MasterChef Junior (2013) s02e04 Episode Script
An Egg-Cellent Adventure
Last week the top ten coupled up for cupcakes.
Wow.
Absolutely beautiful.
The sugar work is amazing.
And then Mum! Gordon's own mum brought a challenge from his childhood Shepherd's pie.
But it proved too much for Sam.
The beef's little dry.
And Mitchell.
Unfortunately your journey will end tonight.
Coming up.
The competition gets egg-splozive.
Oh no.
Do you know how hard it is to cook a perfect sunny-side up egg? What a shame.
Then Cook us your signature dishes.
the pint-sized cooks dream big.
I want to have a restaurant/vet's clinic.
With results out of this world.
- Wow.
- It's like a real restaurant dish.
Get me a table for two on the opening night.
Welcome.
I'm in the elite eight of the biggest cooking competition in the whole entire world.
Like, this is crazy.
Come on down, guys.
I've been alive 8 years and I've never done something this exciting.
This is better than eating all the ice cream in the world! Great to see you all.
We are down to the best eight home cooks in the entire country.
One of you will win $100,000.
And the most coveted trophy in the culinary world.
The MasterChef Junior trophy? Yes, you are correct, Abby.
The MasterChef Junior trophy.
Adaiah, if you won 100 grand, what's the first thing, you would buy with it? A wall full of amazing guitars, a grand piano, and a dirt bike.
Wow.
A girl of my own heart.
- Oona? - I'd go to Vegas.
- Vegas? - Nice.
Abby, you've got 100 grand.
What's the first thing you'd buy? I'd probably buy a bunch of horse posters to put in my room.
- What about buying your own horse? I don't have enough room in my backyard.
Alright.
It's time for your next challenge.
It is the mother of all challenges.
In fact, it's the mother hen of all challenges.
Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
Notice, there are no brown edges.
There are no wobbly whites.
The yolk is perfect and soft.
Now, this requires a lot of technique.
The Sunny-Side Up Egg is very technical, but I'm very advanced in the egg department.
I think I can do this.
No problem.
At your stations you're gonna find everything that you need.
Oil and butter and a whole lot of eggs.
You wanna make sure that you don't "crack" under pressure.
Stop "yolking" around.
- Your egg gags are corny.
- They're amazing and you know it.
Alright guys, head to your stations.
This is eggs-ellent and if I don't eggs.
ell this I can't get that eggs-traordinary eggs-tralarge trophy.
Get it? You will have 10 minutes to fry us as many eggs as you possibly can.
Each successful Sunny-Side Up Egg will earn you a huge advantage in the upcoming challenge.
And I mean huge, clear? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Your ten minutes starts Now.
Lets go.
Alright guys, what would be your technique here? Lay out all of pans get'em on the high heat, s it gets'em hot right away Then, start cracking.
By the time the last egg goes in, the first egg should be cooked.
I start mine off in oil and finish in butter.
Where's my butter? As the butter hits the pan, it puffs up and it goes over the egg white and cooks the top.
My strategy is to make as many eggs as I can.
I wanna go for volume.
So, I'm turning the burners up full blast.
Crack 'em and drop 'em really low into the pan, guys.
You don't want 'em splattering.
My strategy is perfectly cooked eggs.
The key is perfection and not quantity.
That' hot.
Six minutes remaining! Speed up, guys! Get your plates laid out, guys.
Logan's on his first take up, guys.
Brilliant.
Abby's only using Well, she has a different technique.
My strategy is just to get I don't really have a strategy, Ah, broken egg yolk.
There is a point of jeopardy here that they don't know, how huge the advantage is.
And they don't know how severely we're gonna be judging their eggs.
Two minutes to go.
- Speed up, guys.
- One is burning.
Hear that noise? Crack.
Pans too hot.
Egg are gonna be crispy on the outside and raw in the middle.
Abby Broken yolk is game out.
Might as well dump the egg.
Logan's got nine on the plate.
- Two eggs at a time.
- Sean's got eight.
So close.
Oh no.
Snotty! Do you know how hard it is to perfect a perfect sunny-side up egg? - That one's not good.
- Take the plate to the pan, Oona.
It's a pretty tough challenge.
- Sixty seconds remaining.
- What? Cook, cook, cook.
I want you to cook.
Come on! Work! Huge advantage for whoever has the most and whoever has them perfect.
Focus on what you've got in your pan, guys.
Lets go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop! Hands in the air! Well done.
Now is time to count your perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
I think I have the biggest array of perfectly cooked eggs.
The Gordon is the pickiest inspector of fried egg I've ever seen.
- What a shame.
- This is beautiful.
- Thank you.
Come on.
So I made 15 eggs.
- Oh, dear, Logan - Yeah.
When the pan's that hot, what does that mean, bud? It means that it's overcooked.
- This one goes.
- Way too crispy.
- These two go.
- Split yolk.
- Oh, look at this one.
- What a shame.
Can't they just like care about whether or not it's cooked? Nice one.
I'm feeling very frustrated, because I think I have the least eggs out of everyone.
I made a lot.
I made 15 in total.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Perfect.
Oh, dear, damn.
Pan's too hot there, bud.
We've taken a good look at all of your eggs.
Remember, every perfect Sunny-Side Up Egg gives you an advantage in a next challenge.
So, let's begin an the bottom end.
The young home cook with a total of two eggs, Abby, please come to the front.
The next two young home cooks had a total of four perfect eggs each.
Oona and Adaiah, please come down.
The next two that managed to perfect five stunning Sunny-Side Up Eggs, Josh and Levi, please.
With a total of seven.
Logan.
Me and Sean are left and the winner of this challenge is gonna get an advantage.
And whatever advantage it is, I want it.
With a remarkable total of ten perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs I've been winning a lot lately and do not wanna stop.
Please, give it up for the egg man of tonight Ten perfect eggs.
Congratulations Sean.
I won.
I have a huge advantage in the pantry.
I don't know what it is, but I'm really excited.
Sean, you edged Samuel by two with eight perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
Guys, the number of eggs you cooked matters.
It matters a lot.
Because for the next challenge you have to make us an amazing MasterChef-worthy dish using the same number of ingredients from the pantry as the number of eggs that you perfectly prepared.
Two ingredients Oh, no.
This is not good.
You have to make us an amazing MasterChef-worthy dish using the same number of ingredients from the pantry as the number of eggs that you perfectly prepared.
Two ingredients Oh, no.
This is not good.
Oh, come on.
Abby, come on, it'll be fine with two.
I can do this.
I know how to do this.
You'll be fine, okay.
- Come on.
- You can do it.
- You can do this, young lady.
I only have two ingredients though.
I really wish I made more eggs, but I'm hoping that I can still pull this off.
Now you all know the number of ingredients you can get from the pantry.
In this next challenge, we want all of you to dream big and imagine owning and running your very own restaurant.
Tonight, we want you cook us your signature dish that will one day belong on your menu, from restaurant of your dreams.
- Excited? - Yes, chef! Abby, what is your plan for your restaurant? I wanna have restaurant/vet's clinic.
And I want to have a bunch of healthy foods Beautiful.
- Have you thought of a name for it? - Yes.
Horses and Courses.
Horses and Courses.
I love that.
- Logan.
- Yeah.
Give us the name of your dream restaurant.
Oh, it's Underwater Bistro.
What? Literally underwater? Literally underwater.
Where do you come up with these ideas? 'Cause it sounds great.
- In my head.
- A lot of going on up there, right? Yep.
The idea of having a restaurant in space or underwater.
That's pretty much impossible for only an eleven-year old.
Now, all of us three, were no different than you guys.
When we were your age, we want to have our own restaurants.
I start as a dishwasher, when I was 17.
And I've spent over half my life in the kitchens now.
Near the beginning of my culinary journey, I met a chef that really inspired me and taught me to believe that I could actually be a success in this industry.
Anybody guess, who that chef was? - Gordon? - Mario Batali? It was - Chef Gordon Ramsay.
- I said that.
And he was right.
When I was just 23, I run my first kitchen in Chicago.
That put me on a culinary map.
It's pretty cool to find out that Gordon really gave him a boost to getting, where he is now.
And that if I won, I hope I can get that same kick start.
Tonight, your dreams become a reality.
You have one hour to cook your signature dish that will one day belong on your menu in your very own restaurants.
In the pantry you will have to grab the exact same number of ingredients as the amount of perfect eggs you were able to produce.
Your one hour starts Now.
Let's go.
Let's go, Abby.
- Open doors! - Open.
Yes! I used the force to open it.
Hey look, popcorn.
Come on, red curry? The signature dish in my restaurant is curry-spiced duck à l'orange.
But I only have five ingredients, so I'm definitely going to keep the duck breast and the oranges.
It can't be duck a l'orange, if there's no orange.
Asparagus, asparagus.
My signature dish, I can only grab two ingredients.
So I'm doing salmon with asparagus five ways.
I'm done.
End of shopping.
I'm done.
Blood oranges.
My signature dish is blood orange glazed duck breast with zucchini pasta Pick the biggest zucchini.
Six.
The name of my restaurant is Le Samuel.
From my French-Asian fusion cuisine.
Here is the front of my grand restaurant.
When you open these doors, you'll come to the outdoor bar and dining area for a more starlit ambiance.
And it will be opening in less than 17 years.
- Run.
- Great.
- I was the first one done shopping - Surprise, surprise.
Wow.
I can only use four ingredients, which sucks.
So, I'm doing seared scallops and scallop crudo.
I was in the bottom last time I'm not going to be in the bottom this time.
I only made seven perfect eggs, so I only got seven ingredients.
So, I'm making my flat iron steak, got some bamboo rice going and I'm also making a soy foam.
I have a molecular gastronomy kit at home The foam is just really easy way to just make a really restaurant-quality.
So, who knew that fried eggs could have such a big impact on these young cook's culinary future, here in the MasterChef kitchen? If only they knew that every egg counted for every ingredient in that pantry.
I think with Abby, you can look at it as a disadvantage.
She has two ingredients.
It's all gonna be coming down to them both being prepared right The most important, the salmon.
Samuel, Sean and Logan had the most ingredients, what advantage does that give them? Well, I think it gives them the most wiggle room to do anything they want.
I think the guys with the most ingredients tonight, can actually be in trouble.
- Might get in their own way? - Over-thinking and over-using.
And over ???.
- Right, young man, how you feeling? - Good.
Ten ingredients, right? Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? An ancho-rubbed rib-eye with a maitake reduction sauce.
What's the one big food dream? To open successful restaurants, that's it.
I mean, you you have any drawings? - Let me look.
- I have a few.
- Let's have a look at this.
It's gonna be called the Drunken Cow, because I like to work with a lot of meats.
and I like to incorporate wine into my cooking.
What inspires you, at your age, to have your own restaurant? - I just wanna be like you.
- Sean, are you crazy? I'm nuts.
- Now, young man, good luck.
- Thank you.
Alright, Levi.
Tell me exactly, what you are making.
I'm making pan-seared salmon with mustard maple glaze.
And broccolini.
So I mean, Sean's got 10 ingredients you got 5, do you think his dish is gonna be twice as good? - Or do you think it's gonna be twice as confused.
- No, I think.
Sometimes less is more.
I'm gonna do as much as I can with these ingredients.
And see how that is.
Now, who's in the most trouble tonight? I think Logan, because he over-complicates things.
I don't think he'll come out with something great.
- Alright, good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
So I've made my soy foam and I just realized it deflated.
The importance of this foam is really, really, really big.
I've gotta get this foam foaming.
Being like this isn't gonna work.
Yeah, that didn't work.
I look over and I see Logan little flustered.
By the time you've gotten to the MasterChef kitchen You need to have your signature dish down.
That was a fail.
I think it's gonna be a total disaster.
The importance of this foam is really, really, really big.
I've gotta get this foam foaming.
Being like this isn't gonna work.
Yeah, just didn't work.
That was a fail.
All the rest of my dish is just ordinary, but this is what should make it stand out.
I just can't make a steak with rice.
Somebody's going home tonight and it ain't gonna be me.
Alright, Abby.
So, what's the dish? You're gonna do salmon.
You're gonna do asparagus many different ways? - Five ways.
- That's crazy.
Do you think that you can overcome this huge challenge of only having two ingredients? I do have salt and pepper, so that's a big help.
That is a big help.
- I heard that you did a drawing for your restaurant, is that true? - Yes.
Let me see it.
- This is an outside of my restaurant.
- Alright, what do we got? Horses and Courses.
- So you got horses on the doors, oh my god.
- Yes.
- And then I got the tables here.
- The gold fish on the tables instead of flowers.
- Vet's clinic here.
- Vet's clinic, so I can bring my horse just in the back and then, while they're getting treated I can have lunch on the table with the gold fish - Yes.
Very nice plan.
I might take some of those ideas for my new restaurant in Vegas, okay? You mind? - Okay.
Good luck, Abby.
Just under 22 minutes to go.
Samuel, eight ingredients.
Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? - I'm making a cucumber pesto pasta.
- Look at you.
You have gone all fancy.
Love that idea.
Confident you'll get through to the next stage? I'm feeling a little less confident than I did.
- What's fazed you? - First, I picked cucumber instead of zucchini and then a burnt blood orange glaze Is Samuel going down? - Are you ready to go home? - I'm in no way ready to go home right now.
The dream name of the restaurant, what's it gonna be called? Le Samuel.
You've got a little bit .
I know enough to order something at a restaurant.
I don't know, what you're saying.
Samuel, good luck.
Oh, Oona slow down.
You're making feel dizzy.
- Sorry.
- 45 minutes gone, 15 minutes remaining.
Josh, what do you got here? How many ingredients did you have? - Five.
- Five, that's not a lot.
- What's the dish? - Curry-spiced duck with an orange sauce and cilantro jasmine rice.
Let me see the plans for your restaurant.
I'd love to see that.
Oh, nice.
It's a brownstone, cool.
- So, Josh's Comfort Bistro.
- Comfort and Bistro.
- Is that you? Self-portrait? - Yes.
- What are you holding? - The check and the trophy.
- Is this a layout here? - Yeah.
- Like 20 tables - Yeah.
So, if you got a good Saturday night in New York you turn it three times, that's - Probably $60.
- 120 covers at $60, $7,800 a night.
$200,000 a month.
That's 2.
4 million a year.
Nice work, buddy.
Just under five minutes remaining.
Incredible.
I mean, seriously incredible.
I mean, they're focused on the dish, but these restaurants, they have got strong opinions.
- On the decor, the lighting, the terracing.
- Absolutely.
- Incredible.
- Josh had five ingredients He has the duck breast and a reduced orange sauce with just juice and the glaze.
All the essentials to make a true French classic duck a l'orange.
Samuel picked up a cucumber in place of zucchini by mistake.
- No.
- Yes.
So he's marinating that in a sous-vide bag with a pesto.
Turn that negative into something of a huge positivity.
Abby had two ingredients.
So she is doing asparagus five ways.
But the salmon is just one piece.
- She had to nail it.
- You can't hide behind it.
The biggest risk is overcooking it, that's what I'm worried about.
It's perfect.
Two minutes remaining.
Please, start plating.
Get those plates looking immaculate.
Remember, these are your signature dishes.
That one day, hopefully, will be a highlight on your menus.
Let's go! - C'mon, guys.
- Finishing touches.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop! Hands in the air! Good job, guys.
Seriously, great job, all of you.
It's now time to taste.
Let's start with Abby, let's go.
Abby only had two ingredients that's Pretty much impossible.
I don't know maybe she'll really pull it off and be the biggest success in human history.
First of all, you started off with two ingredients.
In fact, you didn't even need a basket coming out of the pantry.
- No.
- You got salmon and asparagus.
- Yes.
It looks like there's a lot more than two ingredients on that plate.
- Did you steal ingredients? - No.
- Did you borrow ingredients? - No.
- Did you find other ingredients under the sink? - No.
- Come on, seriously? - There's two.
Describe the dish, please.
I've made broiled salmon and asparagus five ways.
- Asparagus five ways? - Yes.
- Okay, let's go.
- So this asparagus is what? - Sautéd and boiled.
- So this one on top, what's that? - Those are two types: fried bottoms and fried tops.
Wow.
Five tops, five bottoms.
- And this here? This sort of sauce? - That's asparagus soup.
Too much asparagus makes you pee green.
Looks like I'll be having a fluorescent time in the bathroom later.
- How you'd cooked the salmon? - I broiled it.
What should we be expecting inside the salmon.
White, dry, pink where are we going? - Perfect.
- Okay.
Perfect.
Oh, guys, please? - The salmon is perfect.
- You nail it.
It's pink, it's glistening and it is perfect.
Wow.
Here's the thing, I thought you're gonna struggle at two ingredients.
Young lady, the salmon's cooked perfectly.
I love that imagination five ways.
You sound like a chef, you cook like a chef and you are confident.
But you've got the right to be confident, 'cause you can cook.
Great Job.
- Seriously.
- Thank you, chef.
Remind me, you're 13? - No.
- Eleven? - No.
- Ten? - No.
- Nine? - No.
- How old are you? - Eight and half.
Stop it.
Place of birth? Virginia.
I'm gonna check those records.
Great job.
Amazing.
Amazing, amazing.
This is effectively like a two course lunch then.
- Kinda.
- First the soup and then the salmon.
- Yes.
The salmon's perfectly cooked.
Asparagus fried, crispy and delicious.
But the most amazing thing here is this asparagus soup.
Because it's creamy, full-flavored, it has the depth to flavor.
How you managed to take the water you were boiling the other asparagus in and turned it into a soup is truly, truly smart.
- Good job, Abby.
- Thank you.
Very impressive.
Thank you very much.
Abby.
, who I originally thought could be going home early.
I'm starting to respect her a lot more than I did when I walked in.
Right, next up please, Sean.
I'm feeling a little nervous, walking up to the judges, because I got the most ingredients and if they don't like my dish, it's going to be embarrassing.
- Sean, how you doing? - Good.
- You had the most ingredients with ten.
- Yes.
'Cause you absolutely owned that egg challenge.
So, what do we have? It's an ancho-rubbed rib-eye with a paprika crema, Maitake reduction and syracuse potatoes.
When I cut into this, I'm expecting to see gorgeous red in the middle? - Is that what you hit, you think? - I think so.
Right, let's see.
This is it.
It's what it's all about.
When I cut into this I'm expecting to see gorgeous red in the middle? - Is that what's you hit, you think? - I think so.
- Are you a big steak guy? - Yes.
Right, let's see.
This is it.
It's what it's all about.
Little more towards medium.
Doesn't have that brick-red color.
Not what we were looking for.
- What's the sauce? - It's a paprika crema.
Wow.
Love that sauce.
That's great.
Steak, gorgeous sear on it, just, you know, overcooked.
I wish that you had maybe cooked one, understood that it cooks really quick and the other one, you know, do like a nice rare.
But, that's what it's all about, cooking and learning.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Sean looks like he got two ingredients, but he had ten.
I'm starting to feel little disappointed of some of my higher competition.
Okay, next up, Levi.
Okay, Levi.
What did you make? I made a pan-seared salmon with a mustard-maple glaze and broccolini two ways.
- How do you expect salmon to be? - Nice orange-pinkish.
- Orange-pink.
It's a little overcooked.
It's a nice dish, I mean, the broccolini are perfect and the puree is actually quite interesting.
You could've cooked the salmon a little bit better.
Had it been like nice, soft and translucent in the middle.
It would've highlighted the sweetness of the maple and tangy mustard element.
It gets kinda lost in the overcooked-ness.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Next up, please, Adaiah.
I made yoghurt crusted lamb chop with sweet potatoes and orange sauce.
- How many ingredients did you have? - Four.
I think you were really smart in getting what you got.
Because you have so few ingredients to play with.
That yoghurt, really delicious.
The cook on lamb is great, but, you know, the orange is really comes through, you know, and a lot of times that get lost.
But in the dish it almost perfumes it.
- So great job.
- Thank you so much.
Oona, please, let's go.
Wow.
Visually, it looks beautiful.
- You had four ingredients? - Yes.
- Right.
- Describe the dish, please.
- I did scallops two ways.
One is seared and I did a crudo.
Also, a ginger oil and cauliflower puree.
Moment of truth.
Damn.
That's a shame.
'Cause they are bright white.
When you get a chance to caramelize a scallop, you know, here's an art in it.
Literally, 90 seconds.
Now when you cook the scallops top and bottom like that, they become rubbery.
However, I love the crudo.
I like that sort of marinade.
You've got great imagination.
You took it two ways.
Unfortunately, half the plate works and the other half is so overcooked.
It's a great shame.
Of course I had to add to the list an overcooked protein.
It's totally sucky and it It's a catastrophe.
Next up, Logan.
I'm definitely disappointed in my soy foam.
I should've remade it, but I'm feeling pretty confident, when I bring my dish up to the judges.
I think it looks beautiful to me.
Ah, steak and rice.
Tell me about the dish.
Alright, so I have a flat iron steak marinated in soy sauce and ginger.
And bamboo rice.
If you serve this in underwater restaurant, it would give a new meaning to surf and turf.
Yeah.
Definitely.
So, you invested, of seven ingredients, four into spices.
You think it was a good investment? I think, it was a great investment into my steak.
The steak is aggressively seasoned and actually cooked perfectly.
The rice is overcooked and missing salt.
- Thank you, Logan.
- Thank you.
Right, Logan, visually, the cook on the steak, perfect.
It's a chef's dream.
- What did you marinate it in? - In soy sauce and ginger.
Which is perfect, right.
So it tenderizes the meat.
Break down the fat content.
It tastes delicious.
Rice is slightly overcooked.
And peppers is undercooked.
Yup.
I just expected you to be a little bit more elaborate.
And I have to be honest with you, because, you know, we're looking for the best youngster.
And you're normally up there.
So I'm just slightly underwhelmed.
I invested one ingredient into a foam.
- But, I let that fall.
- Yeah, I can see that, young man.
Here's the thing, you've got right to be disappointed, I totally get that.
But you know, you can't expect to be at the top of the class every time.
- Yeah.
- And I'm just amazed that you had seven ingredients and it looks like you've had three ingredients to cook with.
You know, you can't expect to be at the top of the class every time.
Yeah.
And I'm just amazed that you had seven ingredients and it looks like you've had three ingredients to cook with.
Yeah.
Come on, bud.
Come here.
I know you're upset.
Come on.
Hey, that's all.
I just said that the steak tastes amazing.
- Yeah.
- It tastes delicious, but I know what you can do.
- Okay.
And with seven ingredients, I just You've created such stunning dishes on the plate and there's something missing - And it looks little bit bare.
- Yeah.
- I'm sure, we can agree on that.
- Yeah.
And when I look at your imagination and see what you've done so far in this competition That is not your best plate.
You've nailed the steak, okay? It's cooked perfectly.
- Unfortunately, the rice is overcooked.
- Yeah.
The flavor, that flat iron steak, is mind-blowing.
- Okay.
- Okay? - Come on.
Get your head up.
??? - Okay.
- Good bye.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
Logan is definitely a strong chef in the kitchen and ultimately, I know, he'll do great.
Next up, please, Josh.
- Hi Josh, how are you? - I'm good.
Tell me, what we have.
It's a curried duck à l'orange with a cilantro rice.
When you only got those five ingredients to work with did you have to go back and re-evaluate and change somethings up? I ??? butter, but then I just decided I can reduce the heat for the orange sauce.
And I didn't have to use butter.
I think the orange sauce is great.
It's, it's very natural taste.
You know, just like it supposed to.
??? over sweet and bitter.
Nice technique on that.
Only thing, the duck little overcooked.
Little towards medium.
As supposed be rare.
You got crispy skin, but all here, with that gray area.
It's just a little over.
I think if I was in you shoes, maybe getting rid of the cilantro and doing something else that's more substantial.
Cilantro's a great flavor, I just don't know, if you needed it, when you're doing a curry and you have those other things.
But I love the sauce and I like the idea for the dish - Thank you.
- Thanks.
I'm trying to overwhelm my pessimism with optimism.
But I mean, I screwed up.
Last up, Samuel, please.
Walking up to the judges, I feel nervous.
I'm worried that the zucchini-cucumber mix up is a bad omen.
And that something else could go wrong.
Right, young man, 12 years of age.
Eight perfectly fried eggs, eight ingredients.
Here's the thing, it looks like you've got three ingredients on there Describe the dish.
It is a five-spice seared duck Arugula pesto-marinated cucumber and a broccolini puree.
Now, you said you made a mistake with the zucchini - And you picked a cucumber in place of.
- Yes, I picked the wrong vegetable.
Would you've done the same to the zucchini? No, if I had the zucchini, I would've gone with a cooked augmentation With some sage and nutmeg.
Wow.
I'm glad you made that mistake, 'cause the cucumber is delicious.
'Cause that nice texture.
The pesto is sensational.
But for me, you have nailed the protein.
The duck's cooked perfectly.
That may look like there's only three things on the plate, but it tastes like there's Little explosions hid everywhere.
You are a very smart, bright, young man.
You got yourself out of a pickle, you came back strong And you've cooked duck like an angel.
- Well done, seriously good job.
- Thank you.
- Remind me the name of the restaurant again.
- Le Samuel.
Le Samuel, get me a table of two for my wife and I on the opening night.
- Yes, sir.
- Will I get charged? - No.
- No.
- Love it.
- Thank you.
I feel so happy that I managed to cook everything to perfection.
Thank you.
I'm open all week, reservations, anyone? First dinner's on the house.
Great job, everybody.
But, as you know, this is a competition.
We have some serious decisions to make.
Please give us a moment.
First of all, I mean, Abby and Samuel, extraordinary - That This is actually cucumber.
- Wow.
- It's so good.
I would serve this at my restaurant.
It's so good, it's like pasta but it's crunchy - Lot of them struggled with the protein side.
- Yeah.
I'm going to be in the bottom for the second time.
- I'm gonna be in the bottom for sure.
- I'm going.
Josh's duck.
You know, I think that even with five ingredients, he could've done a little bit more.
- Yeah.
Truly, I think we're all going home.
This doesn't get any easier.
There were two outstanding dishes tonight.
The first dish of the night, considering the obstacle this individual had, with barely any ingredients.
The dish looked incredible.
Congratulations Abby.
Well done.
Great dish.
Two ingredients.
Asparagus five ways and salmon cooked perfectly.
But the best dish of the night Congratulations Samuel.
Great job.
Top dish of the night! I'd start buying some of the Le Samuel ipo right now.
Because it looks like it's gonna be an up day On the stock market tomorrow.
Four of you missed slightly on your proteins.
So when I call your names, Please come and join us in the front.
Josh.
Levi.
Oona.
And Sean.
The good news is that not all of you are going home.
Two of you will be going back to your stations.
Safe from elimination.
This MasterChef Junior title just means the world to me.
So please, like I'm praying that I just get sent back to my station, and I'll prove the judges wrong next challenge.
The two young home cooks that can go back to their stations are The good news is that not all of you are going home.
Two of you will be going back to your stations.
Safe from elimination.
I don't wanna go back to New York, I've made it this far.
I just cross everything.
Please, don't send me home.
My heart is beating out of my chest.
I'm just scared I might actually be going home right now.
The two young home cooks that are safe and that can go back to their stations, right now.
Are Sean and Oona.
Off you go.
Back to you stations, please.
So I'm saved.
Again.
That's my second close call in a ??? I really need to pick it up next challenge.
I'm not going to be in the bottom again.
Josh, Levi, sadly, that means, it's the end of your journey.
Unfortunately, both of you're let down tonight by the execution of your protein.
But you must keep you heads up high.
Levi, you had an amazing attitude, young man.
What has been the best part of being in this competition? What's the one thing you enjoyed most? ??? you.
The feeling is mutual.
Go say good-bye, guys.
- ??? - Thank you.
- Stay cool.
- See you.
Good job, bud.
Now, Josh, there are six left, in your mind, who's gonna become America's next MasterChef Junior? Samuel or Sean.
- Well done, guys.
- Thank you.
- Seriously good job.
- Thanks.
- Promise me you'll keep cooking.
- Yes.
I'm not upset, because, I mean, to win this competition would be amazing, but at the same time, not many kids get this experience.
I am one of the top eight best cooks in America and I'm very proud that I made it this far.
This has been one of the best experiences of my whole life.
Cupcake pan.
The best part of this competition is cooking for the best chefs in the world.
Listen, young man, the seasoning is beautiful.
- Thank you.
I've been watching Gordon Ramsay since I was seven or eight years old.
- Could I cook this good at 12? - No.
- Really? He's my hero.
Like Gordon I got to meet him.
There are many a grandma hoping that their pies would turn out, one day, like yours.
Well done.
I can't believe that this dream actually came true.
Thank you, you guys did a great job.
MasterChef helped me believe in myself and made me inspired to cook.
I'm pretty happy that I was a part of that.
Next week - Let's go, let's go, let's go! - Yes, chef.
The final six tackle L.
A.
's newest dining experience.
The first ever, MasterChef pop-up restaurant.
As the kids take charge of the kitchen.
We need that luminaire right now! - In a fiery team challenge.
- How long? Give me a time.
- Oh, my god.
- This is just a nightmare.
We're gonna do this! If you could say in one word how it was working under Gordon Ramsay, what would it be? - Come on, guys.
Traumatizing.
Wow.
Absolutely beautiful.
The sugar work is amazing.
And then Mum! Gordon's own mum brought a challenge from his childhood Shepherd's pie.
But it proved too much for Sam.
The beef's little dry.
And Mitchell.
Unfortunately your journey will end tonight.
Coming up.
The competition gets egg-splozive.
Oh no.
Do you know how hard it is to cook a perfect sunny-side up egg? What a shame.
Then Cook us your signature dishes.
the pint-sized cooks dream big.
I want to have a restaurant/vet's clinic.
With results out of this world.
- Wow.
- It's like a real restaurant dish.
Get me a table for two on the opening night.
Welcome.
I'm in the elite eight of the biggest cooking competition in the whole entire world.
Like, this is crazy.
Come on down, guys.
I've been alive 8 years and I've never done something this exciting.
This is better than eating all the ice cream in the world! Great to see you all.
We are down to the best eight home cooks in the entire country.
One of you will win $100,000.
And the most coveted trophy in the culinary world.
The MasterChef Junior trophy? Yes, you are correct, Abby.
The MasterChef Junior trophy.
Adaiah, if you won 100 grand, what's the first thing, you would buy with it? A wall full of amazing guitars, a grand piano, and a dirt bike.
Wow.
A girl of my own heart.
- Oona? - I'd go to Vegas.
- Vegas? - Nice.
Abby, you've got 100 grand.
What's the first thing you'd buy? I'd probably buy a bunch of horse posters to put in my room.
- What about buying your own horse? I don't have enough room in my backyard.
Alright.
It's time for your next challenge.
It is the mother of all challenges.
In fact, it's the mother hen of all challenges.
Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
Notice, there are no brown edges.
There are no wobbly whites.
The yolk is perfect and soft.
Now, this requires a lot of technique.
The Sunny-Side Up Egg is very technical, but I'm very advanced in the egg department.
I think I can do this.
No problem.
At your stations you're gonna find everything that you need.
Oil and butter and a whole lot of eggs.
You wanna make sure that you don't "crack" under pressure.
Stop "yolking" around.
- Your egg gags are corny.
- They're amazing and you know it.
Alright guys, head to your stations.
This is eggs-ellent and if I don't eggs.
ell this I can't get that eggs-traordinary eggs-tralarge trophy.
Get it? You will have 10 minutes to fry us as many eggs as you possibly can.
Each successful Sunny-Side Up Egg will earn you a huge advantage in the upcoming challenge.
And I mean huge, clear? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Your ten minutes starts Now.
Lets go.
Alright guys, what would be your technique here? Lay out all of pans get'em on the high heat, s it gets'em hot right away Then, start cracking.
By the time the last egg goes in, the first egg should be cooked.
I start mine off in oil and finish in butter.
Where's my butter? As the butter hits the pan, it puffs up and it goes over the egg white and cooks the top.
My strategy is to make as many eggs as I can.
I wanna go for volume.
So, I'm turning the burners up full blast.
Crack 'em and drop 'em really low into the pan, guys.
You don't want 'em splattering.
My strategy is perfectly cooked eggs.
The key is perfection and not quantity.
That' hot.
Six minutes remaining! Speed up, guys! Get your plates laid out, guys.
Logan's on his first take up, guys.
Brilliant.
Abby's only using Well, she has a different technique.
My strategy is just to get I don't really have a strategy, Ah, broken egg yolk.
There is a point of jeopardy here that they don't know, how huge the advantage is.
And they don't know how severely we're gonna be judging their eggs.
Two minutes to go.
- Speed up, guys.
- One is burning.
Hear that noise? Crack.
Pans too hot.
Egg are gonna be crispy on the outside and raw in the middle.
Abby Broken yolk is game out.
Might as well dump the egg.
Logan's got nine on the plate.
- Two eggs at a time.
- Sean's got eight.
So close.
Oh no.
Snotty! Do you know how hard it is to perfect a perfect sunny-side up egg? - That one's not good.
- Take the plate to the pan, Oona.
It's a pretty tough challenge.
- Sixty seconds remaining.
- What? Cook, cook, cook.
I want you to cook.
Come on! Work! Huge advantage for whoever has the most and whoever has them perfect.
Focus on what you've got in your pan, guys.
Lets go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop! Hands in the air! Well done.
Now is time to count your perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
I think I have the biggest array of perfectly cooked eggs.
The Gordon is the pickiest inspector of fried egg I've ever seen.
- What a shame.
- This is beautiful.
- Thank you.
Come on.
So I made 15 eggs.
- Oh, dear, Logan - Yeah.
When the pan's that hot, what does that mean, bud? It means that it's overcooked.
- This one goes.
- Way too crispy.
- These two go.
- Split yolk.
- Oh, look at this one.
- What a shame.
Can't they just like care about whether or not it's cooked? Nice one.
I'm feeling very frustrated, because I think I have the least eggs out of everyone.
I made a lot.
I made 15 in total.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Perfect.
Oh, dear, damn.
Pan's too hot there, bud.
We've taken a good look at all of your eggs.
Remember, every perfect Sunny-Side Up Egg gives you an advantage in a next challenge.
So, let's begin an the bottom end.
The young home cook with a total of two eggs, Abby, please come to the front.
The next two young home cooks had a total of four perfect eggs each.
Oona and Adaiah, please come down.
The next two that managed to perfect five stunning Sunny-Side Up Eggs, Josh and Levi, please.
With a total of seven.
Logan.
Me and Sean are left and the winner of this challenge is gonna get an advantage.
And whatever advantage it is, I want it.
With a remarkable total of ten perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs I've been winning a lot lately and do not wanna stop.
Please, give it up for the egg man of tonight Ten perfect eggs.
Congratulations Sean.
I won.
I have a huge advantage in the pantry.
I don't know what it is, but I'm really excited.
Sean, you edged Samuel by two with eight perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs.
Guys, the number of eggs you cooked matters.
It matters a lot.
Because for the next challenge you have to make us an amazing MasterChef-worthy dish using the same number of ingredients from the pantry as the number of eggs that you perfectly prepared.
Two ingredients Oh, no.
This is not good.
You have to make us an amazing MasterChef-worthy dish using the same number of ingredients from the pantry as the number of eggs that you perfectly prepared.
Two ingredients Oh, no.
This is not good.
Oh, come on.
Abby, come on, it'll be fine with two.
I can do this.
I know how to do this.
You'll be fine, okay.
- Come on.
- You can do it.
- You can do this, young lady.
I only have two ingredients though.
I really wish I made more eggs, but I'm hoping that I can still pull this off.
Now you all know the number of ingredients you can get from the pantry.
In this next challenge, we want all of you to dream big and imagine owning and running your very own restaurant.
Tonight, we want you cook us your signature dish that will one day belong on your menu, from restaurant of your dreams.
- Excited? - Yes, chef! Abby, what is your plan for your restaurant? I wanna have restaurant/vet's clinic.
And I want to have a bunch of healthy foods Beautiful.
- Have you thought of a name for it? - Yes.
Horses and Courses.
Horses and Courses.
I love that.
- Logan.
- Yeah.
Give us the name of your dream restaurant.
Oh, it's Underwater Bistro.
What? Literally underwater? Literally underwater.
Where do you come up with these ideas? 'Cause it sounds great.
- In my head.
- A lot of going on up there, right? Yep.
The idea of having a restaurant in space or underwater.
That's pretty much impossible for only an eleven-year old.
Now, all of us three, were no different than you guys.
When we were your age, we want to have our own restaurants.
I start as a dishwasher, when I was 17.
And I've spent over half my life in the kitchens now.
Near the beginning of my culinary journey, I met a chef that really inspired me and taught me to believe that I could actually be a success in this industry.
Anybody guess, who that chef was? - Gordon? - Mario Batali? It was - Chef Gordon Ramsay.
- I said that.
And he was right.
When I was just 23, I run my first kitchen in Chicago.
That put me on a culinary map.
It's pretty cool to find out that Gordon really gave him a boost to getting, where he is now.
And that if I won, I hope I can get that same kick start.
Tonight, your dreams become a reality.
You have one hour to cook your signature dish that will one day belong on your menu in your very own restaurants.
In the pantry you will have to grab the exact same number of ingredients as the amount of perfect eggs you were able to produce.
Your one hour starts Now.
Let's go.
Let's go, Abby.
- Open doors! - Open.
Yes! I used the force to open it.
Hey look, popcorn.
Come on, red curry? The signature dish in my restaurant is curry-spiced duck à l'orange.
But I only have five ingredients, so I'm definitely going to keep the duck breast and the oranges.
It can't be duck a l'orange, if there's no orange.
Asparagus, asparagus.
My signature dish, I can only grab two ingredients.
So I'm doing salmon with asparagus five ways.
I'm done.
End of shopping.
I'm done.
Blood oranges.
My signature dish is blood orange glazed duck breast with zucchini pasta Pick the biggest zucchini.
Six.
The name of my restaurant is Le Samuel.
From my French-Asian fusion cuisine.
Here is the front of my grand restaurant.
When you open these doors, you'll come to the outdoor bar and dining area for a more starlit ambiance.
And it will be opening in less than 17 years.
- Run.
- Great.
- I was the first one done shopping - Surprise, surprise.
Wow.
I can only use four ingredients, which sucks.
So, I'm doing seared scallops and scallop crudo.
I was in the bottom last time I'm not going to be in the bottom this time.
I only made seven perfect eggs, so I only got seven ingredients.
So, I'm making my flat iron steak, got some bamboo rice going and I'm also making a soy foam.
I have a molecular gastronomy kit at home The foam is just really easy way to just make a really restaurant-quality.
So, who knew that fried eggs could have such a big impact on these young cook's culinary future, here in the MasterChef kitchen? If only they knew that every egg counted for every ingredient in that pantry.
I think with Abby, you can look at it as a disadvantage.
She has two ingredients.
It's all gonna be coming down to them both being prepared right The most important, the salmon.
Samuel, Sean and Logan had the most ingredients, what advantage does that give them? Well, I think it gives them the most wiggle room to do anything they want.
I think the guys with the most ingredients tonight, can actually be in trouble.
- Might get in their own way? - Over-thinking and over-using.
And over ???.
- Right, young man, how you feeling? - Good.
Ten ingredients, right? Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? An ancho-rubbed rib-eye with a maitake reduction sauce.
What's the one big food dream? To open successful restaurants, that's it.
I mean, you you have any drawings? - Let me look.
- I have a few.
- Let's have a look at this.
It's gonna be called the Drunken Cow, because I like to work with a lot of meats.
and I like to incorporate wine into my cooking.
What inspires you, at your age, to have your own restaurant? - I just wanna be like you.
- Sean, are you crazy? I'm nuts.
- Now, young man, good luck.
- Thank you.
Alright, Levi.
Tell me exactly, what you are making.
I'm making pan-seared salmon with mustard maple glaze.
And broccolini.
So I mean, Sean's got 10 ingredients you got 5, do you think his dish is gonna be twice as good? - Or do you think it's gonna be twice as confused.
- No, I think.
Sometimes less is more.
I'm gonna do as much as I can with these ingredients.
And see how that is.
Now, who's in the most trouble tonight? I think Logan, because he over-complicates things.
I don't think he'll come out with something great.
- Alright, good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
So I've made my soy foam and I just realized it deflated.
The importance of this foam is really, really, really big.
I've gotta get this foam foaming.
Being like this isn't gonna work.
Yeah, that didn't work.
I look over and I see Logan little flustered.
By the time you've gotten to the MasterChef kitchen You need to have your signature dish down.
That was a fail.
I think it's gonna be a total disaster.
The importance of this foam is really, really, really big.
I've gotta get this foam foaming.
Being like this isn't gonna work.
Yeah, just didn't work.
That was a fail.
All the rest of my dish is just ordinary, but this is what should make it stand out.
I just can't make a steak with rice.
Somebody's going home tonight and it ain't gonna be me.
Alright, Abby.
So, what's the dish? You're gonna do salmon.
You're gonna do asparagus many different ways? - Five ways.
- That's crazy.
Do you think that you can overcome this huge challenge of only having two ingredients? I do have salt and pepper, so that's a big help.
That is a big help.
- I heard that you did a drawing for your restaurant, is that true? - Yes.
Let me see it.
- This is an outside of my restaurant.
- Alright, what do we got? Horses and Courses.
- So you got horses on the doors, oh my god.
- Yes.
- And then I got the tables here.
- The gold fish on the tables instead of flowers.
- Vet's clinic here.
- Vet's clinic, so I can bring my horse just in the back and then, while they're getting treated I can have lunch on the table with the gold fish - Yes.
Very nice plan.
I might take some of those ideas for my new restaurant in Vegas, okay? You mind? - Okay.
Good luck, Abby.
Just under 22 minutes to go.
Samuel, eight ingredients.
Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? - I'm making a cucumber pesto pasta.
- Look at you.
You have gone all fancy.
Love that idea.
Confident you'll get through to the next stage? I'm feeling a little less confident than I did.
- What's fazed you? - First, I picked cucumber instead of zucchini and then a burnt blood orange glaze Is Samuel going down? - Are you ready to go home? - I'm in no way ready to go home right now.
The dream name of the restaurant, what's it gonna be called? Le Samuel.
You've got a little bit .
I know enough to order something at a restaurant.
I don't know, what you're saying.
Samuel, good luck.
Oh, Oona slow down.
You're making feel dizzy.
- Sorry.
- 45 minutes gone, 15 minutes remaining.
Josh, what do you got here? How many ingredients did you have? - Five.
- Five, that's not a lot.
- What's the dish? - Curry-spiced duck with an orange sauce and cilantro jasmine rice.
Let me see the plans for your restaurant.
I'd love to see that.
Oh, nice.
It's a brownstone, cool.
- So, Josh's Comfort Bistro.
- Comfort and Bistro.
- Is that you? Self-portrait? - Yes.
- What are you holding? - The check and the trophy.
- Is this a layout here? - Yeah.
- Like 20 tables - Yeah.
So, if you got a good Saturday night in New York you turn it three times, that's - Probably $60.
- 120 covers at $60, $7,800 a night.
$200,000 a month.
That's 2.
4 million a year.
Nice work, buddy.
Just under five minutes remaining.
Incredible.
I mean, seriously incredible.
I mean, they're focused on the dish, but these restaurants, they have got strong opinions.
- On the decor, the lighting, the terracing.
- Absolutely.
- Incredible.
- Josh had five ingredients He has the duck breast and a reduced orange sauce with just juice and the glaze.
All the essentials to make a true French classic duck a l'orange.
Samuel picked up a cucumber in place of zucchini by mistake.
- No.
- Yes.
So he's marinating that in a sous-vide bag with a pesto.
Turn that negative into something of a huge positivity.
Abby had two ingredients.
So she is doing asparagus five ways.
But the salmon is just one piece.
- She had to nail it.
- You can't hide behind it.
The biggest risk is overcooking it, that's what I'm worried about.
It's perfect.
Two minutes remaining.
Please, start plating.
Get those plates looking immaculate.
Remember, these are your signature dishes.
That one day, hopefully, will be a highlight on your menus.
Let's go! - C'mon, guys.
- Finishing touches.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop! Hands in the air! Good job, guys.
Seriously, great job, all of you.
It's now time to taste.
Let's start with Abby, let's go.
Abby only had two ingredients that's Pretty much impossible.
I don't know maybe she'll really pull it off and be the biggest success in human history.
First of all, you started off with two ingredients.
In fact, you didn't even need a basket coming out of the pantry.
- No.
- You got salmon and asparagus.
- Yes.
It looks like there's a lot more than two ingredients on that plate.
- Did you steal ingredients? - No.
- Did you borrow ingredients? - No.
- Did you find other ingredients under the sink? - No.
- Come on, seriously? - There's two.
Describe the dish, please.
I've made broiled salmon and asparagus five ways.
- Asparagus five ways? - Yes.
- Okay, let's go.
- So this asparagus is what? - Sautéd and boiled.
- So this one on top, what's that? - Those are two types: fried bottoms and fried tops.
Wow.
Five tops, five bottoms.
- And this here? This sort of sauce? - That's asparagus soup.
Too much asparagus makes you pee green.
Looks like I'll be having a fluorescent time in the bathroom later.
- How you'd cooked the salmon? - I broiled it.
What should we be expecting inside the salmon.
White, dry, pink where are we going? - Perfect.
- Okay.
Perfect.
Oh, guys, please? - The salmon is perfect.
- You nail it.
It's pink, it's glistening and it is perfect.
Wow.
Here's the thing, I thought you're gonna struggle at two ingredients.
Young lady, the salmon's cooked perfectly.
I love that imagination five ways.
You sound like a chef, you cook like a chef and you are confident.
But you've got the right to be confident, 'cause you can cook.
Great Job.
- Seriously.
- Thank you, chef.
Remind me, you're 13? - No.
- Eleven? - No.
- Ten? - No.
- Nine? - No.
- How old are you? - Eight and half.
Stop it.
Place of birth? Virginia.
I'm gonna check those records.
Great job.
Amazing.
Amazing, amazing.
This is effectively like a two course lunch then.
- Kinda.
- First the soup and then the salmon.
- Yes.
The salmon's perfectly cooked.
Asparagus fried, crispy and delicious.
But the most amazing thing here is this asparagus soup.
Because it's creamy, full-flavored, it has the depth to flavor.
How you managed to take the water you were boiling the other asparagus in and turned it into a soup is truly, truly smart.
- Good job, Abby.
- Thank you.
Very impressive.
Thank you very much.
Abby.
, who I originally thought could be going home early.
I'm starting to respect her a lot more than I did when I walked in.
Right, next up please, Sean.
I'm feeling a little nervous, walking up to the judges, because I got the most ingredients and if they don't like my dish, it's going to be embarrassing.
- Sean, how you doing? - Good.
- You had the most ingredients with ten.
- Yes.
'Cause you absolutely owned that egg challenge.
So, what do we have? It's an ancho-rubbed rib-eye with a paprika crema, Maitake reduction and syracuse potatoes.
When I cut into this, I'm expecting to see gorgeous red in the middle? - Is that what you hit, you think? - I think so.
Right, let's see.
This is it.
It's what it's all about.
When I cut into this I'm expecting to see gorgeous red in the middle? - Is that what's you hit, you think? - I think so.
- Are you a big steak guy? - Yes.
Right, let's see.
This is it.
It's what it's all about.
Little more towards medium.
Doesn't have that brick-red color.
Not what we were looking for.
- What's the sauce? - It's a paprika crema.
Wow.
Love that sauce.
That's great.
Steak, gorgeous sear on it, just, you know, overcooked.
I wish that you had maybe cooked one, understood that it cooks really quick and the other one, you know, do like a nice rare.
But, that's what it's all about, cooking and learning.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Sean looks like he got two ingredients, but he had ten.
I'm starting to feel little disappointed of some of my higher competition.
Okay, next up, Levi.
Okay, Levi.
What did you make? I made a pan-seared salmon with a mustard-maple glaze and broccolini two ways.
- How do you expect salmon to be? - Nice orange-pinkish.
- Orange-pink.
It's a little overcooked.
It's a nice dish, I mean, the broccolini are perfect and the puree is actually quite interesting.
You could've cooked the salmon a little bit better.
Had it been like nice, soft and translucent in the middle.
It would've highlighted the sweetness of the maple and tangy mustard element.
It gets kinda lost in the overcooked-ness.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Next up, please, Adaiah.
I made yoghurt crusted lamb chop with sweet potatoes and orange sauce.
- How many ingredients did you have? - Four.
I think you were really smart in getting what you got.
Because you have so few ingredients to play with.
That yoghurt, really delicious.
The cook on lamb is great, but, you know, the orange is really comes through, you know, and a lot of times that get lost.
But in the dish it almost perfumes it.
- So great job.
- Thank you so much.
Oona, please, let's go.
Wow.
Visually, it looks beautiful.
- You had four ingredients? - Yes.
- Right.
- Describe the dish, please.
- I did scallops two ways.
One is seared and I did a crudo.
Also, a ginger oil and cauliflower puree.
Moment of truth.
Damn.
That's a shame.
'Cause they are bright white.
When you get a chance to caramelize a scallop, you know, here's an art in it.
Literally, 90 seconds.
Now when you cook the scallops top and bottom like that, they become rubbery.
However, I love the crudo.
I like that sort of marinade.
You've got great imagination.
You took it two ways.
Unfortunately, half the plate works and the other half is so overcooked.
It's a great shame.
Of course I had to add to the list an overcooked protein.
It's totally sucky and it It's a catastrophe.
Next up, Logan.
I'm definitely disappointed in my soy foam.
I should've remade it, but I'm feeling pretty confident, when I bring my dish up to the judges.
I think it looks beautiful to me.
Ah, steak and rice.
Tell me about the dish.
Alright, so I have a flat iron steak marinated in soy sauce and ginger.
And bamboo rice.
If you serve this in underwater restaurant, it would give a new meaning to surf and turf.
Yeah.
Definitely.
So, you invested, of seven ingredients, four into spices.
You think it was a good investment? I think, it was a great investment into my steak.
The steak is aggressively seasoned and actually cooked perfectly.
The rice is overcooked and missing salt.
- Thank you, Logan.
- Thank you.
Right, Logan, visually, the cook on the steak, perfect.
It's a chef's dream.
- What did you marinate it in? - In soy sauce and ginger.
Which is perfect, right.
So it tenderizes the meat.
Break down the fat content.
It tastes delicious.
Rice is slightly overcooked.
And peppers is undercooked.
Yup.
I just expected you to be a little bit more elaborate.
And I have to be honest with you, because, you know, we're looking for the best youngster.
And you're normally up there.
So I'm just slightly underwhelmed.
I invested one ingredient into a foam.
- But, I let that fall.
- Yeah, I can see that, young man.
Here's the thing, you've got right to be disappointed, I totally get that.
But you know, you can't expect to be at the top of the class every time.
- Yeah.
- And I'm just amazed that you had seven ingredients and it looks like you've had three ingredients to cook with.
You know, you can't expect to be at the top of the class every time.
Yeah.
And I'm just amazed that you had seven ingredients and it looks like you've had three ingredients to cook with.
Yeah.
Come on, bud.
Come here.
I know you're upset.
Come on.
Hey, that's all.
I just said that the steak tastes amazing.
- Yeah.
- It tastes delicious, but I know what you can do.
- Okay.
And with seven ingredients, I just You've created such stunning dishes on the plate and there's something missing - And it looks little bit bare.
- Yeah.
- I'm sure, we can agree on that.
- Yeah.
And when I look at your imagination and see what you've done so far in this competition That is not your best plate.
You've nailed the steak, okay? It's cooked perfectly.
- Unfortunately, the rice is overcooked.
- Yeah.
The flavor, that flat iron steak, is mind-blowing.
- Okay.
- Okay? - Come on.
Get your head up.
??? - Okay.
- Good bye.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
Logan is definitely a strong chef in the kitchen and ultimately, I know, he'll do great.
Next up, please, Josh.
- Hi Josh, how are you? - I'm good.
Tell me, what we have.
It's a curried duck à l'orange with a cilantro rice.
When you only got those five ingredients to work with did you have to go back and re-evaluate and change somethings up? I ??? butter, but then I just decided I can reduce the heat for the orange sauce.
And I didn't have to use butter.
I think the orange sauce is great.
It's, it's very natural taste.
You know, just like it supposed to.
??? over sweet and bitter.
Nice technique on that.
Only thing, the duck little overcooked.
Little towards medium.
As supposed be rare.
You got crispy skin, but all here, with that gray area.
It's just a little over.
I think if I was in you shoes, maybe getting rid of the cilantro and doing something else that's more substantial.
Cilantro's a great flavor, I just don't know, if you needed it, when you're doing a curry and you have those other things.
But I love the sauce and I like the idea for the dish - Thank you.
- Thanks.
I'm trying to overwhelm my pessimism with optimism.
But I mean, I screwed up.
Last up, Samuel, please.
Walking up to the judges, I feel nervous.
I'm worried that the zucchini-cucumber mix up is a bad omen.
And that something else could go wrong.
Right, young man, 12 years of age.
Eight perfectly fried eggs, eight ingredients.
Here's the thing, it looks like you've got three ingredients on there Describe the dish.
It is a five-spice seared duck Arugula pesto-marinated cucumber and a broccolini puree.
Now, you said you made a mistake with the zucchini - And you picked a cucumber in place of.
- Yes, I picked the wrong vegetable.
Would you've done the same to the zucchini? No, if I had the zucchini, I would've gone with a cooked augmentation With some sage and nutmeg.
Wow.
I'm glad you made that mistake, 'cause the cucumber is delicious.
'Cause that nice texture.
The pesto is sensational.
But for me, you have nailed the protein.
The duck's cooked perfectly.
That may look like there's only three things on the plate, but it tastes like there's Little explosions hid everywhere.
You are a very smart, bright, young man.
You got yourself out of a pickle, you came back strong And you've cooked duck like an angel.
- Well done, seriously good job.
- Thank you.
- Remind me the name of the restaurant again.
- Le Samuel.
Le Samuel, get me a table of two for my wife and I on the opening night.
- Yes, sir.
- Will I get charged? - No.
- No.
- Love it.
- Thank you.
I feel so happy that I managed to cook everything to perfection.
Thank you.
I'm open all week, reservations, anyone? First dinner's on the house.
Great job, everybody.
But, as you know, this is a competition.
We have some serious decisions to make.
Please give us a moment.
First of all, I mean, Abby and Samuel, extraordinary - That This is actually cucumber.
- Wow.
- It's so good.
I would serve this at my restaurant.
It's so good, it's like pasta but it's crunchy - Lot of them struggled with the protein side.
- Yeah.
I'm going to be in the bottom for the second time.
- I'm gonna be in the bottom for sure.
- I'm going.
Josh's duck.
You know, I think that even with five ingredients, he could've done a little bit more.
- Yeah.
Truly, I think we're all going home.
This doesn't get any easier.
There were two outstanding dishes tonight.
The first dish of the night, considering the obstacle this individual had, with barely any ingredients.
The dish looked incredible.
Congratulations Abby.
Well done.
Great dish.
Two ingredients.
Asparagus five ways and salmon cooked perfectly.
But the best dish of the night Congratulations Samuel.
Great job.
Top dish of the night! I'd start buying some of the Le Samuel ipo right now.
Because it looks like it's gonna be an up day On the stock market tomorrow.
Four of you missed slightly on your proteins.
So when I call your names, Please come and join us in the front.
Josh.
Levi.
Oona.
And Sean.
The good news is that not all of you are going home.
Two of you will be going back to your stations.
Safe from elimination.
This MasterChef Junior title just means the world to me.
So please, like I'm praying that I just get sent back to my station, and I'll prove the judges wrong next challenge.
The two young home cooks that can go back to their stations are The good news is that not all of you are going home.
Two of you will be going back to your stations.
Safe from elimination.
I don't wanna go back to New York, I've made it this far.
I just cross everything.
Please, don't send me home.
My heart is beating out of my chest.
I'm just scared I might actually be going home right now.
The two young home cooks that are safe and that can go back to their stations, right now.
Are Sean and Oona.
Off you go.
Back to you stations, please.
So I'm saved.
Again.
That's my second close call in a ??? I really need to pick it up next challenge.
I'm not going to be in the bottom again.
Josh, Levi, sadly, that means, it's the end of your journey.
Unfortunately, both of you're let down tonight by the execution of your protein.
But you must keep you heads up high.
Levi, you had an amazing attitude, young man.
What has been the best part of being in this competition? What's the one thing you enjoyed most? ??? you.
The feeling is mutual.
Go say good-bye, guys.
- ??? - Thank you.
- Stay cool.
- See you.
Good job, bud.
Now, Josh, there are six left, in your mind, who's gonna become America's next MasterChef Junior? Samuel or Sean.
- Well done, guys.
- Thank you.
- Seriously good job.
- Thanks.
- Promise me you'll keep cooking.
- Yes.
I'm not upset, because, I mean, to win this competition would be amazing, but at the same time, not many kids get this experience.
I am one of the top eight best cooks in America and I'm very proud that I made it this far.
This has been one of the best experiences of my whole life.
Cupcake pan.
The best part of this competition is cooking for the best chefs in the world.
Listen, young man, the seasoning is beautiful.
- Thank you.
I've been watching Gordon Ramsay since I was seven or eight years old.
- Could I cook this good at 12? - No.
- Really? He's my hero.
Like Gordon I got to meet him.
There are many a grandma hoping that their pies would turn out, one day, like yours.
Well done.
I can't believe that this dream actually came true.
Thank you, you guys did a great job.
MasterChef helped me believe in myself and made me inspired to cook.
I'm pretty happy that I was a part of that.
Next week - Let's go, let's go, let's go! - Yes, chef.
The final six tackle L.
A.
's newest dining experience.
The first ever, MasterChef pop-up restaurant.
As the kids take charge of the kitchen.
We need that luminaire right now! - In a fiery team challenge.
- How long? Give me a time.
- Oh, my god.
- This is just a nightmare.
We're gonna do this! If you could say in one word how it was working under Gordon Ramsay, what would it be? - Come on, guys.
Traumatizing.