MasterChef Junior (American TV series)
Children aged 8–13 compete in culinary challenges for the title.
MasterChef Junior is an American cooking competition for children aged 8–13 that aired on Fox from September 27, 2013 to May 20, 2024. Based on the British series Junior MasterChef, the show features young contestants competing in culinary challenges. Its ninth season aired from March to May 2024 with judges Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, Daphne Oz, and new judge Tilly Ramsay.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Cooking
- Based on
- Junior MasterChef
- Writer
- Robin Ashbrook
- Judges
- Joe Bastianich
- Graham Elliot
- Gordon Ramsay
- Christina Tosi
- Aarón Sánchez
- Daphne Oz
- Tilly Ramsay
- Seasons
- 9
- Episodes
- 105
- Company
- One Potato Two Potato; Endemol Shine North America
- Channel
- Fox
Facts from the source article.
Format
Children between eight and thirteen years old may apply to become contestants by submitting an online application or attending an open casting call. The announcement of contestants varies across seasons, sometimes determined through competitions or simply by naming the top applicants. The show features several recurring challenge types also seen on the adult MasterChef. In a Skills Test, cooks must prepare foods demonstrating specific techniques or replicate a cooking method, such as cooking steaks to a precise level of doneness; this test may also serve as an elimination round. During an Elimination Test, judges evaluate all dishes on taste and visual appeal, nominate the worst ones, and eliminate at least one contestant. The Pressure Test requires losing team members to prepare a standard dish in a very limited time, judged on taste, appearance, and technique, with the losing chef eliminated. When only two or three competitors remain, they compete in a three-course cook-off, with all courses judged to determine the overall winner, who receives $100,000, the MasterChef Junior trophy, and the title.
Development
At its start, MasterChef Junior was judged by Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliot. Bastianich left after the third season and was replaced by Christina Tosi for the fourth. Elliot departed after the fourth season, leading to a series of rotating guest judges for the fifth. Bastianich returned for the sixth season but left again for the seventh, replaced by Aarón Sánchez, who had been a guest judge in season five and a judge on the adult MasterChef. Fox placed casting calls in January 2013 and officially ordered the series, then called Junior MasterChef, on May 10, 2013, before the name was changed. Concerns that Ramsay's cursing style from other shows would carry over proved unfounded; contestant Gavin noted Ramsay cursed only twice during production and never at contestants, with one curse appearing in the final edit.
Season synopsis
The first season premiered on September 27, 2013, with judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich. Semifinalist Troy Glass later became an actor, appearing on Kids React and other cooking shows, and making cameos on shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The second season premiered on November 4, 2014, with the same judges; winner Logan Guleff was an eleven-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee. On March 5, 2014, the show was renewed for a third season before production on season two began. The third season premiered on January 6, 2015, with the same judges; winner Nathan Odom was a twelve-year-old from San Diego, California. The fourth season premiered on November 6, 2015, with Ramsay, Elliot, and Christina Tosi; winner Addison Smith was a nine-year-old from River Forest, Illinois. The fifth season premiered on February 9, 2017, with Ramsay and Tosi joined by guest judges including Julie Bowen and Mayim Bialik; winner Jasmine Stewart, an eleven-year-old from Milton, Georgia, became the first previously eliminated contestant to win. The sixth season premiered on March 2, 2018, with Ramsay, Tosi, and returning judge Bastianich; winner Beni Cwiakala was a nine-year-old from Chicago, Illinois. The seventh season premiered with a two-episode special on March 12, 2019, with Ramsay, Tosi, and Aarón Sánchez; winner Che Spiotta was a twelve-year-old from Boiceville, New York. The eighth season premiered on March 17, 2022, with Ramsay, Sánchez, and new judge Daphne Oz replacing Tosi; winner Liya Chu was a ten-year-old from Scarsdale, New York.
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