MasterChef Junior (2013) s02e03 Episode Script
Mom Knows Best
Last week on MasterChef Junior Oona, please! the young home cooks flipped out I'm working! in a high-speed pancake race.
Dude! Ah! Then in a tricky baking challenge Hurry up.
Levi and Adaiah rose to the top of the class.
Great, great pie.
You should be super proud.
It's kind of, like, perfect.
At the end of the night, Natalie and Jessica had to say good-bye to the MasterChef kitchen.
Both of you are very talented young cooks.
You've got to keep your heads up high.
Tonight the competition gets even closer.
It's a three-legged team challenge.
No, no, no, not yet.
For some reason, you're just really annoying me.
This is totally impossible.
Followed by Mum! I hear you, Gordon.
the mother of all elimination tests.
Please welcome my mum.
Hello.
As the pint-sized chefs must impress a very special guest judge.
Mum, was I that good at eight? You're still not that good.
Why did I squeal? I'm very proud of myself for being in the top ten, but I don't just want to be in the top ten.
I want to be the best young home cook in America.
Welcome back, guys.
How does it feel to know that you've made it this far? Wonderful.
Awesome.
Amazing.
I'm nine years old.
When I grow up, I want to be a chef or a fashion designer, because I really like to cook and I love fashion.
Tonight, to help find the best young home cook here, it's time for your next mystery box challenge.
The first mystery in this challenge starts with what's under this box.
Now, any guesses what's under here? Pig head? Oona, do you have teddy bears at home? No, didn't think so.
Josh, will you count for me, please? One, two, three.
- What? - Antoher box! There's a box inside of a box.
These judges are nuts.
This box contains something that kids all across this country love to eat.
- Cookies.
- Doughnuts.
Brownies? Open it! Open.
- Oh, yummy! - Can I have one? Cupcakes! These look delizioso.
Graham.
This one is red velvet.
I love red velvet.
Joe, have one of these.
They're killer.
- Thank you.
Red velvet? - Red velvet.
Come on, everyone, come up and grab a cupcake.
There's chocolate, strawberry - I know.
- Confetti, vanilla, carrot.
Yes! Yes! This is a pretty cool challenge.
Like, I get to try a cupcake, and that's awesome.
- Guys, how are they? - Delicious.
-Good.
- Good.
- Delicious.
You will all have 75 minutes to make us a dozen cupcakes.
Oh! They can be one flavor, or they can be many flavors.
Yay! But you won't be making those cupcakes alone.
Here's the good news: You'll be making them in teams of two! What? This is your very first mystery box team challenge.
Does anyone have any idea how we're gonna pick the teams tonight? Maybe because flavors of cupcake? Well, there are only two different versions of each cupcake.
There were five flavors of cupcakes left in the box.
The person with the same flavored cupcake is gonna be your partner.
It's time to play "match the cupcakes.
" - Am I allowed to eat the rest of this? - Too bad we can't just eat these.
These are the teams.
Mitchell, you are paired with Abby.
Sam, you're gonna be paired with Adaiah.
Logan, you've got Sean.
Josh, you are partnered with Oona.
And Levi with Samuel.
Okay, everybody, it's time to head to your stations.
I'm worried about me and Oona, because even though she's smart like me, she's a girl.
We're just going to waste time disputing who's in charge.
In professional kitchens, chefs have to get used to working side by side.
The chefs need to know instinctively, what the chef right next to them is doing at all times.
As you can see, there is still a mystery box in front of each team.
On the count of three, you're gonna lift those boxes together as a team.
One Two Three.
Lift.
What the heck? Are we being handcuffed? No! No! Yes, in fact, it is two ties, because this isn't just a team mystery box challenge, it's a three-legged team mystery box challenge.
No! You will be making your box of cupcakes as a team while you are tied together.
The three-legged team that wins this challenge will come back into the pantry, where they will get a game-changing advantage as always.
I think this challenge is going to be a mess.
- What the heck? - Oh, my gosh.
We'll just be, like, lying on the floor, and everyone's just gonna run over us.
At your stations, you now have all the essential ingredients needed to make cupcakes.
You also have access to a limited pantry that you'll carefully have to walk to together, where you'll find everything that you need to make those cupcakes shine.
- Now, is everybody ready? - Yes, chef! Good.
So 4 hands, 3 legs, and 12 stunning cupcakes.
Your 75 minutes starts Now.
Where's the maple syrup? This is so challenging.
No! Here, I'll lift mine up first, and then I'll lift yours.
- Okay So, I mean, we've done team challenges in the past, where we put people together, but we've never physically tied them together like this.
But not only are they physically tethered, they're tethered in their success or failure, because we will judge each team as a team.
I'm making a chocolate cupcake with a blueberry lavender buttercream.
I am making a triple ginger cake with a passion fruit buttercream.
Even though we're making completely separate dishes, our work will show that we're a team.
- I think we're making a - Two kinds.
Maple bacon cupcake That's that was my idea.
And a lemon-on-lemon-on-lemon cupcake.
That's his idea.
If you two were tied together, what would your strategy be? Me, personally, I think I would hand over all of the actual mixing and cooking to Gordon.
I would cheer him on, and then I might help garnish at the end.
Let's not forget that a cupcake is a cake in a cup, and in a cake itself, what's a cake called? It's called a cake for the very thing it's made of, and the frosting is just a condiment to the cake.
- Quick, quick, move up, move up.
- We need to get our sugar.
Chop, chop, chop.
Come on! - Is your frosting okay? - I think it's good.
- Where are you going? - Sorry.
- Right, you two, how are we doing? - Good.
- We're doing good.
What are we doing? I'm doing a peanut butter cup inspired Peanut butter cupcakes, all 12 of them? No, we and then he's making I'm making a mexican hot chocolate flavor with a little bit - A mexican hot chocolate flavor.
- That sounds amazing.
- Okay, I think it's done, buddy.
- No, it's not.
No, no, no, no.
- Yes, it is! Abby, it's really important that you work together.
Two minds are better than one, right, Abby? Good luck.
For some reason, you're just really annoying me right now.
- Where did I put my sugar? - I got your back, man.
Logan and Sean, what flavor are we going with? I'm doing a simple chocolate cupcake with a passion fruit buttercream frosting.
I'm doing lemon basil cupcakes.
Wait, wait, wait, so you're doing two different ones? - Of course.
- Yup.
The best compromise in the world.
Wow.
Good luck, guys.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
Wait, no, let me throw in the raspberries.
Wait, wait, we're gonna put the cupcakes in first.
Right, Adaiah, Sam, talk to me about the mix.
What flavor are they, Sam? One is just a simple vanilla, and one is an orange blossom.
- Oh, so you're doing two different flavors.
- Yes.
- Wow.
Who's gonna decorate all 12? Well, we haven't talked about decorating completely.
I need to make my garnish, and I need a strainer.
Where are you going, Sam? You got to talk to Adaiah.
- Where are you going? - We need to get a strainer.
Adaiah, is this working? Yes.
It doesn't look like it.
Good luck.
To the left, to the left.
Oh! Step.
Okay.
This is the youngest team, a ten-year-old and a nine-year-old.
- Yes.
- How you gonna - How you gonna cook the bacon? - Hello.
I need to add my extra ingredients, and so do you.
- Wait, wait, guys, which way you going? - We're going that way.
- This way.
- Would you be good dance partners? - No.
- No.
- No, you don't want to dance? - No, no.
So what if I let you keep the tethers on after the challenge is over for a couple of days? - No, no.
- No.
No, that would be, like, my nightmare.
Just under 20 minutes to go.
No, we're already here.
Let's go.
What are we getting? Sam, you're stressing, and that's not good.
The fascinating news tonight so far is that it seems like everyone's doing 6 and 6.
No one's doing 12 together.
I saw a lot of fabulous-looking cupcakes out there.
Oona and Josh are cooking maple bacon and lemon cupcakes.
- Sorry.
- Wow.
Sean and Logan, they are really focused on what these look like.
They're awesome.
Adaiah and Sam, they're running way behind.
Okay, hurry, hurry, hurry.
Now let's go get the orange blossom water, okay? No, how about we just throw these like mine, and then we'll do yours after? No, wait, this is a waste of time.
Last two minutes.
Let's go, guys, come on.
Start decorating.
- Let's go! Hurry, hurry, hurry.
- Frost fast.
Grab the box! Abby, I'm trying to do my things too.
Oh, no.
There's a spatula.
There's a spatula in the drawer! Lemon zest.
Come on.
Oh, my gosh.
It's okay.
I got it, I got it, I got it.
Just trust me.
Hey, you put it in the wrong place.
Make them look stunning.
Come on.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop! - Frost fast.
- Grab the box! Abby, I'm trying to do my things too! Lemon zest.
Come on.
The remaining ten junior home cooks are working closer than ever before.
There's a spatula.
There's a spatula in the drawer! In their first mystery box team challenge, baking one dozen spectacular cupcakes.
Five, four, three, two, one, and stop! - Hands in the air.
- Good job! Right, all of you, well done.
Who thinks they got the best box of cupcakes? Raise your hand.
Time to find out.
Are they tied together? - Graham, come on.
- This way.
Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the junior home cooks' dishes as they come together.
Wow.
That pops.
Wow.
They now take one last look to choose the top three standouts - Wow.
- Ooh, wow.
And the winners of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round.
Nice, well done.
Graham, keep up, please.
I'm trying to drag Joe with me.
It's like Frankenstein.
The first team that we'd like to take a much closer look at Come on.
We got this.
They feature two incredible flavors in their frostings.
Representing Connecticut and California, please step forward Adaiah and Sam.
Well done.
We did amazing.
You did so good, Sam.
I'm so proud of you.
Cooking tied to a teammate is challenging, but we still did the best we could.
We improvised, and our cupcakes look beautiful.
Was that tough, those last 75 minutes? - Yes.
- Yeah.
They were very tough.
It's like, I take one step, which is his two.
We, like, can't really move, and it's kind of challenging.
Someone telling you what to do all day long.
You want to go left, she's going right.
Now you know what it's like when you're married.
Hope not.
Wow.
They look absolutely stunning.
We have a orange honey blossom cupcake, and the frosting is honey and cream cheese, and the second cupcake is Sam's vanilla and raspberry cupcake.
Great combination of the colors.
Wow, look at that.
Now, that looks beautiful.
Light, crispy.
Love the orange, love the fragrance, and absolutely delicious.
- Who decorated this one? - Sam Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
- Sam, that's delicious.
- Thank you.
Started off a little bit awkward.
Once you got your rhythm, you absolutely nailed it.
- Great job, the both of you.
- Thank you.
- Seriously, well done.
Boom Right off the bat, probably some of the most beautiful cupcakes in the room.
This is the kind of cupcake that I would spend money on, which is saying something, because if I'm gonna spend money on it, it's got to be good.
Yeah.
You guys made a real great example, where the cumulate effort of everyone involved creates a good that's greater than any one person could deliver on their own.
Great product, great cupcakes.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
Amazing.
This next team, they also delivered some incredible-looking cupcakes.
Hailing from Virginia and California, Please step forward Virginia.
Abby and Mitchell.
Good job, Abby, good job.
I knew it was from Virginia, because I'm from Virginia.
In the beginning, Mitchell and I were kind of struggling, but then, we worked as a team.
I knew, Mitchell and I could do it.
All right, here we go.
Moment of truth.
Boom.
Looks like candy almost.
What do we have? We decided to make a mexican hot chocolate cupcake, and then Abby made a chocolate peanut butter inspired cupcake with peanut butter cup.
Did you throw one at Mitchell? What's up on your chest? Yeah, she threw a cupcake at me.
- No, just kidding, no.
- No, I didn't! - That's from his icing, I'm guessing.
Yeah, it's my icing.
Looking at that cook, nice and moist.
Delicious, delicious.
I love peanut butter.
- You know what I like more than peanut butter? - What? Mexican chocolate.
That is so good.
Only thing I'd do different, make sure that the tops are completely covered.
So you pipe from the outside in.
Flavor-wise, what you put in that box is phenomenal.
You guys should be really proud of yourselves.
Thanks, chef.
- Oh, gosh.
- Carefully.
- No, no, carefully.
- WhichWhich way? - Turn around together.
- Okay.
And the third team we want to look at, they were sophisticated, and they impressed us very much with their culinary techniques.
That's not us.
Bringing together the best of Santa Ana and Memphis We got it.
Please step forward, Logan and Sean.
- Yes.
- Oh, god, okay.
Uh, all right, let's go.
Two dynamic cupcakes made by two dynamic cooks.
I feel like Sean really brought it to the house with the beauty, and I just brought it to the house with the flavor.
Don't drop 'em.
What should I see when I open up this box? Because visually, it has to be bam! Will I be disappointed? Of course not.
- No? - No.
One Two Three Bam! Whoo! Wow.
So I made lemon basil cupcakes with basil dust, and Sean made chocolate cupcake filled with raspberry curd, passion fruit icing, and caramel on top.
Look at that.
What is that, like, a sugar candy? That's amazing.
Light, assertive lemon, delicious.
The cake itself is very, very moist.
Oh, my god, it has a filling.
This is the only cupcake we saw today with a filling.
Dude, that's sophisticated.
What's the cream? Passion fruit buttercream.
Wow.
Very impressive, guys.
Thank you.
Wow, absolutely beautiful.
The sugar work is amazing.
Wow, that box illustrates great teamwork.
Two dynamic individuals in one box.
- Good job.
High five.
Seriously, well done.
Nice job, guys.
Thanks.
Nice job, Sean.
Tonight, there can only be one winning team that can join us in the pantry.
Will it be Sam and Adaiah with their vanilla cupcakes with lemon and raspberry buttercream.
Or Abby and Mitchell with their delicious peanut butter cup and mexican hot chocolate cupcake.
Or Logan and Sean with their raspberry curd cupcakes? It was a very difficult decision.
The winner is Tonight, there can only be one winning team.
That can join us in the pantry.
The two young home cooks who made the best cupcakes, congratulations goes to Logan and Sean.
Well done.
Yeah! Amazing.
Congratulations.
Let's go, guys.
Logan and Sean are now in control of the elimination challenge, after which, at least two junior home cooks will leave the competition.
Logan and Sean, welcome to the incredible MasterChef pantry.
I'm sorry to say, but for this challenge, you will have to cook another time but not today.
- Yes! - Congratulations, you're both through to the final eight of MasterChef Junior.
Okay.
Sean, Logan, let's be honest, all mums are great at cooking, right? -Yeah.
- Yeah.
Every kid loves their mum's food the best, right? Do you know what? When I was your age, my mum used to make me the best dinners in the entire world.
They may not have been five-star dishes But they were my mum's dishes.
The most amazing chicken curry.
And her shepherd's pie as well, that was brilliant.
And her fish finger sandwiches were unbelievable.
When I was your age, when I was hungry, I'd just go around the house, shouting, "mum!" Mum! Mum! I'm hungry! Seriously.
Hold on, Gord.
Have patience, boy.
My little legs are going as fast as they can.
Wha It's my mum! - Hello, boys.
- Logan and Sean.
Now, Helen, can you tell Sean and Logan the secret of Gordon's culinary success? It's a lot of trial and error, but when his back was turned, we rolled it up in a napkin and put it in the bin.
Logan and Sean, seeing as my mom came all the way from England, you'll be choosing from my three favorite dishes that she made for me when I was your age: The most amazing fish finger sandwich or that incredible chicken curry or the all-time favorite, a delicious shepherd's pie.
So nice to see you're still using my recipes.
It's my recipe.
All right, you two, it's time to decide, which one of Gordon's favorite childhood dishes will everyone have to make out in that kitchen tonight? We want an elevated restaurant version of that dish.
But how do you elevate it, not just flavor-wise but in plating-wise? You gotta be fancy, and that's tough.
So what is your final decision, guys? We choose Logan and Sean are gonna enjoy some tea and a delicious-looking spread.
That was their first advantage for winning that mystery box challenge.
For their second advantage, Logan and Sean got to choose from three very different types of food that I loved to eat when I was your age.
Now, Logan and Sean also got to meet a very special guest, my favorite home cook in the entire world.
Please welcome Your mom.
My mum.
Oh, my gosh.
Hello, everybody.
This is my mum, Helen.
-Hello.
- Hello.
Now, mum, why don't you tell what those two up there chose for everyone to cook tonight? They chose Shepherd's pie.
Nice.
That is a delicious, savory mix, topped with our amazing mashed potatoes, finished with cheese on top.
We are looking for your own elevated, MasterChef-worthy version of that delicious shepherd's pie.
I have never made a shepherd's pie before.
I've never eaten shepherd's pie.
Yay.
Now, to inspire you to make Gordon's own mom's dish, we have a special treat for all of you.
Please, open your drawers.
In front of you, you each have a surface tablet at your station.
What we want you to do is take that surface tablet and use skype to call your own moms.
Hi, mom! -Miss you.
- I miss you too.
I'm very excited that I get to skype my mom.
Sean and Logan up there chose shepherd's pie.
I've never had shepherd's pie before, so I could really use my mom's assistance right now.
What was your favorite thing at Christmas this year about the mashed potatoes? You put truffle butter in them.
- What do you think about that? - Okay.
What vegetables do you think might go good? Peas, onions, carrots.
Do you think I shouldn't do mushroom? I'm not sure about mushroom.
Definitely peas.
I could do it asian-y.
Ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil.
Do you think that's too untraditional? Ooh.
Well, it's still shepherd's pie.
I think if it tastes good That's all that matters.
Okay.
Please put those tablets away nice and safely in your drawer.
Bye! - Love you, I miss you.
- Love you too.
Cook your heart out.
I love you.
Now, you will have 60 minutes to make us an elevated, MasterChef-worthy version of shepherd's pie.
This could be the last challenge that some of you will be cooking in.
Tonight, we'll have to say good-bye to another two of you very talented young home cooks.
Is everyone ready? Yes, chef.
Your one hour starts Mum? - Now.
- Off you go.
- Wow, you can walk fast! - Gee, Abby! - Get a cart! - Hey, that's mine.
- That one's mine.
- You can have the cart.
- Potatoes! Potatoes! I need truffle butter! Carrots.
Shepherd's pie is Gordon Ramsay's favorite dish as a child, and I've never made it.
Come on, we'll lift at the same time.
Two people are going home today - Everything's falling.
- Thank you.
And I do not want it to be me.
- You're okay, Abby? - Yeah, I'm fine.
Levi over-shopped.
Wow, can you believe not just trying to replicate your shepherd's pie but elevate it to a sort of MasterChef-worthy dish, and let's not forget, these kids are 8 to 13.
I think it's amazing.
I mean, you never had confidence at that age.
No, not at eight.
Sorry, blender.
- You dropped some stuff.
- Yeah, you can say that.
I'm gonna be making a fruity seasoning on my meat with mashed potato with some celery root in it to give it an earthy taste.
It's gonna have a really unique flavor.
Mitch, potatoes look yummy! I've never made shepherd's pie, I've never had it, so I'm gonna take my mom's advice and hope it works out well.
- Levi, do you have canned tomatoes? - I don't, sorry.
Does anyone have canned tomatoes? So Sean and Logan had three choices.
- Do you think they chose wisely? - I think they did I mean, this is something that's really hard to elevate and make look beautiful and restaurant quality.
- Would you like some more tea? - Sure.
Yeah, I think that shepherd's pie is something that's traditionally served in family style You don't really see individual portions, so they're absolutely bang to rights in terms of giving them a nightmare tonight to elevate.
Does anyone have any spare cream? - Heavy cream, heavy cream.
- Thank you.
Sam, it's okay.
I have to restart my potatoes.
Don't worry.
I put way too much milk.
- Some people are starting to really stress out.
- Yeah.
Behind me, Sam is struggling.
I feel bad, because he's such a nice person.
This is not looking good for Sam right now.
Gordon and his mom are expecting a five-star quality dish, but my mashed potatoes, if I don't get 'em ready, I'm going home.
Graham's going in.
He's gonna help out Sam.
- Sam, what do we got going on? - My potatoes, I put too much cream in them, and I have to restart.
- What else do you have? - I have peas.
Why don't you try to put these in the blender real quick and make this into a puree and take these and put 'em in the blender? Put the peas into here.
You have potatoes that you strained that were too wet and runny, but you can use 'em to help thicken your peas, so now, you're making, like, a pea mashed potato, okay? - Okay.
- All right, good luck.
- Thank you.
Now, this one is one of our youngest, but she's a right handful.
- Oona, how are you doing? - I'm doing pretty good.
And what's your twist in your shepherd's pie? I'm using garam masala.
- That's lovely.
- Thank you.
- Have you got a boyfriend? - No.
I thought it was a pretty legit question.
I mean, my son is single.
His name's Jack.
How cool does that sound? "Jack and Oona.
" No.
- Oona and Jack.
- No.
Oona and Jack Ramsay, ladies and gentlemen.
- No.
No.
- Please be standing for the bride and groom.
Oona and Jack Ramsay.
- Quit it! - Good luck.
All right, Samuel, what's the dish? So this dish is a deconstructed shepherd's pie with a moroccan meat phyllo package.
- What kind of meats you got in there? - It's a mixture of lamb and some beef.
- What's going on here? - Right now, I'm shaving the parmesan for the frico.
So you're gonna present it all deconstructed? Deconstructed, baby.
We asked you to elevate it.
Is that how you elevate, by deconstructing? I think you can really elevate dishes by deconstructing, because sometimes, the traditional food can just get done and done and done.
So you got to reinvent the wagon wheel every once in a while.
- That's what I like to do.
- All right, Samuel, thanks, buddy.
Have a good day.
Just under five minutes remaining.
Let's go, guys.
- So the smells in the kitchen are amazing.
- Incredible.
All that beef and mushrooms I smell, all sorts of lamb.
- Terrific, savory aroma.
- Unbelievable.
- Who's looking strong? - That little boy Levi, he's - He's good.
- He's very good.
- Got a lot of technique.
- Yeah Adaiah's doing a different style.
She's got phyllo, she's got potato, and she might add some pear.
She's cooked down the mint with some red bell pepper she roasted, so really sophisticated.
- Was I that good at eight? - You're still not that good.
But these children are amazing.
Make sure you elevate that shepherd's pie.
- Logan and Sean, who's looking good? - Samuel's looking great.
It's so pretty, but I'm a little worried about his meat.
Who's looking weak? - Oona.
- That's not strong plating.
Wow.
Oh, my god.
Sounds like me in the kitchen.
Are we okay? I'm fine, but there's glass.
Come on, guys.
- Ten.
- Ten.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
- Hands in the air! - Hands in the air! Well done, all of you.
First up, we'd like to taste Oona's dish.
Walking up to the judges, I'm usually very confident.
This is, like, the worst I've ever made.
Describe the dish, please.
I did a curry shepherd's pie, and I used beef and sausage.
Visually, a bit messy on top, 'cause it looks unfinished.
I think the mash is nice, light, fluffy.
Unfortunately, the meat is slightly greasy.
I know.
Tonight was the first time that I had seen you struggle.
Everything can't be perfect every night.
- You know that.
- Yeah.
How many times did I call you, literally in tears, that I wanted to leave, had enough, it's not working, it's not for me, and, mum, what did you say to me when I was young, starting out? Just stick in there and keep trying, and never, ever give up.
- Thank you, Oona.
- Thank you, Oona.
- How are you? - Good.
What do you make of this dish? I'm just not very happy with my with my shepherd's pie.
I've never cooked so badly.
Are you used to doing everything right all the time? - No.
- No.
Me neither.
I make lots of mistakes.
Even when things are as bad as they can be, you got to pull it together.
Wipe your tears.
Thank you.
All right, tell me about the dish.
How did you spice it? With garlic powder, garam masala, chipotle peppers and smoked paprika.
- Right.
Okay, here's what you got.
Your plating was a little bit on the rustic side, but your flavors are pretty good.
Your mashed potatoes are better than good.
The italian sausage gives it a nice little way to stand out a little bit, but in your effort to try to elevate it, you fell back.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Oona.
From what the judges said, I don't think I did enough to stay in this competition.
I think I'm going home.
The italian sausage gives it a nice little way to stand out a little bit, but in your effort to try to elevate it, you fell back.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Oona.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I just feel like this is definitely my last day in the competition.
Abby.
Wow.
Mum, Abby is one of the youngest ever contestants we've ever had in the history of MasterChef Junior.
How old are you now? - I'm eight.
- How long you been cooking? Six years.
- So you started cooking at two? - Yes.
Wow.
How old was I when I first started cooking, mum? Twe What Excuse me.
- No, 16.
- 16.
So, Abby, why don't you explain to mum and I what you've done? Mrs.
Ramsay, I have made a shepherd's pie with beef, lamb, and chorizo with pumpkin sweet potato puree and truffle butter.
Abby, it looks lovely.
- Thank you.
- Very nice.
Can't wait to taste it.
So love the idea of the beef and the lamb and the chorizo.
- Thank you.
If anything, it just needs to be a little bit more seasoned.
Apart from that, it's delicious.
- Delicious, Abby.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Well done.
Good job.
All right, next up, please, Samuel.
So there is a moroccan-flavored meat package on a mushy mint pea puree, parsnip mash, and a parmesan frico.
Parsnip sweetness goes great with the phyllo.
The ground beef is cooked beautifully.
You're starting to really separate yourself from the pack, - So good job.
- Thank you.
Josh, please, let's go.
This is a deconstructed shepherd's pie with a garnish of peas and carrots.
- The seasoning's beautiful.
- Thank you.
There's no two ways about that.
The ground beef is delicious.
Quite spicy in there as well.
I like it, Josh.
And the presentation's lovely.
Very nice, Josh.
Thank you.
Okay, next up, Levi.
- Tell me about the dish.
- It's good.
So it's an elevated lamb shepherd pie with a parmesan potato mash.
Dude, this thing is firing on all cylinders.
The fact you didn't deconstruct it, reconstruct it, for me, is fine, and that is saying a lot, my friend.
- Good job.
- Thank you so much.
Mitchell, let's go.
I'm really nervous.
Gordon Ramsay's mom is the shepherd's pie queen, And she's gonna be tasting my food.
Mitchell, describe your dish, please.
I have a shepherd's pie mixed with lamb and beef, mashed potato with celery root and a herb sauce.
Visually, Mitchell, it's not your most attractive looking dish.
It tastes really strange, like a chopped-up burger.
Your potatoes are lovely and creamy, but I found that the mince was very dry.
I have to be honest, Mitchell, that's not your best performance tonight.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Next up, please, Adaiah.
Tell me what we have.
We have a shepherd's pie napoleon with a pear-pea sauce, and this is a spicy pepper sauce.
Where did you get the ideas for those? To me, this is like mrs.
Ramsay, very soft and mellow, and this one's sort of like Gordon, kind of, like, spicy but yet not too spicy.
Got it.
- That's delicious.
- Thank you.
The sauce work, everything that you've done, you've exceeded our expectations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
Good job! - Good job, Adaiah.
- Thank you.
Last up, Sam.
Let's go, please.
Beautiful.
Sam, describe your dish, please.
It's a shepherd pie with ground beef, a pea puree, and mashed potatoes.
Visually, it's intriguing.
The idea of stacking it, love that idea.
- Thank you.
The big problem I've got is that the actual ground beef is really dry.
Yeah, I find it tasty but very dry, and I like the idea of the puree on the top, Sam.
It was lovely.
Mashed potatoes on top actually taste delicious.
Thank you.
It's what's underneath them is the problem for me, but well done for bouncing back.
Thank you.
Good job, Sam.
All right, everybody, great job, especially given the pressure of Gordon's mom in the house, watching what you guys do.
That's not easy for anybody.
All right, everyone, I'd like you all to join me and say good-bye and good night to my mum.
She's flying back to London shortly.
Before you go, any advice? Just stick in and do your best.
That's all you can do.
- Good night.
- Good night.
I totally like chef Ramsay's mom.
She's way more peaceful than chef Ramsay, So I like her much more.
No offense, chef Ramsay.
Bye.
Right, all of you, We have some very serious decisions to make.
Give us a few minutes, please.
So Adaiah's is great.
Adaiah's was kind of amazing.
If you went and ordered a shepherd's pie and that came out, you'd be like, "oh, totally creative.
" Adaiah, you're one of the best cooks here.
Thank you.
But then I also love the fact that Levi went and almost made a super traditional shepherd's pie.
You did a good job, Levi.
I'm going home.
Live with it.
Let's go.
That was a very, very difficult challenge, and tonight, sadly, ten will become eight.
But first of all, let me give you some good news.
There were two dishes in particular that stood out to us as truly winning dishes.
Congratulations to Levi.
And Adaiah.
Very nice job.
Based on tonight's dishes, sadly, we will be saying good-bye to some of you amazingly talented young home cooks.
If I call your name, please come down to the front.
Sadly, we will be saying good-bye to some of you amazingly talented young home cooks.
If I call your name, please come down to the front.
Sam.
Don't go home.
Don't go home.
Oona.
The final name is Mitchell.
You all three did an amazing job tonight, but this is, in fact, a competition.
Not everyone can move forward.
Based on those dishes, we would like Oona To go back to your station, please.
Oh, my gosh.
I stayed in the competition by the skin of my teeth, and my teeth don't even have skin.
Sam and Mitchell, unfortunately, your journey in this competition will sadly end tonight.
But honestly, you guys have been brilliant.
You reached the top ten of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the world.
You're a credit to your parents, you're a credit to your school, but more importantly, you're a big credit to yourselves.
You guys are so young, Sam, you're nine.
You'll realize that sometimes, the turning points in your life are your setbacks.
Being set back, you learn how to become a better player, and you move ahead in the game of life.
You should be so proud.
I'm proud.
I know these two guys are proud.
- Very.
- Of both of you.
Well done, both of you.
Come over here and say good-bye, please.
Good job.
- Thanks.
- Well done, buddy.
I made it on the top ten in MasterChef Junior.
It's just a huge accomplishment, so I'm pretty excited that I was able to go this far, and I'm gonna continue to cook and hopefully have a little cafe in Huntington Beach, California.
From this experience, I took away so much more confidence, and I don't want to go home, but I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and sister and my mom and dad.
Next week on MasterChef Junior the competition gets "egg-splosive.
" Oh, no.
Do you know how hard it is to cook a perfect sunny-side up egg? What a shame.
And Cook us your signature dishes.
the pint-sized cooks dream big.
I'm gonna have a restaurant/vet's clinic.
- O's underwater bistro.
- Underwater? That is incredible.
With results that are out of this world.
Wow! This is like a real restaurant dish.
Get me a table of two on the opening night.
Dude! Ah! Then in a tricky baking challenge Hurry up.
Levi and Adaiah rose to the top of the class.
Great, great pie.
You should be super proud.
It's kind of, like, perfect.
At the end of the night, Natalie and Jessica had to say good-bye to the MasterChef kitchen.
Both of you are very talented young cooks.
You've got to keep your heads up high.
Tonight the competition gets even closer.
It's a three-legged team challenge.
No, no, no, not yet.
For some reason, you're just really annoying me.
This is totally impossible.
Followed by Mum! I hear you, Gordon.
the mother of all elimination tests.
Please welcome my mum.
Hello.
As the pint-sized chefs must impress a very special guest judge.
Mum, was I that good at eight? You're still not that good.
Why did I squeal? I'm very proud of myself for being in the top ten, but I don't just want to be in the top ten.
I want to be the best young home cook in America.
Welcome back, guys.
How does it feel to know that you've made it this far? Wonderful.
Awesome.
Amazing.
I'm nine years old.
When I grow up, I want to be a chef or a fashion designer, because I really like to cook and I love fashion.
Tonight, to help find the best young home cook here, it's time for your next mystery box challenge.
The first mystery in this challenge starts with what's under this box.
Now, any guesses what's under here? Pig head? Oona, do you have teddy bears at home? No, didn't think so.
Josh, will you count for me, please? One, two, three.
- What? - Antoher box! There's a box inside of a box.
These judges are nuts.
This box contains something that kids all across this country love to eat.
- Cookies.
- Doughnuts.
Brownies? Open it! Open.
- Oh, yummy! - Can I have one? Cupcakes! These look delizioso.
Graham.
This one is red velvet.
I love red velvet.
Joe, have one of these.
They're killer.
- Thank you.
Red velvet? - Red velvet.
Come on, everyone, come up and grab a cupcake.
There's chocolate, strawberry - I know.
- Confetti, vanilla, carrot.
Yes! Yes! This is a pretty cool challenge.
Like, I get to try a cupcake, and that's awesome.
- Guys, how are they? - Delicious.
-Good.
- Good.
- Delicious.
You will all have 75 minutes to make us a dozen cupcakes.
Oh! They can be one flavor, or they can be many flavors.
Yay! But you won't be making those cupcakes alone.
Here's the good news: You'll be making them in teams of two! What? This is your very first mystery box team challenge.
Does anyone have any idea how we're gonna pick the teams tonight? Maybe because flavors of cupcake? Well, there are only two different versions of each cupcake.
There were five flavors of cupcakes left in the box.
The person with the same flavored cupcake is gonna be your partner.
It's time to play "match the cupcakes.
" - Am I allowed to eat the rest of this? - Too bad we can't just eat these.
These are the teams.
Mitchell, you are paired with Abby.
Sam, you're gonna be paired with Adaiah.
Logan, you've got Sean.
Josh, you are partnered with Oona.
And Levi with Samuel.
Okay, everybody, it's time to head to your stations.
I'm worried about me and Oona, because even though she's smart like me, she's a girl.
We're just going to waste time disputing who's in charge.
In professional kitchens, chefs have to get used to working side by side.
The chefs need to know instinctively, what the chef right next to them is doing at all times.
As you can see, there is still a mystery box in front of each team.
On the count of three, you're gonna lift those boxes together as a team.
One Two Three.
Lift.
What the heck? Are we being handcuffed? No! No! Yes, in fact, it is two ties, because this isn't just a team mystery box challenge, it's a three-legged team mystery box challenge.
No! You will be making your box of cupcakes as a team while you are tied together.
The three-legged team that wins this challenge will come back into the pantry, where they will get a game-changing advantage as always.
I think this challenge is going to be a mess.
- What the heck? - Oh, my gosh.
We'll just be, like, lying on the floor, and everyone's just gonna run over us.
At your stations, you now have all the essential ingredients needed to make cupcakes.
You also have access to a limited pantry that you'll carefully have to walk to together, where you'll find everything that you need to make those cupcakes shine.
- Now, is everybody ready? - Yes, chef! Good.
So 4 hands, 3 legs, and 12 stunning cupcakes.
Your 75 minutes starts Now.
Where's the maple syrup? This is so challenging.
No! Here, I'll lift mine up first, and then I'll lift yours.
- Okay So, I mean, we've done team challenges in the past, where we put people together, but we've never physically tied them together like this.
But not only are they physically tethered, they're tethered in their success or failure, because we will judge each team as a team.
I'm making a chocolate cupcake with a blueberry lavender buttercream.
I am making a triple ginger cake with a passion fruit buttercream.
Even though we're making completely separate dishes, our work will show that we're a team.
- I think we're making a - Two kinds.
Maple bacon cupcake That's that was my idea.
And a lemon-on-lemon-on-lemon cupcake.
That's his idea.
If you two were tied together, what would your strategy be? Me, personally, I think I would hand over all of the actual mixing and cooking to Gordon.
I would cheer him on, and then I might help garnish at the end.
Let's not forget that a cupcake is a cake in a cup, and in a cake itself, what's a cake called? It's called a cake for the very thing it's made of, and the frosting is just a condiment to the cake.
- Quick, quick, move up, move up.
- We need to get our sugar.
Chop, chop, chop.
Come on! - Is your frosting okay? - I think it's good.
- Where are you going? - Sorry.
- Right, you two, how are we doing? - Good.
- We're doing good.
What are we doing? I'm doing a peanut butter cup inspired Peanut butter cupcakes, all 12 of them? No, we and then he's making I'm making a mexican hot chocolate flavor with a little bit - A mexican hot chocolate flavor.
- That sounds amazing.
- Okay, I think it's done, buddy.
- No, it's not.
No, no, no, no.
- Yes, it is! Abby, it's really important that you work together.
Two minds are better than one, right, Abby? Good luck.
For some reason, you're just really annoying me right now.
- Where did I put my sugar? - I got your back, man.
Logan and Sean, what flavor are we going with? I'm doing a simple chocolate cupcake with a passion fruit buttercream frosting.
I'm doing lemon basil cupcakes.
Wait, wait, wait, so you're doing two different ones? - Of course.
- Yup.
The best compromise in the world.
Wow.
Good luck, guys.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
Wait, no, let me throw in the raspberries.
Wait, wait, we're gonna put the cupcakes in first.
Right, Adaiah, Sam, talk to me about the mix.
What flavor are they, Sam? One is just a simple vanilla, and one is an orange blossom.
- Oh, so you're doing two different flavors.
- Yes.
- Wow.
Who's gonna decorate all 12? Well, we haven't talked about decorating completely.
I need to make my garnish, and I need a strainer.
Where are you going, Sam? You got to talk to Adaiah.
- Where are you going? - We need to get a strainer.
Adaiah, is this working? Yes.
It doesn't look like it.
Good luck.
To the left, to the left.
Oh! Step.
Okay.
This is the youngest team, a ten-year-old and a nine-year-old.
- Yes.
- How you gonna - How you gonna cook the bacon? - Hello.
I need to add my extra ingredients, and so do you.
- Wait, wait, guys, which way you going? - We're going that way.
- This way.
- Would you be good dance partners? - No.
- No.
- No, you don't want to dance? - No, no.
So what if I let you keep the tethers on after the challenge is over for a couple of days? - No, no.
- No.
No, that would be, like, my nightmare.
Just under 20 minutes to go.
No, we're already here.
Let's go.
What are we getting? Sam, you're stressing, and that's not good.
The fascinating news tonight so far is that it seems like everyone's doing 6 and 6.
No one's doing 12 together.
I saw a lot of fabulous-looking cupcakes out there.
Oona and Josh are cooking maple bacon and lemon cupcakes.
- Sorry.
- Wow.
Sean and Logan, they are really focused on what these look like.
They're awesome.
Adaiah and Sam, they're running way behind.
Okay, hurry, hurry, hurry.
Now let's go get the orange blossom water, okay? No, how about we just throw these like mine, and then we'll do yours after? No, wait, this is a waste of time.
Last two minutes.
Let's go, guys, come on.
Start decorating.
- Let's go! Hurry, hurry, hurry.
- Frost fast.
Grab the box! Abby, I'm trying to do my things too.
Oh, no.
There's a spatula.
There's a spatula in the drawer! Lemon zest.
Come on.
Oh, my gosh.
It's okay.
I got it, I got it, I got it.
Just trust me.
Hey, you put it in the wrong place.
Make them look stunning.
Come on.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop! - Frost fast.
- Grab the box! Abby, I'm trying to do my things too! Lemon zest.
Come on.
The remaining ten junior home cooks are working closer than ever before.
There's a spatula.
There's a spatula in the drawer! In their first mystery box team challenge, baking one dozen spectacular cupcakes.
Five, four, three, two, one, and stop! - Hands in the air.
- Good job! Right, all of you, well done.
Who thinks they got the best box of cupcakes? Raise your hand.
Time to find out.
Are they tied together? - Graham, come on.
- This way.
Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the junior home cooks' dishes as they come together.
Wow.
That pops.
Wow.
They now take one last look to choose the top three standouts - Wow.
- Ooh, wow.
And the winners of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round.
Nice, well done.
Graham, keep up, please.
I'm trying to drag Joe with me.
It's like Frankenstein.
The first team that we'd like to take a much closer look at Come on.
We got this.
They feature two incredible flavors in their frostings.
Representing Connecticut and California, please step forward Adaiah and Sam.
Well done.
We did amazing.
You did so good, Sam.
I'm so proud of you.
Cooking tied to a teammate is challenging, but we still did the best we could.
We improvised, and our cupcakes look beautiful.
Was that tough, those last 75 minutes? - Yes.
- Yeah.
They were very tough.
It's like, I take one step, which is his two.
We, like, can't really move, and it's kind of challenging.
Someone telling you what to do all day long.
You want to go left, she's going right.
Now you know what it's like when you're married.
Hope not.
Wow.
They look absolutely stunning.
We have a orange honey blossom cupcake, and the frosting is honey and cream cheese, and the second cupcake is Sam's vanilla and raspberry cupcake.
Great combination of the colors.
Wow, look at that.
Now, that looks beautiful.
Light, crispy.
Love the orange, love the fragrance, and absolutely delicious.
- Who decorated this one? - Sam Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
- Sam, that's delicious.
- Thank you.
Started off a little bit awkward.
Once you got your rhythm, you absolutely nailed it.
- Great job, the both of you.
- Thank you.
- Seriously, well done.
Boom Right off the bat, probably some of the most beautiful cupcakes in the room.
This is the kind of cupcake that I would spend money on, which is saying something, because if I'm gonna spend money on it, it's got to be good.
Yeah.
You guys made a real great example, where the cumulate effort of everyone involved creates a good that's greater than any one person could deliver on their own.
Great product, great cupcakes.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
Amazing.
This next team, they also delivered some incredible-looking cupcakes.
Hailing from Virginia and California, Please step forward Virginia.
Abby and Mitchell.
Good job, Abby, good job.
I knew it was from Virginia, because I'm from Virginia.
In the beginning, Mitchell and I were kind of struggling, but then, we worked as a team.
I knew, Mitchell and I could do it.
All right, here we go.
Moment of truth.
Boom.
Looks like candy almost.
What do we have? We decided to make a mexican hot chocolate cupcake, and then Abby made a chocolate peanut butter inspired cupcake with peanut butter cup.
Did you throw one at Mitchell? What's up on your chest? Yeah, she threw a cupcake at me.
- No, just kidding, no.
- No, I didn't! - That's from his icing, I'm guessing.
Yeah, it's my icing.
Looking at that cook, nice and moist.
Delicious, delicious.
I love peanut butter.
- You know what I like more than peanut butter? - What? Mexican chocolate.
That is so good.
Only thing I'd do different, make sure that the tops are completely covered.
So you pipe from the outside in.
Flavor-wise, what you put in that box is phenomenal.
You guys should be really proud of yourselves.
Thanks, chef.
- Oh, gosh.
- Carefully.
- No, no, carefully.
- WhichWhich way? - Turn around together.
- Okay.
And the third team we want to look at, they were sophisticated, and they impressed us very much with their culinary techniques.
That's not us.
Bringing together the best of Santa Ana and Memphis We got it.
Please step forward, Logan and Sean.
- Yes.
- Oh, god, okay.
Uh, all right, let's go.
Two dynamic cupcakes made by two dynamic cooks.
I feel like Sean really brought it to the house with the beauty, and I just brought it to the house with the flavor.
Don't drop 'em.
What should I see when I open up this box? Because visually, it has to be bam! Will I be disappointed? Of course not.
- No? - No.
One Two Three Bam! Whoo! Wow.
So I made lemon basil cupcakes with basil dust, and Sean made chocolate cupcake filled with raspberry curd, passion fruit icing, and caramel on top.
Look at that.
What is that, like, a sugar candy? That's amazing.
Light, assertive lemon, delicious.
The cake itself is very, very moist.
Oh, my god, it has a filling.
This is the only cupcake we saw today with a filling.
Dude, that's sophisticated.
What's the cream? Passion fruit buttercream.
Wow.
Very impressive, guys.
Thank you.
Wow, absolutely beautiful.
The sugar work is amazing.
Wow, that box illustrates great teamwork.
Two dynamic individuals in one box.
- Good job.
High five.
Seriously, well done.
Nice job, guys.
Thanks.
Nice job, Sean.
Tonight, there can only be one winning team that can join us in the pantry.
Will it be Sam and Adaiah with their vanilla cupcakes with lemon and raspberry buttercream.
Or Abby and Mitchell with their delicious peanut butter cup and mexican hot chocolate cupcake.
Or Logan and Sean with their raspberry curd cupcakes? It was a very difficult decision.
The winner is Tonight, there can only be one winning team.
That can join us in the pantry.
The two young home cooks who made the best cupcakes, congratulations goes to Logan and Sean.
Well done.
Yeah! Amazing.
Congratulations.
Let's go, guys.
Logan and Sean are now in control of the elimination challenge, after which, at least two junior home cooks will leave the competition.
Logan and Sean, welcome to the incredible MasterChef pantry.
I'm sorry to say, but for this challenge, you will have to cook another time but not today.
- Yes! - Congratulations, you're both through to the final eight of MasterChef Junior.
Okay.
Sean, Logan, let's be honest, all mums are great at cooking, right? -Yeah.
- Yeah.
Every kid loves their mum's food the best, right? Do you know what? When I was your age, my mum used to make me the best dinners in the entire world.
They may not have been five-star dishes But they were my mum's dishes.
The most amazing chicken curry.
And her shepherd's pie as well, that was brilliant.
And her fish finger sandwiches were unbelievable.
When I was your age, when I was hungry, I'd just go around the house, shouting, "mum!" Mum! Mum! I'm hungry! Seriously.
Hold on, Gord.
Have patience, boy.
My little legs are going as fast as they can.
Wha It's my mum! - Hello, boys.
- Logan and Sean.
Now, Helen, can you tell Sean and Logan the secret of Gordon's culinary success? It's a lot of trial and error, but when his back was turned, we rolled it up in a napkin and put it in the bin.
Logan and Sean, seeing as my mom came all the way from England, you'll be choosing from my three favorite dishes that she made for me when I was your age: The most amazing fish finger sandwich or that incredible chicken curry or the all-time favorite, a delicious shepherd's pie.
So nice to see you're still using my recipes.
It's my recipe.
All right, you two, it's time to decide, which one of Gordon's favorite childhood dishes will everyone have to make out in that kitchen tonight? We want an elevated restaurant version of that dish.
But how do you elevate it, not just flavor-wise but in plating-wise? You gotta be fancy, and that's tough.
So what is your final decision, guys? We choose Logan and Sean are gonna enjoy some tea and a delicious-looking spread.
That was their first advantage for winning that mystery box challenge.
For their second advantage, Logan and Sean got to choose from three very different types of food that I loved to eat when I was your age.
Now, Logan and Sean also got to meet a very special guest, my favorite home cook in the entire world.
Please welcome Your mom.
My mum.
Oh, my gosh.
Hello, everybody.
This is my mum, Helen.
-Hello.
- Hello.
Now, mum, why don't you tell what those two up there chose for everyone to cook tonight? They chose Shepherd's pie.
Nice.
That is a delicious, savory mix, topped with our amazing mashed potatoes, finished with cheese on top.
We are looking for your own elevated, MasterChef-worthy version of that delicious shepherd's pie.
I have never made a shepherd's pie before.
I've never eaten shepherd's pie.
Yay.
Now, to inspire you to make Gordon's own mom's dish, we have a special treat for all of you.
Please, open your drawers.
In front of you, you each have a surface tablet at your station.
What we want you to do is take that surface tablet and use skype to call your own moms.
Hi, mom! -Miss you.
- I miss you too.
I'm very excited that I get to skype my mom.
Sean and Logan up there chose shepherd's pie.
I've never had shepherd's pie before, so I could really use my mom's assistance right now.
What was your favorite thing at Christmas this year about the mashed potatoes? You put truffle butter in them.
- What do you think about that? - Okay.
What vegetables do you think might go good? Peas, onions, carrots.
Do you think I shouldn't do mushroom? I'm not sure about mushroom.
Definitely peas.
I could do it asian-y.
Ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil.
Do you think that's too untraditional? Ooh.
Well, it's still shepherd's pie.
I think if it tastes good That's all that matters.
Okay.
Please put those tablets away nice and safely in your drawer.
Bye! - Love you, I miss you.
- Love you too.
Cook your heart out.
I love you.
Now, you will have 60 minutes to make us an elevated, MasterChef-worthy version of shepherd's pie.
This could be the last challenge that some of you will be cooking in.
Tonight, we'll have to say good-bye to another two of you very talented young home cooks.
Is everyone ready? Yes, chef.
Your one hour starts Mum? - Now.
- Off you go.
- Wow, you can walk fast! - Gee, Abby! - Get a cart! - Hey, that's mine.
- That one's mine.
- You can have the cart.
- Potatoes! Potatoes! I need truffle butter! Carrots.
Shepherd's pie is Gordon Ramsay's favorite dish as a child, and I've never made it.
Come on, we'll lift at the same time.
Two people are going home today - Everything's falling.
- Thank you.
And I do not want it to be me.
- You're okay, Abby? - Yeah, I'm fine.
Levi over-shopped.
Wow, can you believe not just trying to replicate your shepherd's pie but elevate it to a sort of MasterChef-worthy dish, and let's not forget, these kids are 8 to 13.
I think it's amazing.
I mean, you never had confidence at that age.
No, not at eight.
Sorry, blender.
- You dropped some stuff.
- Yeah, you can say that.
I'm gonna be making a fruity seasoning on my meat with mashed potato with some celery root in it to give it an earthy taste.
It's gonna have a really unique flavor.
Mitch, potatoes look yummy! I've never made shepherd's pie, I've never had it, so I'm gonna take my mom's advice and hope it works out well.
- Levi, do you have canned tomatoes? - I don't, sorry.
Does anyone have canned tomatoes? So Sean and Logan had three choices.
- Do you think they chose wisely? - I think they did I mean, this is something that's really hard to elevate and make look beautiful and restaurant quality.
- Would you like some more tea? - Sure.
Yeah, I think that shepherd's pie is something that's traditionally served in family style You don't really see individual portions, so they're absolutely bang to rights in terms of giving them a nightmare tonight to elevate.
Does anyone have any spare cream? - Heavy cream, heavy cream.
- Thank you.
Sam, it's okay.
I have to restart my potatoes.
Don't worry.
I put way too much milk.
- Some people are starting to really stress out.
- Yeah.
Behind me, Sam is struggling.
I feel bad, because he's such a nice person.
This is not looking good for Sam right now.
Gordon and his mom are expecting a five-star quality dish, but my mashed potatoes, if I don't get 'em ready, I'm going home.
Graham's going in.
He's gonna help out Sam.
- Sam, what do we got going on? - My potatoes, I put too much cream in them, and I have to restart.
- What else do you have? - I have peas.
Why don't you try to put these in the blender real quick and make this into a puree and take these and put 'em in the blender? Put the peas into here.
You have potatoes that you strained that were too wet and runny, but you can use 'em to help thicken your peas, so now, you're making, like, a pea mashed potato, okay? - Okay.
- All right, good luck.
- Thank you.
Now, this one is one of our youngest, but she's a right handful.
- Oona, how are you doing? - I'm doing pretty good.
And what's your twist in your shepherd's pie? I'm using garam masala.
- That's lovely.
- Thank you.
- Have you got a boyfriend? - No.
I thought it was a pretty legit question.
I mean, my son is single.
His name's Jack.
How cool does that sound? "Jack and Oona.
" No.
- Oona and Jack.
- No.
Oona and Jack Ramsay, ladies and gentlemen.
- No.
No.
- Please be standing for the bride and groom.
Oona and Jack Ramsay.
- Quit it! - Good luck.
All right, Samuel, what's the dish? So this dish is a deconstructed shepherd's pie with a moroccan meat phyllo package.
- What kind of meats you got in there? - It's a mixture of lamb and some beef.
- What's going on here? - Right now, I'm shaving the parmesan for the frico.
So you're gonna present it all deconstructed? Deconstructed, baby.
We asked you to elevate it.
Is that how you elevate, by deconstructing? I think you can really elevate dishes by deconstructing, because sometimes, the traditional food can just get done and done and done.
So you got to reinvent the wagon wheel every once in a while.
- That's what I like to do.
- All right, Samuel, thanks, buddy.
Have a good day.
Just under five minutes remaining.
Let's go, guys.
- So the smells in the kitchen are amazing.
- Incredible.
All that beef and mushrooms I smell, all sorts of lamb.
- Terrific, savory aroma.
- Unbelievable.
- Who's looking strong? - That little boy Levi, he's - He's good.
- He's very good.
- Got a lot of technique.
- Yeah Adaiah's doing a different style.
She's got phyllo, she's got potato, and she might add some pear.
She's cooked down the mint with some red bell pepper she roasted, so really sophisticated.
- Was I that good at eight? - You're still not that good.
But these children are amazing.
Make sure you elevate that shepherd's pie.
- Logan and Sean, who's looking good? - Samuel's looking great.
It's so pretty, but I'm a little worried about his meat.
Who's looking weak? - Oona.
- That's not strong plating.
Wow.
Oh, my god.
Sounds like me in the kitchen.
Are we okay? I'm fine, but there's glass.
Come on, guys.
- Ten.
- Ten.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
- Hands in the air! - Hands in the air! Well done, all of you.
First up, we'd like to taste Oona's dish.
Walking up to the judges, I'm usually very confident.
This is, like, the worst I've ever made.
Describe the dish, please.
I did a curry shepherd's pie, and I used beef and sausage.
Visually, a bit messy on top, 'cause it looks unfinished.
I think the mash is nice, light, fluffy.
Unfortunately, the meat is slightly greasy.
I know.
Tonight was the first time that I had seen you struggle.
Everything can't be perfect every night.
- You know that.
- Yeah.
How many times did I call you, literally in tears, that I wanted to leave, had enough, it's not working, it's not for me, and, mum, what did you say to me when I was young, starting out? Just stick in there and keep trying, and never, ever give up.
- Thank you, Oona.
- Thank you, Oona.
- How are you? - Good.
What do you make of this dish? I'm just not very happy with my with my shepherd's pie.
I've never cooked so badly.
Are you used to doing everything right all the time? - No.
- No.
Me neither.
I make lots of mistakes.
Even when things are as bad as they can be, you got to pull it together.
Wipe your tears.
Thank you.
All right, tell me about the dish.
How did you spice it? With garlic powder, garam masala, chipotle peppers and smoked paprika.
- Right.
Okay, here's what you got.
Your plating was a little bit on the rustic side, but your flavors are pretty good.
Your mashed potatoes are better than good.
The italian sausage gives it a nice little way to stand out a little bit, but in your effort to try to elevate it, you fell back.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Oona.
From what the judges said, I don't think I did enough to stay in this competition.
I think I'm going home.
The italian sausage gives it a nice little way to stand out a little bit, but in your effort to try to elevate it, you fell back.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Oona.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I just feel like this is definitely my last day in the competition.
Abby.
Wow.
Mum, Abby is one of the youngest ever contestants we've ever had in the history of MasterChef Junior.
How old are you now? - I'm eight.
- How long you been cooking? Six years.
- So you started cooking at two? - Yes.
Wow.
How old was I when I first started cooking, mum? Twe What Excuse me.
- No, 16.
- 16.
So, Abby, why don't you explain to mum and I what you've done? Mrs.
Ramsay, I have made a shepherd's pie with beef, lamb, and chorizo with pumpkin sweet potato puree and truffle butter.
Abby, it looks lovely.
- Thank you.
- Very nice.
Can't wait to taste it.
So love the idea of the beef and the lamb and the chorizo.
- Thank you.
If anything, it just needs to be a little bit more seasoned.
Apart from that, it's delicious.
- Delicious, Abby.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Well done.
Good job.
All right, next up, please, Samuel.
So there is a moroccan-flavored meat package on a mushy mint pea puree, parsnip mash, and a parmesan frico.
Parsnip sweetness goes great with the phyllo.
The ground beef is cooked beautifully.
You're starting to really separate yourself from the pack, - So good job.
- Thank you.
Josh, please, let's go.
This is a deconstructed shepherd's pie with a garnish of peas and carrots.
- The seasoning's beautiful.
- Thank you.
There's no two ways about that.
The ground beef is delicious.
Quite spicy in there as well.
I like it, Josh.
And the presentation's lovely.
Very nice, Josh.
Thank you.
Okay, next up, Levi.
- Tell me about the dish.
- It's good.
So it's an elevated lamb shepherd pie with a parmesan potato mash.
Dude, this thing is firing on all cylinders.
The fact you didn't deconstruct it, reconstruct it, for me, is fine, and that is saying a lot, my friend.
- Good job.
- Thank you so much.
Mitchell, let's go.
I'm really nervous.
Gordon Ramsay's mom is the shepherd's pie queen, And she's gonna be tasting my food.
Mitchell, describe your dish, please.
I have a shepherd's pie mixed with lamb and beef, mashed potato with celery root and a herb sauce.
Visually, Mitchell, it's not your most attractive looking dish.
It tastes really strange, like a chopped-up burger.
Your potatoes are lovely and creamy, but I found that the mince was very dry.
I have to be honest, Mitchell, that's not your best performance tonight.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Next up, please, Adaiah.
Tell me what we have.
We have a shepherd's pie napoleon with a pear-pea sauce, and this is a spicy pepper sauce.
Where did you get the ideas for those? To me, this is like mrs.
Ramsay, very soft and mellow, and this one's sort of like Gordon, kind of, like, spicy but yet not too spicy.
Got it.
- That's delicious.
- Thank you.
The sauce work, everything that you've done, you've exceeded our expectations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
Good job! - Good job, Adaiah.
- Thank you.
Last up, Sam.
Let's go, please.
Beautiful.
Sam, describe your dish, please.
It's a shepherd pie with ground beef, a pea puree, and mashed potatoes.
Visually, it's intriguing.
The idea of stacking it, love that idea.
- Thank you.
The big problem I've got is that the actual ground beef is really dry.
Yeah, I find it tasty but very dry, and I like the idea of the puree on the top, Sam.
It was lovely.
Mashed potatoes on top actually taste delicious.
Thank you.
It's what's underneath them is the problem for me, but well done for bouncing back.
Thank you.
Good job, Sam.
All right, everybody, great job, especially given the pressure of Gordon's mom in the house, watching what you guys do.
That's not easy for anybody.
All right, everyone, I'd like you all to join me and say good-bye and good night to my mum.
She's flying back to London shortly.
Before you go, any advice? Just stick in and do your best.
That's all you can do.
- Good night.
- Good night.
I totally like chef Ramsay's mom.
She's way more peaceful than chef Ramsay, So I like her much more.
No offense, chef Ramsay.
Bye.
Right, all of you, We have some very serious decisions to make.
Give us a few minutes, please.
So Adaiah's is great.
Adaiah's was kind of amazing.
If you went and ordered a shepherd's pie and that came out, you'd be like, "oh, totally creative.
" Adaiah, you're one of the best cooks here.
Thank you.
But then I also love the fact that Levi went and almost made a super traditional shepherd's pie.
You did a good job, Levi.
I'm going home.
Live with it.
Let's go.
That was a very, very difficult challenge, and tonight, sadly, ten will become eight.
But first of all, let me give you some good news.
There were two dishes in particular that stood out to us as truly winning dishes.
Congratulations to Levi.
And Adaiah.
Very nice job.
Based on tonight's dishes, sadly, we will be saying good-bye to some of you amazingly talented young home cooks.
If I call your name, please come down to the front.
Sadly, we will be saying good-bye to some of you amazingly talented young home cooks.
If I call your name, please come down to the front.
Sam.
Don't go home.
Don't go home.
Oona.
The final name is Mitchell.
You all three did an amazing job tonight, but this is, in fact, a competition.
Not everyone can move forward.
Based on those dishes, we would like Oona To go back to your station, please.
Oh, my gosh.
I stayed in the competition by the skin of my teeth, and my teeth don't even have skin.
Sam and Mitchell, unfortunately, your journey in this competition will sadly end tonight.
But honestly, you guys have been brilliant.
You reached the top ten of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the world.
You're a credit to your parents, you're a credit to your school, but more importantly, you're a big credit to yourselves.
You guys are so young, Sam, you're nine.
You'll realize that sometimes, the turning points in your life are your setbacks.
Being set back, you learn how to become a better player, and you move ahead in the game of life.
You should be so proud.
I'm proud.
I know these two guys are proud.
- Very.
- Of both of you.
Well done, both of you.
Come over here and say good-bye, please.
Good job.
- Thanks.
- Well done, buddy.
I made it on the top ten in MasterChef Junior.
It's just a huge accomplishment, so I'm pretty excited that I was able to go this far, and I'm gonna continue to cook and hopefully have a little cafe in Huntington Beach, California.
From this experience, I took away so much more confidence, and I don't want to go home, but I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and sister and my mom and dad.
Next week on MasterChef Junior the competition gets "egg-splosive.
" Oh, no.
Do you know how hard it is to cook a perfect sunny-side up egg? What a shame.
And Cook us your signature dishes.
the pint-sized cooks dream big.
I'm gonna have a restaurant/vet's clinic.
- O's underwater bistro.
- Underwater? That is incredible.
With results that are out of this world.
Wow! This is like a real restaurant dish.
Get me a table of two on the opening night.