MasterChef Junior (2013) s01e01 Episode Script

Tonight, the MasterChef kitchen opens its doors You may want to stand back.
to America's smallest home cooks with giant results.
I'm blown away.
This is delicious.
Wow.
They might be small Whip it! Whip like a man! Swap! but the challenges are gigantic.
That is embarrassing.
Get rid of it.
How about: "Yes, chef?" Yes, chef! This is MasterChef Junior.
Oh, my god! Wow.
Oh, my goodness.
I'm nine years old.
And when I grow up, I want to be a food critic.
A lot of people get surprised how good a cook I am because of my age.
I think of my palate as very sophisticated.
Let's go, guys.
Come on down to the front, please.
Dude, this is crazy.
In the ten years that I have been here on earth, I have never, ever done anything as exciting as this.
Welcome to MasterChef Junior.
Is everybody excited to be here? Yes, chef! I can't hear you.
Yes, chef! I still can't hear you.
Yes, chef! Great.
We searched America, and you are the 24 best young home cooks in the entire country.
Here to support you through your first challenge in the MasterChef kitchen, it's your parents.
Whoo! Wow.
You're all winners.
But if you end up being the best of the best, you will get what's under here.
The MasterChef Junior trophy.
I need to get this trophy.
It would go perfectly in my room.
I love trophies.
Ooh, I want it.
I want it to be mine.
You have already won one of these A white apron.
- Dara.
- Alexander, catch.
Roen.
Kaylen.
Jewels.
- Troy.
- Dude, this is awesome.
Ow! Sarah! Yay! I get to have this apron that has my name on it like the adults do.
They're not getting that apron back.
- There you go.
- Yes! Okay, everybody, Tonight, you'll be split into three groups of eight.
We've picked a different food category for each of the three groups.
Each group will have just 60 minutes to cook us one stunning dish that falls into that food category.
If your dish is great, then we'll ask you to stay and compete to see which one of you will be America's first-ever junior MasterChef.
If I call your name, please come down.
You will be cooking first.
Daniel, Mina, Franco, Jack, Sofia, Justin, Roen, and Molly.
I am so over-the-top excited that I'm here, and I'm ready to cook and kill it.
Every great chef loves to work with the freshest, the most incredible Seafood.
Look at that.
Oh, look at that squid.
Look at that octopus, king salmon, delicious dungeness crab, live lobster Please be careful with that one And loads, loads more.
To earn your place in the next round of the competition, we want each of you to cook us an incredible seafood dish using any of the amazing ingredients you see here in front of you.
- Everybody ready? - Yes, chef.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
The first group of eight young home cooks will have just one hour to cook one restaurant-quality seafood dish.
Okay, head off to the pantry.
Let's go.
Out of the 24 junior home cooks competing tonight, only the best will make it to the next round.
Hey, hey, hey, that's mine.
- Give me a basket.
- Sorry.
That pantry, it's just gigantic.
Does anybody know where the sour cream is? Excuse me.
I saw truffles and truffle oil.
Got some bok choy.
Duck heart and chicken pate.
Where the hell are pomegranates? I kid you not.
Oh, my god, how am I supposed to reach these? I know.
There you go.
This is it.
The best junior home cooks across America.
Listen, it's one thing to cook at home.
It's another thing to come here in the MasterChef kitchen and be given seafood.
I tasted this before, and it was great.
Big head.
They're only I hope everyone gets a dish together and does not implode under the pressure, the difficulty of cooking seafood.
God.
I'm gonna make a salmon sushi with tuna sashimi.
Since I was, like, three years old, I would eat, like, octopus and just crazy Japanese foods.
And sushi is probably my favorite food.
So I'm gonna try and do my best.
I'm making coconut-crusted shrimp and a cactus salad.
I'm going to make almond-crusted chilean sea bass with wilted garlic spinach and a roasted eggplant.
One dish to keep you in the competition.
Speed up.
Jack, what's happening? What's the dish now? It's a crab cake with a celery seed aioli.
It's a tricky dish.
All right.
Oh, god.
Do you wear that shirt when you play poker? - This? - Yeah.
I don't play poker.
It's a good poker shirt.
When you start playing poker, wear that shirt.
Okay.
Just over 15 minutes to go.
Gosh! Right, Justin, how are you feeling? I'm feeling confident.
You're feeling confident? I like that.
What's the dish? Fried red snapper with a side of greek salad.
Red snapper with a greek salad, wow.
That's a very smart way of serving a fish, When it's whole like that.
Yeah.
Use your time wisely, Justin.
- Molly, how we doing? - Good.
What did you select, and what are you making? I am making codfish tacos with a pomegranate salsa and crema.
You're making your own taco shells? Yeah.
Wow.
Guys, this is where it counts.
Five minutes left.
It's all about plating, seasoning.
Guys, don't forget to taste everything.
Come on, please.
Let's go.
I am totally blown away, because I did not believe we could get this kind of result out of 8 to 13 year olds.
Franco has got some seared scallops with fried rice.
The fried rice is killer.
It's nice and crunchy, almost.
Roen, his knife skills are out of this world.
Daniel is braising the octopus in the pressure cooker.
Ooh! Honestly, how many that can braise an octopus? Guys, let's go.
One minute left.
- Come on.
- One minute.
Let's go! Finishing touches.
Bam.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five Let's go, guys! Come on! Three, two, one.
Stop! - Yeah! - Hands up.
Hands in the air.
Guys, let's go.
Finishing touches.
Let's go.
Bam.
Seven, six, five Let's go, guys! Come on! Four, three, two, one.
- Stop! - Yeah! - Hands up.
Hands in the air.
It smells amazing in here tonight.
It's now time to find out if your dish taste as good as they smell.
Let's start with Sofia.
Let's go.
Looking at my finished plate, I do think the quality of my dish will get me to the next round, definitely.
Wow.
Describe the dish, please.
It's an almond-crusted chilean sea bass with wilted garlic spinach, roasted baby eggplant, with curry-yogurt sauce and pomegranates and roasted almonds.
Uh, fish cooked beautifully.
Glistening in the center, not dry.
Beautiful sear.
I quite like that crust of the pomegranate, the sort of crunchiness that it gives it.
Technically and visually, young lady, it's pretty phenomenal.
- I'm blown away.
Great job.
- Thank you.
Wow.
Could you do that again, or was this luck? I think I could do this again.
Really good.
Bravo.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
All right, next up, please, Roen.
Oh, my god.
That's incredible.
I have seared ahi tuna with a salmon, avocado, and cucumber roll.
How old are you? I'm 12.
I don't believe that you're 12, 'cause paper-thin cucumber, perfectly sliced avocado.
The sear, beautifully even.
You put this together in under an hour.
Yeah.
I don't know if I could do this.
You got, like, some super special ninja sushi skills.
This is sick.
Great job, boss.
Thank you.
To have that said from those guys, you know? They're the best chefs in the world.
That's insane.
Okay, Mina, please bring your plate up.
Tell us the dish.
Coconut-crusted shrimp and a cactus salad.
Cactus? Wow.
Unusual.
You cook a lot of cactus? Yeah, and this is the cactus fruit.
I love it.
And the seeds are healthy for you.
- They're healthy, huh? - Yeah.
I like the dish a lot.
It's a little sweet for me.
But the shrimp are perfectly cooked.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Next up, Daniel.
Please, let's go.
What is that dish? An octopus salad with basil and tomatoes.
Mmm.
Octopus is a lot more tender than I expected.
I thought that it was gonna be slightly undercooked, a little bit rubbery.
But no, it's delicious.
All right, next up.
Please, Justin.
Explain to me what we have.
Fried red snapper with a side of greek salad.
Only thing I might do different is a little less scoring on the fish, because the inside starts to get overcooked.
But it's really delicious.
Good job.
Jack, let's go, buddy.
Tell us the dish.
This is a seared crab cake with a garlic celery seed aioli.
What's the food dream? I really want to open up a restaurant.
Joe and Jack's.
You wanna be partners with me? Probably not.
Really good.
Nice, crispy.
Great recipe.
I love the aioli.
Good job.
Franco, come on down, buddy.
Describe the dish.
Vegetable fried rice with bean sprouts and chow mein noodles cooked in lemon with seared scallops.
Lovely sear on the scallops, but because you've cut them into three, they've gone slightly rubbery.
Nice dish in terms of the cohesiveness and tasting.
If you were my son, I'd be incredibly proud of that dish.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
Okay, Molly, bring your plate up, please.
All right, Molly.
You made everything from scratch here.
I made fried fish tacos with a pomegranate salsa and homemade tortillas.
The pomegranates offering incredible, beautiful sweetness.
And the fish is, like, crispy and salty.
And your tortillas are rich.
Quite an impressive dish, considering that all the components were created by you, Molly.
In this moment, I am freaking out.
I mean, I know I got good reviews, but everyone else got great reviews.
So I'm thinking I could be going home.
Incredible, yeah? Everything was amazing.
Fish was great.
Yeah, fish was cooked beautifully.
Complex.
Wow.
Please, all of you, Come and stand down at the front.
Thank you.
Whoo! Amazing.
I really want to stay in this competition, because I love cooking, you know? It's what I came here for.
I didn't come here for anything else but just to cook.
Amazing job, all of you.
We're all blown away with the standard that each and every one of you produced this evening.
But sadly, not all of you can progress.
I'm scared.
I can literally, like, feel my heart pounding out of my chest.
Please, ribs, don't break.
I'm just really hoping that I won't face elimination.
I don't want to go home.
We're all blown away with the standard that each and every one of you produced this evening.
But sadly, not all of you can progress.
Can the following four individuals step forward? Franco, Justin, Mina and Daniel.
You all proved tonight that you're very talented.
But I'm sorry to say, tonight, you will not be moving on to the next round of MasterChef.
Now I'd like all four of you to keep hold of those aprons.
Wear them with pride next time you're cooking at home.
Well done.
Thank you.
- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you.
I'm proud of myself.
I'm just glad that I had a chance to prove to myself that I can do great things.
This experience definitely didn't stop me from wanting to cook, I'll still cook.
And I'll come back next year and hopefully make it farther.
Roen, Molly, Jack, and Sofia, You are moving on to the next round of MasterChef.
Congratulations.
Your dishes were outstanding.
The fact that the judges want me to stay, it really means a lot, because, you know, now I get to show the judges what I have.
It's just so exciting.
Okay, guys.
Are you ready to find out who's cooking in the next group of eight? Yes, chef.
Dara, Sara, Troy, Gavin, Sage, Tommy, Jewels, and Noah.
Good job.
What's under here is a true test of a great chef.
A beautiful plate of Pasta.
When Joe unveils the pasta, I have a sigh of relief.
'Cause anyone can do pasta, right? This is a simple spaghetti and marinara sauce.
But I love fresh pasta.
Rearrange.
Homemade pasta.
So tonight, I expect you to make us three a delicious pasta dish from scratch.
There's no way they're gonna get that done.
No.
Trust me, Joe has certainly laid down the gauntlet tonight, let me tell you.
Is everyone ready? Yes, chef! Your 60 minutes starts Now.
Let's go.
Whoa.
I love pasta.
I'm so familiar with it from scratch.
I started making it when I was around four years old.
Where's the semolina flour? Whoa.
This is crazy.
I'm 12, and they're expecting me to make something that would be in a restaurant owned by a 30-year-old.
Pasta is double jeopardy, because you have to make the pasta itself.
Then you have to conceive the dish and then you have to make the dish.
Mean, it's a lot.
I think this one's a bit over the top.
How many ten-year-olds, like, rock out fresh pasta in one hour? In an hour with a sauce and other things? These are the best in the country.
They have to be able to do it.
Still, that's hardcore.
Today, I am making a vegetarian lasagna with a cherry tomato and micro basil salad.
I'm making fettuccine with sea scallops and jumbo tiger shrimp with a garlic sauce if I have enough time, which I hope I do.
- Gavin.
- Yeah.
- How are you doing? - Good.
What's the dish? Beef-pecorino tortellini with a sage-butter sauce.
- Tortellini? - Yeah.
Are you kidding me? - In an hour? - Yeah.
- And how old are you.
- I am 10.
You're ten.
Good luck.
- Can't wait to taste them.
- Thank you.
Whoa.
Sorry.
How are you doing? I'm doing great, thank you.
- How old are you, Noah? - I'm 12.
You're 12.
What's your pasta dish? What's going on here? I am making chicken Milanesa with fettuccine pasta and chimichurri.
You got a lot of things going on here, probably more than anyone else.
You're making a Milanese, which means you got to pound out your chicken, - bread it, fry it.
- Yes.
You got to make fresh pasta.
You got to boil the pasta.
And you're gonna make a chimichurri? - Yeah.
- Are you insane? - Dara, how are you feeling? - Good.
Can I have a look at that, please? - Yes.
- Beautiful.
Yeah? What do you think? Lovely.
I've been dying to do that all night, you know that? Excellent.
And what's the food dream? To have my own restaurant and hopefully, be a judge on MasterChef.
Oh, you'd like to be a judge on MasterChef.
- Yes.
- And whose job do you want to take? Joe.
Joe's.
Can you do a death stare? You got it.
Okay, you start next year.
Whoa.
- Right, Jewels.
- Hey.
What is the jewel in the crown tonight? What are you doing? Right now, I am putting my gnocchi into some hot water.
Wait, stop.
Any salt in there? Yes.
Mm, so there is.
Wow, well done.
Thank you.
And have you cooked this dish for your boyfriend? Don't have a boyfriend.
Oh, come on.
Just turn around and have a look at Tommy.
He has not stopped looking at you all night.
Seriously, there is love in the air.
I'm not feeling it.
I'm not I don't know.
I can feel it.
Tommy can feel it.
You need to feel it, Jewels.
I'm sorry, but What, you've got too much going on? Yeah, I'm doing a lot of things.
Okay, that's fine.
You can still have a boyfriend on the side.
Like a little bit of mustard, put him on the side.
Hopefully, when I do have a boyfriend he won't be mustard.
Right.
- Good luck.
- Thank you very much.
Whoo! Five minutes to go.
Come on.
Let's go.
Five minutes, buddy.
Let's go.
We gotta go.
making handmade pasta from scratch in under an hour, it's crazy.
Finishing touches.
Come on, guys.
Make sure your dish has what it takes to move into the next stage.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Stop! Okay.
We want to taste your pasta dishes now.
We are going to start with Dara.
Go, Dara! Whoo! And what do we have here? Today, I have herb and cheese spaetzle with rack of lamb and mint sauce with greek yogurt.
Why are you crying? It's just I Why are you crying? It's just I I'm sorry.
I mean, are they happy tears or sad tears? Happy.
You have every reason to be happy.
Thank you.
I mean, I want to cry, it's that good.
It's honestly, it tastes incredible, and I think it's gonna inspire a ton of people.
And you inspire me.
It's good stuff.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I could lift that out of this kitchen and put that dish, tonight, in my restaurant.
- Great job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
When Gordon told me that he would put my dish in his restaurant, I was like: "This is, like, amazing.
" And it was Like, so good.
Tommy, come on up, please.
Go, Tommy! What do we got here? I have made for you a pumpkin ravioli with a creamy Alfredo sauce.
So I need to have the right balance of the ratio of filling to the outside.
That's what I'm looking for.
I'm judging you like a restaurant plate now, right? Mm-hmm.
It's beautiful.
The balance is good.
The flavor's good.
Wow.
Good job, Tommy.
Thank you, chef.
These look gorgeous.
Thank you.
I cannot believe that - Yes.
- Is that how old you are? At 11, that you're putting up food that's at the same exact level that you find in restaurants.
- Great job.
Well done.
- Thank you, chef.
The judges loved my dish.
It's so amazing.
And it's really awesome.
Sage, let's go, please.
Describe the dish, please.
It's a vegetarian lasagna with a cherry tomato and micro basil salad.
The pasta's cooked beautifully.
You've got that nice thickness.
If I could season the vegetables a touch more, it would match the delicacy of that pasta.
- But good job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
Jewels, come on up.
My dish is gnocchi in a tomato sage cheese sauce.
The gnocchi are very light.
- Thank you.
- It's beautiful.
The balance is good.
The flavor is good.
This is a great dish.
- Delicious.
- Thank you very much.
Troy, please come up.
Explain to me what we have.
Fresh fettuccine with jumbo sea scallops, tiger shrimp, and a garlic sauce.
Pasta's great.
I love the vegetables.
- Pretty darn awesome.
Good job.
- Thank you very much.
Next up, Sara.
Right, what is that dish? I made meatballs with fettuccine.
You got the seasoning of the meatballs - absolutely spot-on.
- Thank you.
I just wish that I had the same seasoning in the pasta as you've got in the meatball.
Good job, Sara.
Gavin.
What do we got here? It's a tortellini, beef-pecorino filling, with a sage butter sauce.
Now tell me about tortellini.
Where did you first have your tortellini? Sometimes we order out from this place, this deli.
I ate them, and I realized I can just make this.
So I started making it.
You started making it when you tasted it there? - Yeah.
- So you've never cooked in Italy? - No.
- No.
- No.
- No.
- You like pecorino cheese? - Yeah.
Better than parmesan? I like a parmesan cheese a little bit better, but the saltiness of the pecorino goes a little bit better.
Oh, you know this pecorino's more salty than parmesan? - Yeah.
- That's very impressive.
Where are you from? San Francisco.
You cook like a real San Francisco native.
Good job, buddy.
Thank you.
- Good job, Gavin.
- Thanks.
All right, the last dish.
Noah, please step forward.
Walking up to the judges was intense.
I'm scared, I'm nervous, I'm stressed out.
This is a chicken Milanesa with fettuccine pasta and chimichurri.
You make pasta a lot? Yes.
The flavor is great.
The technique is spot-on.
The only thing I would do different is cook the pasta a little less, just so it's a little more toothsome.
Everything else is awesome.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
- Technical tonight.
I mean, very technical.
- Absolutely, I mean - Tortellini? - Rack of lamb? Spaetzle.
- Incredible.
- Incredible.
You all made some amazing pasta dishes.
They were so good, you made it really tough for us to figure out who's going to the next round.
Difficult.
Would the following cooks please step forward? Noah, Sara, and Sage.
You cooked amazing dishes.
But I'm sorry to say you're not going to the next round.
Please hang on to those aprons and wear them with pride.
Meeting the judges was really cool.
I'm very happy to have met them.
Of course, they were the ones to send me home.
But I won't hold a grudge.
We're fine.
Gavin, Troy, Jewels, Dara, and Tommy, congratulations.
You all are moving on to the next round of MasterChef Junior, well done.
I feel amazing.
I want to win MasterChef Junior so much.
It's just ooh, I get chills.
It is now time for a new challenge to test another talented eight young home cooks.
Alexander, Kaylen, Ethan, Hana, Sarah, Lishai, Nathan, and Amanda.
Wow.
Are you guys ready to find out what you have to make for us? Yes, chef! I was like: "What's behind the curtain?" I'm hoping for there not to be, like, cabbage or liver.
I don't like cooking organs.
I'm the one that got to set up this challenge.
So I pickeone of my favorite kinds of food.
They're challenging, difficult to perfect, but are guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's faces.
Your next cooking challenge is Oh, my gosh.
Are you ready? Yes, chef! Your next cooking challenge is Oh, my gosh.
Yay! Desserts! - Cake! - Chocolate fountain.
Cupcake! Mm-mmm.
Graham reveals these treats.
I'm so happy to eat them.
Or are we supposed to cook them? We want you guys to each make us one amazing dessert that any of us three could put in one of our restaurants.
Those who cook the best desserts tonight will move on to the next round of the competition.
Clear? - Yes, chef! - Good.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
I'm looking for the raspberries and blackberries.
I'm looking for chocolate.
Light brown sugar has less molasses.
Dark brown sugar has more.
I really like making French pastries, such as French macaroons or cream puffs.
I don't like to be overly confident, but I definitely know my way around desserts.
Here we go.
Tough one? It's very tough.
This is where you can really be creative.
But also, it takes so much skill.
This group has the oldest contestant in the competition, at 13, which is Alexander, and the youngest contestant, which is Nathan, age 8.
It's amazing to cook in that kitchen.
It's so fun! But some of the equipment is bigger than me.
How is he gonna get it on the bench? Good job, Nathan.
I'm making mini apple pie with a cinnamon-spiced whipped cream.
I wanted to make it because it has, like, a lot of flavors.
So I'm trying to make it work for all the judges' palates.
I am making a mint-lime surprise cupcake.
Cupcakes are my favorite thing.
And in my world, mint and lime go really good together.
Check your timing, guys.
Right, Sarah, how are you feeling? Good, chef.
Careful, that's hot water.
Careful, careful, careful.
Right, what are you making? I'm making a molten lava cake, chef.
Why don't you just make a cookie or a cupcake? Why molten lava cake, the most difficult dessert to pull off in a restaurant? Because I think that'll impress you if I get it right.
Who makes the best chefs, girls or guys? - Girls.
- Why? Even in the olden days, they were cooking.
and men were just sitting there watching tv.
Even in the olden No offense to you.
No offense to me.
Oh, am I from the olden days? Yes, chef.
Wow.
- Nathan.
- What's going on, Nathan? Hi.
What do you got happening here? What's this? A meringue roulade.
Very good meringue.
Nathan, what is your food dream? I'm gonna save up to open a restaurant with my dad.
Good job.
Make sure that meringue doesn't fall, all right? Andale, andale! Right, Alexander, how are you? I'm great.
Now, what are you making? I'm making pistachio French macaroons with a vanilla bean dulce de leche filling.
Wow, first of all, one of the most complicated, sophisticated petit fours anywhere in the world.
Have you made these before? I have.
I learned these when I was 11.
and why are you knocking them down? To get any excess air out of them.
Mm-hmm.
Clearly you know your stuff.
- Alexander, good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Burning hot.
Two minutes to go.
Everybody, got to start decorating.
I think tonight we're gonna get some incredible desserts from these kids.
I mean, look at the determination on their faces.
Extraordinary.
Moms, dads, Make sure that they look beautiful.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop! Hands in the air! Well done, all of you! It is now time to taste those amazing desserts.
We are going to start with Alexander.
They're pistachio macaroons with a vanilla bean dulce de leche filling.
That is amazing.
Those look beautiful.
You're 13 years old, and these look to be the best macaroons that we've ever had in MasterChef.
I want to take that whole plate into that corner and just mow them down.
But I'm gonna be nice and share them.
Incredible.
Thank you.
Visually, they look beautiful.
Tell me how you made that filling.
I used condensed milk and I had fresh vanilla beans, a bit of butter.
I added my heavy cream and cooked that a little bit longer.
I mean, listen, they're delicious.
Here's the bad news.
You've now perfected the most dangerous dessert anywhere in the world.
So everything you do from now on in this competition is downhill.
That's your fault, not mine.
I'm gonna prove you wrong.
Brilliant.
Good job.
Sarah, please bring it up.
I'm kind of nervous, because I think my lava cake turned out, but I'm not sure until the judges cut into it.
wow.
What do we have here? Here we have a molten lava cake with glazed raspberries and a raspberry and orange juice sauce.
So what are you hoping is inside this? Chocolate.
- So kind of running out? - Yes.
- Like lava? - Yes.
This is what we call the moment of truth.
This is what we call the moment of truth.
Sarah, I think that you have Nailed it.
Yeah! That is amazing.
This is probably the best molten lava cake that we've had in MasterChef, and you're nine years old.
Thank you, chef.
Awesome, awesome.
Thank you.
That's for you.
You got chocolate all over your here.
Over here as well.
Here.
There you go.
I ate some of my test cake.
I'd give it ten out of ten.
That is delicious.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
Well done.
Next up, please, Lishai.
This is a mini apple pie with a cinnamon-spiced whipped cream and a butter cherry apple cider sauce.
I think everything tastes delicious.
The apples, a little undercooked.
There's a little crunch still left to them.
Maybe sweeten up the whipped cream, Add a little more spice just to kind of kick it up.
- Thank you, chef.
- Great job.
Okay, next, Ethan.
I made dark chocolate truffles flavored with orange and coffee.
- You temper your own chocolate? - Yes.
How old are you? - 11.
- Wow.
The chocolate might be a little bit grainy.
It should be really smooth inside.
But really good.
Good job, Ethan.
Thank you.
Next up, Hana.
Scone shortcakes plus blood oranges and strawberries.
Unfortunately, they're sort of dry.
However, the blood orange is delicious.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
Really good job.
Next up, Amanda.
This is my amazing salted-caramel brownie.
Not cooked all the way.
Could've gone a little longer.
However, it's decadent and you nailed that salted caramel.
- Awesome.
- Thank you.
Okay, next up, Kaylen.
Let's go, my darling.
Thank you.
What do we have here? These are mint lime cupcakes.
- They smell good.
- Thank you.
I said the dessert had to have sophisticated flavors and be restaurant-quality.
Mm-hmm.
Is this restaurant-quality? Yes.
I agree.
Last but not least, Nathan, let's go.
What is this dish? It's a meringue roulade with a little stack of balsamic seasonal berries.
Where's the roulade gone? 'Cause it's gone rather flat.
It didn't poof up the way I wanted it to, so I tried to roll it up both ways.
Um, here's the thing.
It's not the most attractive dessert, let's get that right.
- Yes.
- Yeah? But it does taste delicious and it's got that crunch on the outside.
Really good job.
Huh? Really good job.
Well done.
Thank you.
You know, like, in life Maybe you've experienced this Things don't always go your way.
Yes, they do not.
And when things don't go your way, what do you do? You try to fix them.
Fix them, improvise.
Did you improvise today? - Yes.
- I like that.
It's really good, man.
- Thank you.
- Really good.
- For an improv, I like it.
- Thank you.
Good job, Nathan.
Whoo! Delicious.
Everything was tasty.
So much creativity going on, flavors, textures.
All of you, great job.
I'd now like to invite all of you to come down to the front, please, let's go.
This means the world to win.
It would help me save up for culinary school and for my restaurant.
Would the following people please step forward? Ethan, Amanda, Lishai, Hana, and Nathan.
You guys did yourselves proud, you did me proud, and you did your parents proud.
But I'm sorry that you did not make it into the next round.
I'm feeling so sad.
It's disappointing.
But I'm proud of myself, very.
I am not gonna stop cooking.
You'll see me again.
Sarah, Alexander, Kaylen, you three are moving on to the next round.
Great job.
I'm really psyched that I'm in the top 12.
Watch out, Gordon.
Just wait until you see my next dish.
Okay, top 12, make your way down here.
Let's go.
All of you, congratulations for making it into America's top 12 MasterChef Junior.
Well done! The real competition starts now.
Yes, chef.
I will be America's first junior MasterChef.
Look out.
Next time on MasterChef Junior.
The competition reaches new heights Move it.
as the junior home cooks face off in their very first mystery box challenge.
Oh, my god.
Young man, that packs a powerful punch.
Then it's an elimination test inspired by the judges' childhoods.
Any resemblance? And the pint-sized chefs I love it.
perform like culinary giants.
- You nailed it.
- Explosive flavor.
You have a natural gift.
The food world is gonna be lucky to have you in it.