MasterChef Junior (2013) s04e05 Episode Script
Happy Birthday
Last week Whew! Oh, my gosh.
- Ugh.
- Oh, my God.
- Does anyone smell that? - Ugh! After a smelly elimination test Whoo! Adam and Jaeclyn's time in the MasterChef kitchen You've been brilliant.
Keep that head up high.
Came to an end.
Whee! Tonight Hold on, guys! Oh, my God! This is awesome.
Go, go, go, go! The top 16 face their first team challenge.
Let's go! Cooking in the biggest celebration in MasterChef Junior history.
This is kids cooking for a lot of kids.
I don't know if we can do this.
I feel like I'm gonna faint.
Will the pint-sized chefs rise to the occasion? - Agh! - These ones are burnt! Or will the party That is raw fish! End in disaster? They could be throwing up and in the hospital.
of the MasterChef kitchen The remaining have embarked on a field trip to the Calamigos ranch in Malibu, California.
This is really cool, being outside of the MasterChef kitchen and getting some fresh air.
- Oh, my God! - Whoo! Hold on, guys! I'm not sure if Christina knows how to drive this thing, and I'm not sure she has her tractor license.
Where are we going? We're pulling up in the tractor, and I see a Ferris wheel, I see a big, inflatable slide, I see games, I see rides.
It's like pulling up to, like, heaven.
Oh, my God! I love bouncy houses.
I wish my house was a bouncy house.
So this is awesome.
Wait, where is Gordon and Graham? Whoo! They're on the Ferris wheel! - Come on, guys! - Whee! Oh, yeah, baby! Gordon! Graham! Excellent.
Guys, let's go! Sorry, guys.
Line up over there.
Good to see everybody.
Whoo! All of you, welcome to Calamigos Ranch.
Now, who likes to have a good time? I do! Good, because we have invited a lot of very special people to come and have fun at a very special birthday party here today.
You guys are all ages 8 to 13, and this birthday party is for 8-year-olds and 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds and 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds.
That's right, we have invited a table of kids of each age.
And you guys will be cooking all the party food in two teams of eight.
And all those birthday boys and girls will be the ones deciding the winning team of this challenge.
Now, along with those 48 kids, there will be another table of very special young guests.
They won't be voting, but they will be eating, and it'd be nice if you could make them happy, because sitting at that table will be my four children.
Oh, my God! And of course, Graham's three children.
Whoo! I'm a little bit nervous, because Gordon and Graham's kids probably eat really sophisticated dishes at home.
So I know we really have to elevate whatever we're making.
Addison and Nate, since you had the best two dishes from the last challenge, today you both will be team captains.
Please, come over here and pick up your aprons.
I am so happy to be a team captain.
On my softball team back home in Illinois, I love to step up and lead them to victory, and that's what I'm gonna do today.
Right, Addison, you had the best dish in the previous challenge, so therefore, you get to pick first.
I think that this person is one of the best young home cooks here, and I think she could really inspire lots of home cooks.
I am picking Kya.
Kya, let's go, my darling.
The youngest girl is the first picked.
I'm so happy that Addison picked me first, because she is a really strong competitor, and we work really good together.
Nate? I am choosing this person because I think he has a lot of strength in the kitchen.
I choose Derek.
Derek, wow.
Back in Philly, I'm on a baseball team and a football team, and I do very well in a team environment.
There's no way we're gonna be losing this one.
- Addison? - Mia.
- Let's go.
- Oh, yeah! - Mia, excellent.
- Thank you, Addison.
Stand next to Kya, please.
- Nate? - I choose Sam.
Sam, wow, let's go.
Well done, Sam.
- Addison.
- Kaitlyn.
- Kaitlyn, great choice.
- Thank you.
Apron on, my darling, please.
- JJ.
- JJ, let's go, bud.
Thank you.
Apron on.
- Addison.
- Corey.
- Oh, thank you.
- Corey, great.
- Apron on, bud.
- I choose Amaya.
Amaya, let's go, little lady! Go and stand next to JJ, please, let's go.
- Zac.
- Wow, Zac, let's go.
- Welcome to the Blue Team.
- Jesse.
Jesse, welcome.
Good choice.
Kamilly.
Kamilly, put on the apron, please, gorgeous.
I choose Avery.
Avery, let's go.
Wow, thank you for that, Avery.
Welc Okay, last pick.
I am picking Tae-Ho.
Wow, let's go.
Welcome to the Blue Team, Tae-Ho.
Which means, Ian, you are on the Red Team.
Come pick up your apron, please, thank you.
Hey, Ian, you know what they say, they save the best for last.
- Right.
- Let's go.
Nate and Addison, go and join your teams.
I am so happy to be on Nate's team, 'cause he has a lot of sophisticated skills, and I like red color, and I'm wearing a red shirt.
So go red! Today you're gonna be serving the people at this party three of our kids' favorite dishes: awesome fish tacos, incredible chicken wings with an amazing sauce, and a stellar homemade turkey burger with toppings of your choice.
Each team is gonna have just one hour to make all those dishes and 40 minutes to serve 'em.
Now, guys, you can interpret those three dishes any way you'd like, but remember who you're cooking for: kids just like you.
The team with the most votes will win the challenge and move on to the next stage of the competition.
The losing team will be facing a pressure test back in the MasterChef kitchen.
The first pressure test of "MasterChef Junior.
" Red Team, Blue Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Your time starts now.
Both teams of junior home cooks must quickly decide on a strategy to prepare the three different menu items for today's birthday celebration.
For the fish tacos, we're gonna make mango salsa.
Write that down.
For my turkey burgers, I want sesame seed buns and tomatoes, red onion.
And then honey barbecue wings, okay? And a sauce? Lemon zest Sriracha and mayonnaise.
Got it.
Back home in Illinois, we cook these things all the time.
So we gotta hit this out of the park and win this challenge.
Kya, all right, let's go, let's go, let's go.
As the Blue Team confidently executes Captain Addison's menu, over on the Red Team, Captain Nate is struggling to find his voice as the leader.
Hang on, hang on.
Everybody back up.
I need space, I need space.
Me and Amaya are doing burgers.
All right, you two are gonna do burgers.
But we have a disagreement.
She wants to put vegetables on the burger.
Who doesn't love tomatoes on their burger? Yeah, I don't like tomatoes.
Nate may not be the strongest leader.
He's not in control right now.
If our team's going to win this challenge, he has to get everybody working together.
That's too many people! Guys, guys, please don't argue.
I don't want this to go bad.
I really want to stay in this competition, guys.
- Don't you? - Yes.
Now let's get to work.
- Wow, this is it.
- This is intense.
I mean, this is kids cooking for a lot of kids.
Let's look at the captains.
Addison, for instance.
I mean, she plays a lot of sports.
Can she bring that level of assertiveness to her team today? Go, go, go, go, go! Addy, how much more guac do we need? Just make as much as you can.
Nate as a captain? Nate needs his team to really take him seriously, and I think he operates great as a one-man team.
Can he operate great as a team captain? Oh, the wings.
Why did we sauce 'em? This is not the sauce.
We're just putting a little coating.
Oh, okay, Sam.
I think that the most important thing for any captain is not to panic.
Yep.
It's about being a vocal leader too, right, so that each member knows what they're playing into the team's victory.
Where are the baskets, guys? - You're making a mess, Ian.
- I'm not.
Yes, you are! Right from the get-go, the team is all over the place, and no one's doing what they're supposed to do.
- Nate! Hey, Nate! - Nate, can we start to work on the fish? - Hey! - Aw, Nate! I'm helping you.
- No, no, no, no, no.
We gottaUgh! Everybody is running around the kitchen, they're asking me questions, they're asking me what to do.
Guys, guys, guys, guys! I feel like I'm gonna faint.
Ugh! Red Team's all over the place.
- Hey, Nate! - Guys, let me Taste this, taste this.
Oh, my God! For this team challenge, the junior home cooks have 60 minutes to prepare three different kid-friendly menu options for the young guests at the "MasterChef Junior" mega birthday bash.
Everyone's doing awesome.
Keep up the good work.
Over on the Red Team, Nate is feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of being team captain.
Hey, Nate, taste this.
Oh, my God! Please get a grip.
We gotta do this, come on! Red Team's all over the place.
Nate isn't making decisions.
No one knows what they're doing or what they're making.
Nate, two seconds, please.
Sure.
I'm seeing a few of the Red Team walking around with their hands in their pockets, and it doesn't look like you organized them.
And FYI, over that wall there in the Blue Team, Addison is organizing her team beyond belief.
- Fry all the wings.
- Yes, Chef! We're good, guys.
We're gonna win this challenge.
Get organized, young man.
Let's go.
Gordon Ramsay's right.
I need to pull my team together and lead them to victory.
Derek, you're doing the burgers.
Start prepping more.
Salt and pepper 'em.
I'm putting JJ, Avery, and Derek on burgers.
Jesse, how are those wings doing? Good.
I'm putting Jesse and Sam on chicken wings with an Asian sauce.
Amaya, you're gonna work with me and Ian.
I'm cooking fish tacos with mango pineapple salsa with Amaya and Ian.
That's great! All right, guys, come on! We can pull ourselves back together! With only 20 minutes left before the guests arrive, a newly organized Red Team hustles to make up for lost time, while the Blue Team continues to work on Captain Addison's fiery menu.
Addison, tell me exactly what you have going on.
For my fish tacos, we have spice crusted fish.
And who's on wings? Tae-Ho and Zac.
We are making Sriracha with lemon.
- Wow, so you're going spicy? - We are.
Think abouta lot of these kids are used to eating kind of like everyday food, but if this fish taco's too spicy, if the Sriracha aioli going with barbecued wings are too hot, then they're gonna have to vote for the Red Team just because that's gonna be the one that's not killing their palates.
Tae-Ho, a little bit, not too much.
- Okay, good luck.
- Thank you.
- Okay, guys, I'm gonna add a little bit more lemon pepper.
Red Team, Blue Team! Your birthday party kids are arriving! And they're led by our children! Oh, my gosh! Welcome, guys! Let's go, let's go, let's go! It's very exciting that kids our age are cooking for us.
Definitely something that doesn't happen every day.
I can't wait to see what food comes out of the kitchen.
I'm so excited that kids, like, my age cooking this food, but these kids are 8 years old, and I'm 12, and they can do way more than I can even do.
I'm ready for the food.
I can't wait to eat.
Hey, Sam, how do you think these look? A little longer, right? No, that looks good.
Me and Sam have never even worked with a fryer before, so it's really hard.
Guys, what's happening here? Jesse, these ones are burnt! I don't know why Jesse and Sam think chicken wings need to be black.
They're supposed to be a nice crispy golden brown.
If we keep burning everything, then we're not gonna have any more food! Those are all overcooked.
You gotta throw 'em all away.
- Yeah, if they're black like this, we can't use 'em.
That just makes people sick, so start going with this new batch, okay? Just worry about how these come out.
So as quickly as possible, me and Sam are trying to redo the chicken wings.
I do not want to go into that pressure test, so I'm watching them super carefully, making sure they don't get burnt.
Don't let that chicken get too dark! Okay.
While Sam and Jesse hustle to correct the wing issues for the Red Team All right, Kaitlyn.
Over on the Blue Team, Chef Ramsay is concerned about the preparation of the fish for their tacos.
What's the seasoning on this? Um, I don't know, Mia You don't know? You should know what's seasoning on there, 'cause you're cooking it, my darling.
- Mia! - Yeah? What's on the fish? It's, like, a mixture of cumin, paprika Why is it so spicy? These are for kids, you know that, right? There's too much spice on the fish.
We have a really big problem.
This would be fine if we were cooking for, like, Gordon, Graham, and Christina, but we're cooking for kids.
If it's too spicy, we're gonna lose their vote.
Guys, we need to start over on the fish.
We don't have any more fish.
Blue Team, ten minutes before we start serving! We have just ten minutes left.
What are we going to do? I don't know if we can do this.
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Blue Team, there's too much spice on the fish.
Guys, we need to start over on the fish.
We don't have any more fish.
I am so sorry.
I need to rinse it off.
So I know we have to fix this fast.
I rinse off the fish, scrape off the original rub, and then I put on a new rub, which is olive oil, salt, and pepper.
We need tacos now.
Red Team, Blue Team, before we start serving! Yes, Chef! All right, guys, come on! Go, go! For service today, the Red Team is offering a turkey burger with cheddar cheese on a toasted wheat bun, Asian style chicken wings with a hoisin sauce, and fish tacos with coleslaw and a pineapple mango salsa.
I need 16 of everything! Kaitlyn, we need tacos now.
I got it! - Hurry.
The Blue Team is serving a turkey burger with swiss and cheddar cheese on a sesame seed bun, honey barbecue wings with a Sriracha aioli sauce, and fish tacos with puréed mango salsa and guacamole.
Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! The winner of today's challenge will be decided by the birthday party guests, who will taste an identical menu item from each team and then vote for the one they like best.
Blue Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Red Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Let's go! Ay-yi-yi! - Nate? - What? - I need servers.
- I got it, Nate! The kids are arriving.
Get on the front, let's go.
I got it! Here you go.
Step right up, get your turkey burgers! Guys, well done! My team's actually doing pretty well.
The fish tacos are going great, JJ's doing well on the burgers, and Sam's sauce for the chicken wings is very, very good.
It's not how you start, it's how you finish, and we are just pulling it together.
Hope you enjoy.
- Chicken.
- Chicken wings, here you go.
We are getting all the plates out fast, and Addison is being a really great team leader.
- I need more burgers, guys! - Okay.
We are very organized and everyone is getting the work done.
I think we're gonna do pretty good.
Chicken wings.
Keep it going, Blue Team, well done, let's go! There you go.
- Hungry people! - Come on, come on! Turkey burger, please.
- Here you go.
- Turkey.
Thank you so much.
Could I have chicken wings, please? I think Gordon's kids are definitely like little mini Gordons with cool accents.
Thank you.
And Graham's kids are just like Mini-Mes of him.
Oh, my gosh, it's Gordon Ramsay's son.
- Hi.
Hi.
Turkey burger, please.
- Oh, my gosh, I love his accent.
Thank you so much.
Jack is so cute! Whoa.
- Thank you.
- They're amazing, trust me.
Can I steal your accent? Out in the dining area, some of the birthday party guests are beginning to vote by taking the plunge down the giant slide and ringing the bell for the team whose food they preferred.
I had the fish tacos and I like the Red Team, because it was juicy and sweet.
Hey, guys, I got a big tray of fish here.
The Blue Team did a better job with the turkey burger.
They put onions, which made it have more flavor than the Red Team.
While the votes continue to pour in back in the kitchen, the Red Team hits a road block in their service.
Wings, wings! We got another order of wings! - Wings! - We're out of wings.
What? If he ordered a wing, we have to give him an empty basket, because we burnt some of our wings.
We ran out of chicken wings because they're all burnt, and we're gonna lose votes.
This is bad, really bad.
Ugh! All right, guys, make the best fish tacos of your life! As the Red Team races to serve their final few customers and cross the finish line on a high note We can do this! Over on the Blue Team, Captain Addison has discovered a major problem with their fish tacos.
Wait, is this cooked? - That isn't cooked.
- Raw! That is raw fish.
It's embarrassing.
If we serve the kids raw food, they could be throwing up and in the hospital.
I'm sorry.
We've lost two votes, guys.
With service winding down, the Blue Team must quickly make a new batch of fish to stop losing votes.
You're throwing down on those wings, how are they? I think I like the Red Team.
Who's going with Red Team? Right, who had the burgers? Which one do you prefer? The burger from the Blue Team had a sesame seed bun, and it was juicier and I thought it tasted better.
Holly, what did you have? I had fish tacos.
I prefer the Blue Team taco because the mango was puréed and had guacamole to go with it.
Nice.
Fish tacos are perfect.
Keep going them like that.
There you go, big man.
Have a nice day.
We're done serving.
Well done! Even though we had rough patches, we had good food, we had really good teamwork, we had pretty good communications.
As team captain, I'm feeling pretty confident right now.
Good luck, guys.
We did it.
Everyone is served.
Being a team captain was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I learned so much, and I think that we did an amazing job.
With service now complete, the final few votes are being cast to determine the winner of today's birthday party challenge.
Did you all enjoy your birthday lunches? Yeah! I'm glad to hear it.
Now, Red Team, Blue Team, great job all around, but like any competition, there can only be one winning team.
Unfortunately, the other team will have to face the pressure test back in the MasterChef Junior kitchen.
The winning team, by the smallest of margins Congratulations Blue Team! We won, and I am so proud of my team.
Being a team captain and leading my team to victory is just an amazing feeling.
Right, Red Team, before we head back to the MasterChef kitchen, please give both kitchens a good clean-down, and Blue Team, with Christina, Graham, and myself, let's all go to the bounce house! Let's go, bounce house! Let's go, let's go! Yay! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Yay! One, two, three.
It's so fun jumping in the bouncy house with Christina, Graham, and Gordon.
Bounce house! Come on! I feel like it's my whole team's birthday! Good job, Blue Team.
Well done.
Guys, come here.
You did great today.
You all made me proud, you made your families proud, you made Gordon, Christina, and Graham proud.
It was beautiful.
Way to go, guys.
Even though we lost, we had a great time.
I think today was my fault.
I mean, I could've done better as a captain, but I'm just really happy for the Blue Team.
Let's go.
We win as a team and we lose as a team.
All right.
Ain't no thing but a chicken wing.
Oh.
Come on down, guys, please.
We just lost the team challenge.
It's kind of a bummer, because now we have to face the first pressure test in MasterChef Junior.
Oh, my gosh, what is that? I have no idea what's behind that orange curtain of theirs and we have no idea what they're gonna do to us.
Red Team, it is time to face the pressure test.
And I'm sorry to say, at the end of the challenge, we're gonna be sending some of you home.
Are you ready to find out what all of you are gonna have to make tonight? Yes, Chef.
So, guys, it's a dessert.
Oh, God.
But not just any dessert.
It's a classic French dessert.
A stunning Oh! - Oh, my God, no! It's a Christmas tree of cream puffs! That's right, a stunning croquembouche.
Oh, God, this can't be happening.
Spectacular cone of cream puffs bound with threads of delicious caramel.
Oh, boy.
Croquembouche, I have never made 'em before.
I've never tasted one before.
I've never even heard of croquembouche before.
I mean, back in Philly, we're all cheesesteaks and pleasure.
I mean, we don't have croquembouche.
Look at that light, delicious, crunchy pastry.
It's stuffed with a rich cream filling inside.
They are piled high to make a delicious, death-defying, very decadent dessert.
- Oh.
- You got it.
Graham, you got two seconds, please? Yeah.
Sorry, just stand there a little bit.
- Yeah, of course.
- To the left a little bit.
One, two, three.
- Thank you very much.
- You got it? - Yeah, down.
- All right.
- Excellent, thank you.
- Yeah, of course.
Wow.
How beautiful is that? - Wow.
- It's gorgeous.
Now, this is the best part, trust me.
- Ooh, can we eat some? - Ooh! Ohh.
Yum.
Sorry, Graham, this is all mine.
Oh, man.
Mmm! Guys, a cream puff tower of this size is really tough to make.
Pastry chefs spend years learning to make it.
I know I did.
It has so many different elements that all have to work together, and it all has to stay standing up tall.
Luckily for you guys, you don't have to make one this tall.
Yeah, baby, whoo-hoo! You only have to make it This tall.
You guys have just 90 minutes to make us a stunning, delicious croquembouche just like this one.
It's time to head to your stations.
I am a pro at desserts, so I think that this is gonna be a piece of croquembouche.
Now, on your stations, you all have the exact same ingredients to make your incredible cream puff tower.
Right, is everybody ready? Yes, Chef! Your 90 minutes starts now! - Whoo! - Come on, guys! - Come on, guys! Ugh.
Come on, Amaya, you can do this! Hurry up.
I'm one of the only people here who's made a croquembouche before.
I think that's a pretty good advantage for me.
I got it.
A croquembouche is an unfamiliar dish to me, but I'm gonna try to pull myself together and get this done.
You gotta have the right time management.
Otherwise, you're going home.
I'm feeling pretty good about this croquembouche.
I've never done this before, but I love cream puffs, so I'm gonna try to do the best I can.
So 90 minutes.
It sounds a long time, but come on, this is technical.
First things first, cream puffs.
Water, butter, sugar, and salt.
- Yes.
- From there, you take a wooden spoon and you spoon in your flour.
I'm gonna get a whole lot stronger doing this.
And then you take that mixture, you add it to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cool down that pastry dough.
After 20 minutes, they should be in a position to start piping.
Pipe, pipe, pipe, into the oven.
This mini croquembouche tonight, how many puffs in one recipe? I mean I would look to make about 30 cream puffs, but it's also not just about building the structure, and I think there's nothing more disheartening than a dessert that looks beautiful and doesn't taste great.
It needs to be both.
I'm nervous for Nate.
He's on his third piping bag, and every time he's put in more mixture inside those bags, you lose at least two or three profiteroles.
Nate, you need to get all that dough, everything.
I know! Addison, what can you see from up there? It looks like Nate doesn't have enough of his dough.
He might have to make a very small croquembouche.
Yeah, I agree.
Got it.
Everybody's profiteroles should be in the oven now.
Come on, guys.
Come on, Amaya, you can do it! All right, Miss Amaya.
Hello.
All right, so, have you ever made a croquembouche before? Yes.
Now, what's the secret, in your mind, to a great cream puff? It has to be the perfect consistency and it has to be baked for the correct amount of time.
That's right.
Good luck, Amaya.
Thank you.
Right, Derek, how are you doing? - Great, Chef.
- So you're filling them up now? They're cooked properly, are they? Yup.
The secret here look is to make sure the filling goes on the inside.
Otherwise, this pastry cream on the outside will destroy the caramel and it will start falling apart.
- Yes, Chef.
- That's why it's called a filling.
Yes, Chef.
Try to keep it off that shirt.
Yes, Chef.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Come on, JJ, let's go! JJ, how we doing? I'm doing good.
You are the oldest kid in "MasterChef Junior" right now.
you're from Texas.
Do you ever do desserts and stuff? I do brownies, cookies, cakes.
But I mean, you're wearing camouflage.
You're not doing this out in the woods.
- I can.
- You can? Well, I've never tried, but I'm pretty sure I can.
Well, best of luck.
By now you should all be filling your profiteroles and getting ready to assemble your croquembouche.
What's burning in here? You gotta be kidding me! What's wrong, Ian? Oh, gosh.
Oh, no! Ian, your caramel's on fire.
Don't pull it.
It's just the hottest.
That's too hot.
Oh, my God.
Stand back, please.
Stand back.
That looks really burnt, and when caramel burns, it turns to a very bitter, bitter taste.
Look at the color of that.
Oh, my God, I can't watch.
Ugh! That looks really burnt.
Get another pan on and start again, please.
Come on, you've still got time.
I can't watch.
- Oh, dear.
- What's going on over there? Okay, Ian is in disarray.
His caramel is burnt.
Ugh! He has to start that again.
I have enough time, I have enough time.
Eight minutes to go.
You should now start assembling your croquembouche.
It smells delicious, guys.
Watch your fingers, guys, on this caramel.
Please be very, very careful.
- Good job, Ian! - Come on, Ian! Whoo! Come on! Nate's not gonna have enough.
Nate, you need one more.
Nate, have you run out of profiteroles? Yes.
Nate, don't worry.
It looks just fine.
I'm sure they taste amazing.
Finishing touches, let's go.
Come on, guys! Last ten! Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
And stop! Hands in the air, well done.
Whoo! - Brilliant! - Whoo-hoo! Now it's time for all of us to taste your croquembouche and then decide which of you deserve to keep their place in the biggest cooking competition anywhere in the world.
First up, Sam.
Whoo! Come on, Sam.
- Sam.
- Come on, Sam.
Go, Sam.
I feel really confident about my croquembouche.
It looks really good.
I just hope the taste is okay.
All right, Sam, what is your history with a croquembouche? I've never made a croquembouche.
You've never made a croquembouche before? - Nope.
- And this is what you made on your first try? Yup.
If a new pastry cook at Milk Bar brought me this on their first day at work, I would give them a raise immediately and beg them to never leave.
You want a job? I don't know about baking as a job.
You don't know about I just I'm a little speechless that this is your first-ever croquembouche.
This is just stunning.
You can hear it's that hollow cream puff that you can hear has been filled with that pastry cream.
That's a great sign for you, Sam.
And look at that.
It's perfectly filled with pastry cream.
You have that caramel crunch on the bottom.
Beautiful.
Mmm.
Your pastry cream is delicious.
Perfect ration of pastry cream to pâte à choux.
Picture perfect croquembouche.
- Thank you.
Well done, Sam.
I'm not sure if I want to bake for a living, but that's so awesome that Christina would hire me.
I definitely think that I did enough to be in the top tonight.
Next up, Nate.
Come on, Nate.
Come on, Nate.
- Nate, you got this, man.
- Whoo! Got this, buddy.
It doesn't look like the one that we presented.
You looked like you were pretty stressed out.
I was.
This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I just hope you like it.
Our caramel is it's burned, and it's too much.
It should be almost like a slight glue to hold 'em together.
I don't want to be eating big shards.
Yes.
The pastry itself is sadly still wet and undercooked, and then there's just not that much filling at all.
The sad part is that the flavor on the pastry cream is delicious, it's perfectly seasoned, but obviously, not enough of 'em.
No.
Not the height, not enough filling.
It's a super hard challenge, and you have a lot of highs in here, but there are a lot of lows.
- Okay? Thank you.
- Thanks.
Next up, Jesse, please.
Let's go.
Come on, Jesse! Visually, you have the perfect shape of profiteroles.
They're cooked beautifully, they're crisp on the outside.
You were nearly hitting perfection, but the caramel is way too dark.
- Okay.
- Good job.
Thank you.
Come on up, JJ.
Bonjour, Monsieur.
It is the leaning tower of croquembouche.
Mmm.
This is delicious.
Construction needs work.
Caramel, just the right color, you definitely nailed that, and the pastry cream is out of this world.
- Nice job.
- Thank you.
Next, please, we'd like Avery.
When's the last time you ate a croquembouche back in Louisiana? Never.
Visually, the shape is not right, but you make up for that by having one of the tastiest profiteroles that I think we had tonight.
Good job, thank you.
Good job, Avery! Next up, Derek, please, let's go.
Nice and carefully.
How long did you cook your profiteroles for? I cooked them for 24 minutes.
Did you test one? No.
So inside, this is all wet here.
What do you think that dampness means? It wasn't cooked all the way.
It's exactly that.
Tonight's challenge is all about perfection.
I think you worked messy.
It's almost like you treated it as a race.
Sadly, your profiteroles are undercooked.
The color of your cream puffs are beautiful, but you've got to check the inside.
Thank you.
Next up, Amaya.
Whoo! Visually, you chose to take the croquembouches and you sort of layered them bottom to bottom to bottom.
Typically, when you do a croquembouche, you start to build up the sides so that the puff of the cream puff is facing out, rather than being covered up.
I think your cream puffs definitely could've used a little bit more time in the oven so that they hollowed out a little bit better.
Very tasty, balance of flavor in your cream puff.
Pastry cream itself is also really delicious.
I think the concerns are just the shape, size, technique, and cook time of those cream puffs, but really great effort.
- Whoo! - Great job, Amaya.
Great job, Amaya.
You did a great job.
Next up, Ian, let's go.
- Whoo-hoo, yeah.
- Come on, Ian.
I look at my croquembouche.
I'm not too happy about it.
My profiteroles are really ugly they arebut I hope they taste really good, 'cause I do not want to go home.
Okay.
So visually, that looks a little bit like a "croquem-mess.
" Did you sit on it? No.
Let's talk about the shapes.
I seem to have a gerbil.
Oh, my God.
I seem to have a drowned rat here.
And this one here looks like a squashed frog.
They would hang you from the Eiffel Tower in Paris if you called that a profiterole.
Oh, my God.
Let's talk about the shapes.
I seem to have a gerbil.
Oh, my God.
I seem to have a drowned rat here.
And this one here, what is that? What is it, like, a sparrow? They would hang you from the Eiffel Tower in Paris if you called that a profiterole.
But, as you know, it's all about the taste.
Love this hard top on here.
Thank you.
Love that.
That means they're cooked properly.
Sufficient cream? Yes.
Here's the thing.
Are they the best? Definitely not.
Are they in the bottom? Yes, they are.
Thank you.
Good job, bud.
My croquembouche looked really ugly, but at least it tasted good.
Right, could all eight of you please make your way down here? This was a very intense pressure test.
That was a very tall order.
Please, all of you, give us a moment, because we need to discuss this at length.
I'm going home.
I swear to God.
Don't say that, Ian.
Um, a technical dish to pull off.
Full of technique and skill.
Some of 'em did great though, right? I think mine was undercooked, but the pastry treat was great, they liked that.
It was missing half, though.
- I mean - Yeah.
You had a soggy, squashy pastry needing more sugar.
Dude, Derek, you all right, bud? Yeah.
You can't put so much pastry cream in that it starts coming out of every top and side.
Looks like somebody already ate it and put it back.
Yeah, yeah.
Who do you think it is? I don't know.
Tonight was a very, very tough challenge.
One home cook did a pretty extraordinary job, and not only is this home cook just ten years old It's you, buddy.
They don't even want to be a pastry chef, which I find quite offensive.
Please step forward, Sam.
Sam, that was brilliant.
Congratulations, you are going nowhere except for up to the balcony.
Well done, buddy.
It's amazing that I did the best croquembouche, and I've never even made one before.
Great job, Sam.
All right, Christina, maybe I'll take the job.
There were three other young home cooks that did a pretty awesome job tonight.
Please step forward, Avery, Jesse, and JJ.
You are all safe.
Please head to the balcony.
Right, that leaves just four of you talented youngsters.
Two of you will be staying and two of you, sadly, will have to leave.
Christina, Graham, and I know how difficult that task was, so whatever happens, whatever the result, well done, all four of you.
Ian and Amaya, step forward, please.
Oh, my God.
You twodidn't have a great night.
But they weren't the worst.
Please, both of you, head upstairs.
Nate's leaving.
What? No, no.
I'll miss you guys.
Nate, Derek, remember that you beat thousands and thousands of other youngsters to get where you are standing tonight.
Top 16 is a big achievement.
Never forget that, and do not let those culinary dreams disappear.
Come here.
Well done, bud.
Good job.
Well done.
I'm sad that I got eliminated, but I'm proud that I made it to the top 16.
The hardest part for me is probably leaving all the friends I've made here.
But everything I learned here in the MasterChef kitchen I'm gonna take home and become a better chef.
This is the greatest experience of my life and I'll never forget my time here.
I mean, I got to cook moon cheese.
I got to filet and cook a giant yellowfin tuna.
I got marshmallow shot on me.
There's nothing better I could ask for.
We'll miss you! Sure, I didn't get the MasterChef trophy, but I get to see my little brother and sister.
It's just awesome.
Next week Lemonade, yeah! Lemonade is my thing.
A juicy challenge Hurry! Puts the squeeze on the junior home cooks.
The team that makes the best lemonade will stay nice and dry.
And then Oh, my God! Groovy, baby.
Things turn really sour What the heck? She wears underwear outside her pants! When the judges take a trip down memory lane.
I'm totally fine.
- Ugh.
- Oh, my God.
- Does anyone smell that? - Ugh! After a smelly elimination test Whoo! Adam and Jaeclyn's time in the MasterChef kitchen You've been brilliant.
Keep that head up high.
Came to an end.
Whee! Tonight Hold on, guys! Oh, my God! This is awesome.
Go, go, go, go! The top 16 face their first team challenge.
Let's go! Cooking in the biggest celebration in MasterChef Junior history.
This is kids cooking for a lot of kids.
I don't know if we can do this.
I feel like I'm gonna faint.
Will the pint-sized chefs rise to the occasion? - Agh! - These ones are burnt! Or will the party That is raw fish! End in disaster? They could be throwing up and in the hospital.
of the MasterChef kitchen The remaining have embarked on a field trip to the Calamigos ranch in Malibu, California.
This is really cool, being outside of the MasterChef kitchen and getting some fresh air.
- Oh, my God! - Whoo! Hold on, guys! I'm not sure if Christina knows how to drive this thing, and I'm not sure she has her tractor license.
Where are we going? We're pulling up in the tractor, and I see a Ferris wheel, I see a big, inflatable slide, I see games, I see rides.
It's like pulling up to, like, heaven.
Oh, my God! I love bouncy houses.
I wish my house was a bouncy house.
So this is awesome.
Wait, where is Gordon and Graham? Whoo! They're on the Ferris wheel! - Come on, guys! - Whee! Oh, yeah, baby! Gordon! Graham! Excellent.
Guys, let's go! Sorry, guys.
Line up over there.
Good to see everybody.
Whoo! All of you, welcome to Calamigos Ranch.
Now, who likes to have a good time? I do! Good, because we have invited a lot of very special people to come and have fun at a very special birthday party here today.
You guys are all ages 8 to 13, and this birthday party is for 8-year-olds and 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds and 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds.
That's right, we have invited a table of kids of each age.
And you guys will be cooking all the party food in two teams of eight.
And all those birthday boys and girls will be the ones deciding the winning team of this challenge.
Now, along with those 48 kids, there will be another table of very special young guests.
They won't be voting, but they will be eating, and it'd be nice if you could make them happy, because sitting at that table will be my four children.
Oh, my God! And of course, Graham's three children.
Whoo! I'm a little bit nervous, because Gordon and Graham's kids probably eat really sophisticated dishes at home.
So I know we really have to elevate whatever we're making.
Addison and Nate, since you had the best two dishes from the last challenge, today you both will be team captains.
Please, come over here and pick up your aprons.
I am so happy to be a team captain.
On my softball team back home in Illinois, I love to step up and lead them to victory, and that's what I'm gonna do today.
Right, Addison, you had the best dish in the previous challenge, so therefore, you get to pick first.
I think that this person is one of the best young home cooks here, and I think she could really inspire lots of home cooks.
I am picking Kya.
Kya, let's go, my darling.
The youngest girl is the first picked.
I'm so happy that Addison picked me first, because she is a really strong competitor, and we work really good together.
Nate? I am choosing this person because I think he has a lot of strength in the kitchen.
I choose Derek.
Derek, wow.
Back in Philly, I'm on a baseball team and a football team, and I do very well in a team environment.
There's no way we're gonna be losing this one.
- Addison? - Mia.
- Let's go.
- Oh, yeah! - Mia, excellent.
- Thank you, Addison.
Stand next to Kya, please.
- Nate? - I choose Sam.
Sam, wow, let's go.
Well done, Sam.
- Addison.
- Kaitlyn.
- Kaitlyn, great choice.
- Thank you.
Apron on, my darling, please.
- JJ.
- JJ, let's go, bud.
Thank you.
Apron on.
- Addison.
- Corey.
- Oh, thank you.
- Corey, great.
- Apron on, bud.
- I choose Amaya.
Amaya, let's go, little lady! Go and stand next to JJ, please, let's go.
- Zac.
- Wow, Zac, let's go.
- Welcome to the Blue Team.
- Jesse.
Jesse, welcome.
Good choice.
Kamilly.
Kamilly, put on the apron, please, gorgeous.
I choose Avery.
Avery, let's go.
Wow, thank you for that, Avery.
Welc Okay, last pick.
I am picking Tae-Ho.
Wow, let's go.
Welcome to the Blue Team, Tae-Ho.
Which means, Ian, you are on the Red Team.
Come pick up your apron, please, thank you.
Hey, Ian, you know what they say, they save the best for last.
- Right.
- Let's go.
Nate and Addison, go and join your teams.
I am so happy to be on Nate's team, 'cause he has a lot of sophisticated skills, and I like red color, and I'm wearing a red shirt.
So go red! Today you're gonna be serving the people at this party three of our kids' favorite dishes: awesome fish tacos, incredible chicken wings with an amazing sauce, and a stellar homemade turkey burger with toppings of your choice.
Each team is gonna have just one hour to make all those dishes and 40 minutes to serve 'em.
Now, guys, you can interpret those three dishes any way you'd like, but remember who you're cooking for: kids just like you.
The team with the most votes will win the challenge and move on to the next stage of the competition.
The losing team will be facing a pressure test back in the MasterChef kitchen.
The first pressure test of "MasterChef Junior.
" Red Team, Blue Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Your time starts now.
Both teams of junior home cooks must quickly decide on a strategy to prepare the three different menu items for today's birthday celebration.
For the fish tacos, we're gonna make mango salsa.
Write that down.
For my turkey burgers, I want sesame seed buns and tomatoes, red onion.
And then honey barbecue wings, okay? And a sauce? Lemon zest Sriracha and mayonnaise.
Got it.
Back home in Illinois, we cook these things all the time.
So we gotta hit this out of the park and win this challenge.
Kya, all right, let's go, let's go, let's go.
As the Blue Team confidently executes Captain Addison's menu, over on the Red Team, Captain Nate is struggling to find his voice as the leader.
Hang on, hang on.
Everybody back up.
I need space, I need space.
Me and Amaya are doing burgers.
All right, you two are gonna do burgers.
But we have a disagreement.
She wants to put vegetables on the burger.
Who doesn't love tomatoes on their burger? Yeah, I don't like tomatoes.
Nate may not be the strongest leader.
He's not in control right now.
If our team's going to win this challenge, he has to get everybody working together.
That's too many people! Guys, guys, please don't argue.
I don't want this to go bad.
I really want to stay in this competition, guys.
- Don't you? - Yes.
Now let's get to work.
- Wow, this is it.
- This is intense.
I mean, this is kids cooking for a lot of kids.
Let's look at the captains.
Addison, for instance.
I mean, she plays a lot of sports.
Can she bring that level of assertiveness to her team today? Go, go, go, go, go! Addy, how much more guac do we need? Just make as much as you can.
Nate as a captain? Nate needs his team to really take him seriously, and I think he operates great as a one-man team.
Can he operate great as a team captain? Oh, the wings.
Why did we sauce 'em? This is not the sauce.
We're just putting a little coating.
Oh, okay, Sam.
I think that the most important thing for any captain is not to panic.
Yep.
It's about being a vocal leader too, right, so that each member knows what they're playing into the team's victory.
Where are the baskets, guys? - You're making a mess, Ian.
- I'm not.
Yes, you are! Right from the get-go, the team is all over the place, and no one's doing what they're supposed to do.
- Nate! Hey, Nate! - Nate, can we start to work on the fish? - Hey! - Aw, Nate! I'm helping you.
- No, no, no, no, no.
We gottaUgh! Everybody is running around the kitchen, they're asking me questions, they're asking me what to do.
Guys, guys, guys, guys! I feel like I'm gonna faint.
Ugh! Red Team's all over the place.
- Hey, Nate! - Guys, let me Taste this, taste this.
Oh, my God! For this team challenge, the junior home cooks have 60 minutes to prepare three different kid-friendly menu options for the young guests at the "MasterChef Junior" mega birthday bash.
Everyone's doing awesome.
Keep up the good work.
Over on the Red Team, Nate is feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of being team captain.
Hey, Nate, taste this.
Oh, my God! Please get a grip.
We gotta do this, come on! Red Team's all over the place.
Nate isn't making decisions.
No one knows what they're doing or what they're making.
Nate, two seconds, please.
Sure.
I'm seeing a few of the Red Team walking around with their hands in their pockets, and it doesn't look like you organized them.
And FYI, over that wall there in the Blue Team, Addison is organizing her team beyond belief.
- Fry all the wings.
- Yes, Chef! We're good, guys.
We're gonna win this challenge.
Get organized, young man.
Let's go.
Gordon Ramsay's right.
I need to pull my team together and lead them to victory.
Derek, you're doing the burgers.
Start prepping more.
Salt and pepper 'em.
I'm putting JJ, Avery, and Derek on burgers.
Jesse, how are those wings doing? Good.
I'm putting Jesse and Sam on chicken wings with an Asian sauce.
Amaya, you're gonna work with me and Ian.
I'm cooking fish tacos with mango pineapple salsa with Amaya and Ian.
That's great! All right, guys, come on! We can pull ourselves back together! With only 20 minutes left before the guests arrive, a newly organized Red Team hustles to make up for lost time, while the Blue Team continues to work on Captain Addison's fiery menu.
Addison, tell me exactly what you have going on.
For my fish tacos, we have spice crusted fish.
And who's on wings? Tae-Ho and Zac.
We are making Sriracha with lemon.
- Wow, so you're going spicy? - We are.
Think abouta lot of these kids are used to eating kind of like everyday food, but if this fish taco's too spicy, if the Sriracha aioli going with barbecued wings are too hot, then they're gonna have to vote for the Red Team just because that's gonna be the one that's not killing their palates.
Tae-Ho, a little bit, not too much.
- Okay, good luck.
- Thank you.
- Okay, guys, I'm gonna add a little bit more lemon pepper.
Red Team, Blue Team! Your birthday party kids are arriving! And they're led by our children! Oh, my gosh! Welcome, guys! Let's go, let's go, let's go! It's very exciting that kids our age are cooking for us.
Definitely something that doesn't happen every day.
I can't wait to see what food comes out of the kitchen.
I'm so excited that kids, like, my age cooking this food, but these kids are 8 years old, and I'm 12, and they can do way more than I can even do.
I'm ready for the food.
I can't wait to eat.
Hey, Sam, how do you think these look? A little longer, right? No, that looks good.
Me and Sam have never even worked with a fryer before, so it's really hard.
Guys, what's happening here? Jesse, these ones are burnt! I don't know why Jesse and Sam think chicken wings need to be black.
They're supposed to be a nice crispy golden brown.
If we keep burning everything, then we're not gonna have any more food! Those are all overcooked.
You gotta throw 'em all away.
- Yeah, if they're black like this, we can't use 'em.
That just makes people sick, so start going with this new batch, okay? Just worry about how these come out.
So as quickly as possible, me and Sam are trying to redo the chicken wings.
I do not want to go into that pressure test, so I'm watching them super carefully, making sure they don't get burnt.
Don't let that chicken get too dark! Okay.
While Sam and Jesse hustle to correct the wing issues for the Red Team All right, Kaitlyn.
Over on the Blue Team, Chef Ramsay is concerned about the preparation of the fish for their tacos.
What's the seasoning on this? Um, I don't know, Mia You don't know? You should know what's seasoning on there, 'cause you're cooking it, my darling.
- Mia! - Yeah? What's on the fish? It's, like, a mixture of cumin, paprika Why is it so spicy? These are for kids, you know that, right? There's too much spice on the fish.
We have a really big problem.
This would be fine if we were cooking for, like, Gordon, Graham, and Christina, but we're cooking for kids.
If it's too spicy, we're gonna lose their vote.
Guys, we need to start over on the fish.
We don't have any more fish.
Blue Team, ten minutes before we start serving! We have just ten minutes left.
What are we going to do? I don't know if we can do this.
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Blue Team, there's too much spice on the fish.
Guys, we need to start over on the fish.
We don't have any more fish.
I am so sorry.
I need to rinse it off.
So I know we have to fix this fast.
I rinse off the fish, scrape off the original rub, and then I put on a new rub, which is olive oil, salt, and pepper.
We need tacos now.
Red Team, Blue Team, before we start serving! Yes, Chef! All right, guys, come on! Go, go! For service today, the Red Team is offering a turkey burger with cheddar cheese on a toasted wheat bun, Asian style chicken wings with a hoisin sauce, and fish tacos with coleslaw and a pineapple mango salsa.
I need 16 of everything! Kaitlyn, we need tacos now.
I got it! - Hurry.
The Blue Team is serving a turkey burger with swiss and cheddar cheese on a sesame seed bun, honey barbecue wings with a Sriracha aioli sauce, and fish tacos with puréed mango salsa and guacamole.
Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! The winner of today's challenge will be decided by the birthday party guests, who will taste an identical menu item from each team and then vote for the one they like best.
Blue Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Red Team, are you ready? Yes, Chef! Let's go! Ay-yi-yi! - Nate? - What? - I need servers.
- I got it, Nate! The kids are arriving.
Get on the front, let's go.
I got it! Here you go.
Step right up, get your turkey burgers! Guys, well done! My team's actually doing pretty well.
The fish tacos are going great, JJ's doing well on the burgers, and Sam's sauce for the chicken wings is very, very good.
It's not how you start, it's how you finish, and we are just pulling it together.
Hope you enjoy.
- Chicken.
- Chicken wings, here you go.
We are getting all the plates out fast, and Addison is being a really great team leader.
- I need more burgers, guys! - Okay.
We are very organized and everyone is getting the work done.
I think we're gonna do pretty good.
Chicken wings.
Keep it going, Blue Team, well done, let's go! There you go.
- Hungry people! - Come on, come on! Turkey burger, please.
- Here you go.
- Turkey.
Thank you so much.
Could I have chicken wings, please? I think Gordon's kids are definitely like little mini Gordons with cool accents.
Thank you.
And Graham's kids are just like Mini-Mes of him.
Oh, my gosh, it's Gordon Ramsay's son.
- Hi.
Hi.
Turkey burger, please.
- Oh, my gosh, I love his accent.
Thank you so much.
Jack is so cute! Whoa.
- Thank you.
- They're amazing, trust me.
Can I steal your accent? Out in the dining area, some of the birthday party guests are beginning to vote by taking the plunge down the giant slide and ringing the bell for the team whose food they preferred.
I had the fish tacos and I like the Red Team, because it was juicy and sweet.
Hey, guys, I got a big tray of fish here.
The Blue Team did a better job with the turkey burger.
They put onions, which made it have more flavor than the Red Team.
While the votes continue to pour in back in the kitchen, the Red Team hits a road block in their service.
Wings, wings! We got another order of wings! - Wings! - We're out of wings.
What? If he ordered a wing, we have to give him an empty basket, because we burnt some of our wings.
We ran out of chicken wings because they're all burnt, and we're gonna lose votes.
This is bad, really bad.
Ugh! All right, guys, make the best fish tacos of your life! As the Red Team races to serve their final few customers and cross the finish line on a high note We can do this! Over on the Blue Team, Captain Addison has discovered a major problem with their fish tacos.
Wait, is this cooked? - That isn't cooked.
- Raw! That is raw fish.
It's embarrassing.
If we serve the kids raw food, they could be throwing up and in the hospital.
I'm sorry.
We've lost two votes, guys.
With service winding down, the Blue Team must quickly make a new batch of fish to stop losing votes.
You're throwing down on those wings, how are they? I think I like the Red Team.
Who's going with Red Team? Right, who had the burgers? Which one do you prefer? The burger from the Blue Team had a sesame seed bun, and it was juicier and I thought it tasted better.
Holly, what did you have? I had fish tacos.
I prefer the Blue Team taco because the mango was puréed and had guacamole to go with it.
Nice.
Fish tacos are perfect.
Keep going them like that.
There you go, big man.
Have a nice day.
We're done serving.
Well done! Even though we had rough patches, we had good food, we had really good teamwork, we had pretty good communications.
As team captain, I'm feeling pretty confident right now.
Good luck, guys.
We did it.
Everyone is served.
Being a team captain was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I learned so much, and I think that we did an amazing job.
With service now complete, the final few votes are being cast to determine the winner of today's birthday party challenge.
Did you all enjoy your birthday lunches? Yeah! I'm glad to hear it.
Now, Red Team, Blue Team, great job all around, but like any competition, there can only be one winning team.
Unfortunately, the other team will have to face the pressure test back in the MasterChef Junior kitchen.
The winning team, by the smallest of margins Congratulations Blue Team! We won, and I am so proud of my team.
Being a team captain and leading my team to victory is just an amazing feeling.
Right, Red Team, before we head back to the MasterChef kitchen, please give both kitchens a good clean-down, and Blue Team, with Christina, Graham, and myself, let's all go to the bounce house! Let's go, bounce house! Let's go, let's go! Yay! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Yay! One, two, three.
It's so fun jumping in the bouncy house with Christina, Graham, and Gordon.
Bounce house! Come on! I feel like it's my whole team's birthday! Good job, Blue Team.
Well done.
Guys, come here.
You did great today.
You all made me proud, you made your families proud, you made Gordon, Christina, and Graham proud.
It was beautiful.
Way to go, guys.
Even though we lost, we had a great time.
I think today was my fault.
I mean, I could've done better as a captain, but I'm just really happy for the Blue Team.
Let's go.
We win as a team and we lose as a team.
All right.
Ain't no thing but a chicken wing.
Oh.
Come on down, guys, please.
We just lost the team challenge.
It's kind of a bummer, because now we have to face the first pressure test in MasterChef Junior.
Oh, my gosh, what is that? I have no idea what's behind that orange curtain of theirs and we have no idea what they're gonna do to us.
Red Team, it is time to face the pressure test.
And I'm sorry to say, at the end of the challenge, we're gonna be sending some of you home.
Are you ready to find out what all of you are gonna have to make tonight? Yes, Chef.
So, guys, it's a dessert.
Oh, God.
But not just any dessert.
It's a classic French dessert.
A stunning Oh! - Oh, my God, no! It's a Christmas tree of cream puffs! That's right, a stunning croquembouche.
Oh, God, this can't be happening.
Spectacular cone of cream puffs bound with threads of delicious caramel.
Oh, boy.
Croquembouche, I have never made 'em before.
I've never tasted one before.
I've never even heard of croquembouche before.
I mean, back in Philly, we're all cheesesteaks and pleasure.
I mean, we don't have croquembouche.
Look at that light, delicious, crunchy pastry.
It's stuffed with a rich cream filling inside.
They are piled high to make a delicious, death-defying, very decadent dessert.
- Oh.
- You got it.
Graham, you got two seconds, please? Yeah.
Sorry, just stand there a little bit.
- Yeah, of course.
- To the left a little bit.
One, two, three.
- Thank you very much.
- You got it? - Yeah, down.
- All right.
- Excellent, thank you.
- Yeah, of course.
Wow.
How beautiful is that? - Wow.
- It's gorgeous.
Now, this is the best part, trust me.
- Ooh, can we eat some? - Ooh! Ohh.
Yum.
Sorry, Graham, this is all mine.
Oh, man.
Mmm! Guys, a cream puff tower of this size is really tough to make.
Pastry chefs spend years learning to make it.
I know I did.
It has so many different elements that all have to work together, and it all has to stay standing up tall.
Luckily for you guys, you don't have to make one this tall.
Yeah, baby, whoo-hoo! You only have to make it This tall.
You guys have just 90 minutes to make us a stunning, delicious croquembouche just like this one.
It's time to head to your stations.
I am a pro at desserts, so I think that this is gonna be a piece of croquembouche.
Now, on your stations, you all have the exact same ingredients to make your incredible cream puff tower.
Right, is everybody ready? Yes, Chef! Your 90 minutes starts now! - Whoo! - Come on, guys! - Come on, guys! Ugh.
Come on, Amaya, you can do this! Hurry up.
I'm one of the only people here who's made a croquembouche before.
I think that's a pretty good advantage for me.
I got it.
A croquembouche is an unfamiliar dish to me, but I'm gonna try to pull myself together and get this done.
You gotta have the right time management.
Otherwise, you're going home.
I'm feeling pretty good about this croquembouche.
I've never done this before, but I love cream puffs, so I'm gonna try to do the best I can.
So 90 minutes.
It sounds a long time, but come on, this is technical.
First things first, cream puffs.
Water, butter, sugar, and salt.
- Yes.
- From there, you take a wooden spoon and you spoon in your flour.
I'm gonna get a whole lot stronger doing this.
And then you take that mixture, you add it to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cool down that pastry dough.
After 20 minutes, they should be in a position to start piping.
Pipe, pipe, pipe, into the oven.
This mini croquembouche tonight, how many puffs in one recipe? I mean I would look to make about 30 cream puffs, but it's also not just about building the structure, and I think there's nothing more disheartening than a dessert that looks beautiful and doesn't taste great.
It needs to be both.
I'm nervous for Nate.
He's on his third piping bag, and every time he's put in more mixture inside those bags, you lose at least two or three profiteroles.
Nate, you need to get all that dough, everything.
I know! Addison, what can you see from up there? It looks like Nate doesn't have enough of his dough.
He might have to make a very small croquembouche.
Yeah, I agree.
Got it.
Everybody's profiteroles should be in the oven now.
Come on, guys.
Come on, Amaya, you can do it! All right, Miss Amaya.
Hello.
All right, so, have you ever made a croquembouche before? Yes.
Now, what's the secret, in your mind, to a great cream puff? It has to be the perfect consistency and it has to be baked for the correct amount of time.
That's right.
Good luck, Amaya.
Thank you.
Right, Derek, how are you doing? - Great, Chef.
- So you're filling them up now? They're cooked properly, are they? Yup.
The secret here look is to make sure the filling goes on the inside.
Otherwise, this pastry cream on the outside will destroy the caramel and it will start falling apart.
- Yes, Chef.
- That's why it's called a filling.
Yes, Chef.
Try to keep it off that shirt.
Yes, Chef.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Come on, JJ, let's go! JJ, how we doing? I'm doing good.
You are the oldest kid in "MasterChef Junior" right now.
you're from Texas.
Do you ever do desserts and stuff? I do brownies, cookies, cakes.
But I mean, you're wearing camouflage.
You're not doing this out in the woods.
- I can.
- You can? Well, I've never tried, but I'm pretty sure I can.
Well, best of luck.
By now you should all be filling your profiteroles and getting ready to assemble your croquembouche.
What's burning in here? You gotta be kidding me! What's wrong, Ian? Oh, gosh.
Oh, no! Ian, your caramel's on fire.
Don't pull it.
It's just the hottest.
That's too hot.
Oh, my God.
Stand back, please.
Stand back.
That looks really burnt, and when caramel burns, it turns to a very bitter, bitter taste.
Look at the color of that.
Oh, my God, I can't watch.
Ugh! That looks really burnt.
Get another pan on and start again, please.
Come on, you've still got time.
I can't watch.
- Oh, dear.
- What's going on over there? Okay, Ian is in disarray.
His caramel is burnt.
Ugh! He has to start that again.
I have enough time, I have enough time.
Eight minutes to go.
You should now start assembling your croquembouche.
It smells delicious, guys.
Watch your fingers, guys, on this caramel.
Please be very, very careful.
- Good job, Ian! - Come on, Ian! Whoo! Come on! Nate's not gonna have enough.
Nate, you need one more.
Nate, have you run out of profiteroles? Yes.
Nate, don't worry.
It looks just fine.
I'm sure they taste amazing.
Finishing touches, let's go.
Come on, guys! Last ten! Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
And stop! Hands in the air, well done.
Whoo! - Brilliant! - Whoo-hoo! Now it's time for all of us to taste your croquembouche and then decide which of you deserve to keep their place in the biggest cooking competition anywhere in the world.
First up, Sam.
Whoo! Come on, Sam.
- Sam.
- Come on, Sam.
Go, Sam.
I feel really confident about my croquembouche.
It looks really good.
I just hope the taste is okay.
All right, Sam, what is your history with a croquembouche? I've never made a croquembouche.
You've never made a croquembouche before? - Nope.
- And this is what you made on your first try? Yup.
If a new pastry cook at Milk Bar brought me this on their first day at work, I would give them a raise immediately and beg them to never leave.
You want a job? I don't know about baking as a job.
You don't know about I just I'm a little speechless that this is your first-ever croquembouche.
This is just stunning.
You can hear it's that hollow cream puff that you can hear has been filled with that pastry cream.
That's a great sign for you, Sam.
And look at that.
It's perfectly filled with pastry cream.
You have that caramel crunch on the bottom.
Beautiful.
Mmm.
Your pastry cream is delicious.
Perfect ration of pastry cream to pâte à choux.
Picture perfect croquembouche.
- Thank you.
Well done, Sam.
I'm not sure if I want to bake for a living, but that's so awesome that Christina would hire me.
I definitely think that I did enough to be in the top tonight.
Next up, Nate.
Come on, Nate.
Come on, Nate.
- Nate, you got this, man.
- Whoo! Got this, buddy.
It doesn't look like the one that we presented.
You looked like you were pretty stressed out.
I was.
This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I just hope you like it.
Our caramel is it's burned, and it's too much.
It should be almost like a slight glue to hold 'em together.
I don't want to be eating big shards.
Yes.
The pastry itself is sadly still wet and undercooked, and then there's just not that much filling at all.
The sad part is that the flavor on the pastry cream is delicious, it's perfectly seasoned, but obviously, not enough of 'em.
No.
Not the height, not enough filling.
It's a super hard challenge, and you have a lot of highs in here, but there are a lot of lows.
- Okay? Thank you.
- Thanks.
Next up, Jesse, please.
Let's go.
Come on, Jesse! Visually, you have the perfect shape of profiteroles.
They're cooked beautifully, they're crisp on the outside.
You were nearly hitting perfection, but the caramel is way too dark.
- Okay.
- Good job.
Thank you.
Come on up, JJ.
Bonjour, Monsieur.
It is the leaning tower of croquembouche.
Mmm.
This is delicious.
Construction needs work.
Caramel, just the right color, you definitely nailed that, and the pastry cream is out of this world.
- Nice job.
- Thank you.
Next, please, we'd like Avery.
When's the last time you ate a croquembouche back in Louisiana? Never.
Visually, the shape is not right, but you make up for that by having one of the tastiest profiteroles that I think we had tonight.
Good job, thank you.
Good job, Avery! Next up, Derek, please, let's go.
Nice and carefully.
How long did you cook your profiteroles for? I cooked them for 24 minutes.
Did you test one? No.
So inside, this is all wet here.
What do you think that dampness means? It wasn't cooked all the way.
It's exactly that.
Tonight's challenge is all about perfection.
I think you worked messy.
It's almost like you treated it as a race.
Sadly, your profiteroles are undercooked.
The color of your cream puffs are beautiful, but you've got to check the inside.
Thank you.
Next up, Amaya.
Whoo! Visually, you chose to take the croquembouches and you sort of layered them bottom to bottom to bottom.
Typically, when you do a croquembouche, you start to build up the sides so that the puff of the cream puff is facing out, rather than being covered up.
I think your cream puffs definitely could've used a little bit more time in the oven so that they hollowed out a little bit better.
Very tasty, balance of flavor in your cream puff.
Pastry cream itself is also really delicious.
I think the concerns are just the shape, size, technique, and cook time of those cream puffs, but really great effort.
- Whoo! - Great job, Amaya.
Great job, Amaya.
You did a great job.
Next up, Ian, let's go.
- Whoo-hoo, yeah.
- Come on, Ian.
I look at my croquembouche.
I'm not too happy about it.
My profiteroles are really ugly they arebut I hope they taste really good, 'cause I do not want to go home.
Okay.
So visually, that looks a little bit like a "croquem-mess.
" Did you sit on it? No.
Let's talk about the shapes.
I seem to have a gerbil.
Oh, my God.
I seem to have a drowned rat here.
And this one here looks like a squashed frog.
They would hang you from the Eiffel Tower in Paris if you called that a profiterole.
Oh, my God.
Let's talk about the shapes.
I seem to have a gerbil.
Oh, my God.
I seem to have a drowned rat here.
And this one here, what is that? What is it, like, a sparrow? They would hang you from the Eiffel Tower in Paris if you called that a profiterole.
But, as you know, it's all about the taste.
Love this hard top on here.
Thank you.
Love that.
That means they're cooked properly.
Sufficient cream? Yes.
Here's the thing.
Are they the best? Definitely not.
Are they in the bottom? Yes, they are.
Thank you.
Good job, bud.
My croquembouche looked really ugly, but at least it tasted good.
Right, could all eight of you please make your way down here? This was a very intense pressure test.
That was a very tall order.
Please, all of you, give us a moment, because we need to discuss this at length.
I'm going home.
I swear to God.
Don't say that, Ian.
Um, a technical dish to pull off.
Full of technique and skill.
Some of 'em did great though, right? I think mine was undercooked, but the pastry treat was great, they liked that.
It was missing half, though.
- I mean - Yeah.
You had a soggy, squashy pastry needing more sugar.
Dude, Derek, you all right, bud? Yeah.
You can't put so much pastry cream in that it starts coming out of every top and side.
Looks like somebody already ate it and put it back.
Yeah, yeah.
Who do you think it is? I don't know.
Tonight was a very, very tough challenge.
One home cook did a pretty extraordinary job, and not only is this home cook just ten years old It's you, buddy.
They don't even want to be a pastry chef, which I find quite offensive.
Please step forward, Sam.
Sam, that was brilliant.
Congratulations, you are going nowhere except for up to the balcony.
Well done, buddy.
It's amazing that I did the best croquembouche, and I've never even made one before.
Great job, Sam.
All right, Christina, maybe I'll take the job.
There were three other young home cooks that did a pretty awesome job tonight.
Please step forward, Avery, Jesse, and JJ.
You are all safe.
Please head to the balcony.
Right, that leaves just four of you talented youngsters.
Two of you will be staying and two of you, sadly, will have to leave.
Christina, Graham, and I know how difficult that task was, so whatever happens, whatever the result, well done, all four of you.
Ian and Amaya, step forward, please.
Oh, my God.
You twodidn't have a great night.
But they weren't the worst.
Please, both of you, head upstairs.
Nate's leaving.
What? No, no.
I'll miss you guys.
Nate, Derek, remember that you beat thousands and thousands of other youngsters to get where you are standing tonight.
Top 16 is a big achievement.
Never forget that, and do not let those culinary dreams disappear.
Come here.
Well done, bud.
Good job.
Well done.
I'm sad that I got eliminated, but I'm proud that I made it to the top 16.
The hardest part for me is probably leaving all the friends I've made here.
But everything I learned here in the MasterChef kitchen I'm gonna take home and become a better chef.
This is the greatest experience of my life and I'll never forget my time here.
I mean, I got to cook moon cheese.
I got to filet and cook a giant yellowfin tuna.
I got marshmallow shot on me.
There's nothing better I could ask for.
We'll miss you! Sure, I didn't get the MasterChef trophy, but I get to see my little brother and sister.
It's just awesome.
Next week Lemonade, yeah! Lemonade is my thing.
A juicy challenge Hurry! Puts the squeeze on the junior home cooks.
The team that makes the best lemonade will stay nice and dry.
And then Oh, my God! Groovy, baby.
Things turn really sour What the heck? She wears underwear outside her pants! When the judges take a trip down memory lane.
I'm totally fine.