Why Jessica Behem Won Season Two of "Master Chef."

The latest winner on the Fox television cooking show "Master Chef" was Jessica Behem. She beat out contestant Adrien Nieto. I think the show seemed to play out as if Gordon Ramsey was in Jessica's corner and the other two judges were favoring the male. The final challenge involved the duo preparing a three course meal for the judges. Here is a brief walk through on why Jessica won the challenge.

APPETIZERS:

Jessica made a dish of pan-seared scallops which visually impressed the judges to a degree. Her perfection of the searing is what impressed though her exact dish placement of all of the ingredients had judge Joe Bastianich stretching to find something wrong. I got the sense he favored Adrien. Her big boo-boo was a muscle abductor remained on the plate; the rubbery part that connects the scallop to its shell.

Adrien made a artistic to the eye dish of prawn taquitos. The judges were impressed with his display, though Gordon Ramsey acted like he was handing out a most-improved award in that category as opposed to really thinking the skill was 100% there. The taste was described as bright, possibly too bright, and acidic. I'm not sure what "bright" mean, but acidic does not appeal to me. His dish was said to be for those who like a "salad" type of appetizer.

Both dishes grossed me out and this one is a close call, but Jessica's mistake with the abductor did not seem to weigh as heavy on the judges mind as the fact that they could not taste the prawn over the brightness in Adrien's dish.

Winner: Too close to call

ENTREE:

Jessica wowed the judges with a jalapeno and apricot stuffed quail with creamy potatoes and spinach. They hyped the degree of difficulty for creating the dish and played up on the drama of what a risk she was taking having chose to go that route. Then they cut open the quail and found it to be the perfect color and mix inside.

Adrien brought them beer-braised short ribs with cauliflower-parsnip puree and rainbow chard. The flavor had the judges clamoring for more. They were also very impressed with the dish being an inexpensive one to make and yet seemed like a high priced gourmet experience. They did note, however, that the ribs did not take as much skill to make compared to Jessica's quail.

Jessica showed off her master chef skills with a challenging dish and even though Adrien's tasted great and would make a smart menu item, the competitive side favors the bold here. Jessica took the edge with skill.

Winner: Jessica

DESSERT:

Jessica made a braised pear with poached apples and mascarpone. A simple fruit dish, the judges were not impressed with its status as a dessert.

Adrien made a flourless chocolate cake infused with blood orange, passion fruit, and chipotle. The judges thought it was a bit dry, but it did seem like he had the plate presentation thing down again.

The judges were not impressed with either contestants dessert, however, I think Jessica once again took the edge. As a layman to the world of high class dining I know I would walk into a fancy restaurant and see the pear dish and think that was befitting of such an establishment. The average joe is not seeing that kind of thing at Denny's even if it is a simple fruit creation. However, what Adrien made looked like a big dry brownie to me and they do have that junk at Denny's.

Winner: Jessica.

And that is why Jessica Behem won the final challenge on the second season of the television show "Master Chef.