasterChef" for myself months ago when I visited the show's traveling set in Los Angeles, but it hasn't made this season any less exciting to watch. "Masterchef" seems to have really found its rhythm and the at-home chefs vying for the title this year are the best we've ever seen, hands down.
But who will come out on top? Talking to the Top 6, one thing was unanimous: Becky Reams, the food photographer from Kansas, is their biggest competition.
Frank Mirando and Becky Reams are the team leaders for tonight's challenge (Tues., Aug.14, 9 p.m. ET on Fox), which pits the final three men standing against the last three ladies standing for a restaurant takeover challenge at Hatfield's in LA. That face-off should prove to be one of the season's best so far, since they are arguably two of the strongest cooks remaining.
And Frank knows it. "Becky's my biggest competition by far," he said. "My eyes are on Becky, for sure."
David Martinez from Chicago agrees: "My biggest competition right now is Becky, hands down. She stands directly between me and the title. She's stiff, she's got a good palate, good eye for food and it makes her dangerous."
Joshua Marks, who was brought back into the competition after being eliminated, agrees that Becky has been doing very well, but he doesn't seem to think she'll be impossible to beat. "The judges are giving Becky a lot of praise. They like her a lot, and she's pretty tough ... she's good. She earns it with her plating, which gets her far, especially with the mystery box challenges. One of the main things they look at with the mystery box is the presentation -- they taste a little bit here and there, but her plates are always impeccable, so that's why she's been in the Top 3 so much. It's gonna be tough, but maybe she'll get eliminated from the game in some way and I can swoop in."
The ladies, who'll be working alongside Becky this week, were very supportive of the frontrunner going into this challenge. "She's killing it, dude! I think she's the best chef here, hands down," LA-based single mom Monti Carlo said. "We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses -- we're very different chefs -- but her plates are just amazing looking. Her cooking is very pro. But honestly I want the best person to win ... I really do."
And blind contestant Christine Ha agrees: "I would say right now everyone's biggest competition is Becky -- she definitely knows her stuff, she has a lot of knowledge and she's a food photographer. She has a passion for it -- this is really what she wants to do so her head's in the game. She's been performing pretty well so she's everyone's biggest competitor."
What does Becky think about all the praise from her castmates? "Really? Aw man, I've got the wool pulled over their eyes! [Laughs.]"
And since she obviously can't name herself as her own biggest competition, who does Becky have her eye on? "Today it's going to be Frank. The two of us tend to go back-and-forth with who's in the top, and we have a really great relationship here -- I think we both have a mutual respect for being really good cooks. So he's the one I've gotta beat, and I think I'm going to do it today."
After tonight's elimination, there are some other big showdowns this season, including the final three contestants trying to prepare the dishes that judge Graham Elliot served to President and First Lady Obama, Beyonce and Oprah on Aug. 21; then on Aug. 28, three of the top Michelin Star rated chefs in the world will blind taste test the contestants' food.
Women have won "MasterChef" in both of the show's first two seasons -- will Becky make it three-for-three?
Tell us: Do you agree that Becky is this season's "MasterChef"?