MasterChef Junior

On the “Junior Edition” of MASTERCHEF, America’s Top 19 junior home cooks are introduced to their first mystery box challenge, in which they must make a complete restaurant-quality dish using any of the ingredients they are given. The winner of the challenge will have a significant advantage and select which of the judges’ favorite pastas the remaining contestants will prepare in the elimination round. Later, the top junior home cooks with the best dishes will advance in the competition.

Before the next challenge, three of the junior home cooks will face a sweet competition as they race to see who can top all of their pies with whipped meringue first. The winner of the challenge will not only get a major advantage in the next challenge, but also help the judges get a slice of victory. After a fun and messy competition, the judges task the kids with their first team competition, where each pair must create their own sausage dishes.

The remaining 12 junior home cooks face a giant mystery box challenge that delivers the shock of the season. The pint-sized cooks must prepare restaurant-quality dishes using ingredients that get better with age, and the winner of the challenge will have a significant advantage in the next round. Later in the elimination challenge, the contestants come face-to-face with the most dangerous protein in the history of MASTERCHEF.

Before the next elimination challenge, the winners from the previous challenge will face off in a MASTERCHEF JUNIOR pantry hunt. The junior home cook who correctly matches the most ingredients in the allotted time will win a significant advantage in the next challenge. Later, the remaining 10 junior home cooks will compete in a fishy tag team pair challenge, during which each pair must successfully complete an elaborate sushi dish.

After the eight remaining junior home cooks meet a special MASTERCHEF JUNIOR guest and “bananaology” expert, Professor Banana, the junior home cooks will start the next mystery box challenge and create unique banana dishes. The junior home cook who impresses the judges the most will win a significant advantage in the next elimination challenge. Later, special guest and Gordon Ramsay’s daughter, Matilda Ramsay, will introduce the home cooks to their next elimination challenge dish, a Ramsay family favorite, salmon en croute.

In one of the toughest challenges of the season, the six remaining junior home cooks face the restaurant takeover challenge. The contestants will split into two teams and take over a real Los Angeles restaurant. Find out which team is victorious and who will advance to the Top 4.

The competition heats up as the 4 remaining junior home cooks must prepare 20 crème brulees. The home cook who successfully brulees the most cremes in the allotted time will earn a significant advantage in the next elimination challenge. Next, the junior home cooks will have to each make a complex raspberry dessert dish. The two contestants who impress the judges the most will earn their spot in the finale and be one step closer to the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR title.

In the exciting Season Finale, the two finalists will compete head-to-head and prepare the most important menu of their young lives. Find out which talented junior home cook will earn the MASTERCHEF trophy and a $100,000 prize.