Masterchef Junior Season 2 Ep 1

Last year, the MasterChevichen opened its doors to some of the smallest cooks in the country. But one kid's huge talent It's beautiful. It could be the cover of your cookbook. propelled him to become America's first MasterChef Junior. Alexander. His success inspired thousands of young home cooks across the country to try out and earn a spot in the MasterChef kitchen. Now, it's time for the 16 who made the cut to step up to the plate. We're gonna go to a whole new level this year. They'll have to reach for perfection. It didn't cook all the way. That is not your best plate. None of us are A-plus students all the time. But for those who make the top of the glass, the rewards will be sweet. That looks world-class. It's beautiful, man. This is one of the best things I've ever eaten. The sugar work is stunning. You sure you're only 12? Yes. But only one can be crowned America's next They cook like pros. MasterChef Junior. Oh, my God. It's really amazing to know that you've been picked out of so many kids out there. I'm, like, still pinching myself that I'm here. I still don't believe it at all. I'm nine years old, and I was six years old when I started cooking. This is kind of my first big adventure in my childhood. Cooking is my favorite thing. I would rate myself on a scale from one to 100. I'm 96. I'm probably not your average 10-year-old. What's up? What's up? Dude, are those pictures or are they statues? They're real people. They're the real people. They're real people. My kitchen is not as big as this one. The MasterChef Junior kitchen is a giant sandcastle, and my kitchen's like a grain of sand. Oh, my God. Wow. Good to see you all. I am 12 years old. My food dream is to take all these rules and throw it out the window. I want to change the minds of culinary thinkers in our world. Welcome to the most famous kitchen in all of America. Welcome to MasterChef Junior. Are you excited? Yes, Chef. I can't hear you. Yes, Chef. You eight 13-year-olds are all united by your passion and your skill. And one of you 16 kids will win a hundred thousand dollars and the most coveted prize in the culinary world, the MasterChef Junior trophy. If I won the hundred thousand dollars, I would donate most of that to charity and I could buy a horse. Now, to show you what you can win if you win it all, we asked a very special guest to join us. Any guesses? The president of the United States? Far more special than him. It's a chef, a chef that's making a real impact on the world of food. Please welcome. The winner of the first ever MasterChef Junior. Oh, this is the kid that won it all last year. I really want to be like him. Since winning this competition, Alexander has cooked for foreign governments, been on the cover of magazines and has been flown all over the world as America's MasterChef Junior. Alexander, becoming America's first ever MasterChef Junior. What does that mean for you? It's changed the way I cook. It's changed the way I think of food. A lot of kids who recognize me in New York said that they were inspired to cook from watching the show. And soon I'm going to Indonesia for MasterChef Junior Indonesia as a judge. OK, guys, it's time for your very first mystery box challenge. Please go to your stations. With all mystery box challenges, you have to use whatever you find under those boxes to make us one incredible dish. Win this challenge. You'll come back into the pantry with us where you'll get a really big advantage in the next stage of this competition. And Alexander chose all the ingredients that are under that box. On the count of three, lift your boxes. One, two, three, lift. Yes. Those ingredients include a pork chop, a pork tenderloin, Granny Smith apples, hazelnuts, Brussels sprouts, phyllo dough, fingerling potatoes, wild rice, whole grain mustard and artichoke. To inspire you in your first challenge. Is that a body? Alexander came up with some of his own dishes using the same ingredients that you have in front of you. Alexander, how many dishes did you come up with? Since I was 13, when I won the show, I decided to make 13 dishes. O.M.G. Alexander, if there was one piece of advice you'd like to give them all tonight, what would it be? This is your first mystery box. Show your passion and put yourself on a plate. Brilliant. Keep up the good work. See you soon. Alexander, he's just like so amazing and such a great cook. He's just so cute. Right. Are you all ready to cook the best dishes of your entire lives? You will all have to make one stunning MasterChef restaurant quality dish using the ingredients in front of you. Your 60 minutes starts now. The best 16 talented 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 year olds in the country here tonight. Well, I think we're going to go to a whole new level this year. It's almost like last year's season inspired a complete new generation. I have big expectations for this crop of young cooks. Pork tenderloin with a smoky, sweet, hot rub. I'm just kind of keeping it simple and hopefully it will wow the judges. I'm making an apple juice injected pork chop. I really think that if I inject my pork chop, it'll really give it a great flavor. I'm from Texas and I love bacon. I'm making bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes. It's a dream come true to be cooking in the MasterChef kitchen right now. Let's go. How are you doing? Good. Right. What's the dish called? Um, I'm doing a spicy seared pork loin with mixed pan seared vegetables and a mustard cream sauce. You're very grown up for now. Thank you. Do you think you've got what it takes to become America's next MasterChef junior? I think my palate's pretty awesome. Natalie, how are you doing? Good. How are you? I'm doing great. So how old are you? I'm 12. What is the dish? It is a pan seared pork chop with sautéed apples and carrots. Are your parents in the food world at all? My dad owns a Mediterranean restaurant in California. Wow. Now, is there anybody here that people think is the front runner? Um, probably Samuel. Samuel? People think that? Yes. Hi Samuel, how are you feeling? I'm feeling very good, Chef. Describe the dish. I'm making a pork tenderloin stuffed with a bacon and brussel sprout mousseline and pressure cooked wild rice pilaf. Wow. Pressure cookers, mousseline, tenderloin. You seem to know your stuff. Where's this coming from? Um, well I learned to cook two years ago and my mom's very creative in the kitchen. So that's sort of where I get my creativity from. Good luck. Thank you so much. They are busy out there. Ah, beautiful. Fifty minutes gone. Last ten minutes. Oh my gosh, ten minutes. Coco. They're too salty. There's a lot of responsibility on our shoulders and I feel like some kids might not be used to the pressure or the speed of the competition. You all right, Coco? Talk to me, let me help you. I can't do it. The mashed potatoes are too salty. You all right, Coco? Talk to me, let me help you. I can't do it. Your mashed potatoes are too salty, let's have a look. Right, there's nothing in here, are there? They are definitely not too salty. You see, I think what you did when you seasoned them, you just hit the top with a spoon. They don't taste salty at all, do they? I have three daughters, Holly, Megan, and Matilda. And they always cry in the kitchen, but they cry with laughter, so I'm not leaving until you laugh. Good luck. It's incredible to see them take so much care over what they're doing. Amazing. Sixty seconds to go. Keep it going, guys, it looks incredible. Thirty seconds to go. Come on, first mystery box challenge. Ten, six, five, four, three, two, one. And hands in the air. Awesome. Some fantastic-looking dishes out there. They look incredible. Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the junior home cooks' dishes as they come together. They now take one last look to choose the top three standouts. And the winner of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round. Incredible. Well done, all of you. Now, we want to look at the three best dishes of the night. The first dish could be on one of our restaurant menus easily tonight. The pork was cooked to perfection, plated with great finesse. That dish belongs to... Natalie. Well done. I'm really happy for Natalie. She has a wonderful dish and deserves to be up there. Wow. Visually, it looks beautiful. How old are you again? I'm 12. 12 years of age. Describe the dish, please. It's a seared pork chop with a pork stock mustard sauce, rosemary, potatoes, sauteed apples and carrots. So, a great sear on the pork. In terms of the cook in the center, what am I expecting? Medium. And it is perfect. It's glistening. Look how juicy it looks. Yeah, pork's cooked beautifully. Vegetables, a touch more seasoning, but the potatoes and the pork, you've absolutely nailed. I have to say, that definitely has the wow factor. Thank you. You sure you're only 12? Yes, I'm sure. Incredible. Good job. Thank you. Wow. It's delicious. It's beautiful. Do you have a cultural influence in your food? Well, I like to cook Mexican food. Do you have Mexican in your family? Yes, my mom's Mexican. The spicing on the pork chop is perfect. The sear is great. Potatoes are perfectly cooked. Muy, muy bonito. Gracias. Salada. Really good. The next dish that we want to examine further had a lot of flavors going throughout the dish. This home cook made smart use of the staple pantry box. Please step forward. Mitchell. I mean, I wish they picked me, but Mitchell's dish looks pretty tasty. He's definitely a threat. All right, Mitchell, tell me what the idea is behind it. It is a pork tenderloin with a spicy rub, wild rice, egg, and two sauces. Beautiful. Thank you, chef. What's the spice on the outside? A good, smoky, sweet, spicy. Yeah, it smells great. Thank you. Use some cayenne. We've got some heat to it. It's aggressive, bold, and I think it holds up well to the pork, especially. The egg, really smart use, adds some richness. That pork is awesome. Thank you, chef. Good job. Mitchell, I love the idea of that smoky sweetness. Now, where's that come from? I mean, how'd you get into those spices at 12? Come on. My dad, he's a fire captain. He's good at, like, barbecuing and making sauces, and my mom is good at the seasonings. Seasoned brilliantly. Thank you. Pork needs at least two more minutes, just in the center. You can just see slightly to pink there. Yeah, a little bit. But the heat and the seasoning on the pork is absolutely delicious. Thank you, chef. Good job. Well done. Thank you, chef. Thank you. Oh, I was nervous. Pretty good. Delicious. Thank you, chef. Okay, the third and final dish we want to take a closer look at. This little home cook had big, big flavors. This dish has a lot of confidence, just like the home cook who made it. Please step forward. Una. I'm a little bit jealous that I'm not in the top three. I felt like my dish was really gonna be the thing that propelled me to great heights. But I didn't get there. Like, Una. How old are you? I'm nine years old. Describe your dish. Spicy seared pork loin with mixed vegetable-slash-fruit, a mustard sauce and a fried egg on top. What do you cook for usually? I usually cook for my parents at home and some other kids. It is like a perfect medium. Textbook. I would expect that kind of level of perfection in any one of my restaurants. Thank you. The only thing that I would say, I would take the skin off the apples. It's a little chewy because everything else is so soft and delicious. But aside from that, the Brussels sprouts are nice and crunchy, perfectly caramelized. Good dish. Really good dish. Thank you. Una, Mitchell, Nathalie, three stunning dishes tonight. Great job. However, there was one dish that was a little more refined and it was something that we would have served exactly the same way in our restaurants. The first young home cook that will join us in the pantry for that huge advantage. The young cook who made the best dish tonight. I'm trying to send telepathic waves. Winning this mystery box, it'll be good for my reputation. That person is, congratulations. Una, Mitchell, Nathalie, three stunning dishes tonight. Great job. The young cook who made the best dish tonight. The first young home cook that will join us in the pantry for that huge advantage. That person is, congratulations. Nathalie. Amazing. Thank you. Nathalie, that was an amazing dish. Thank you. All right, let's go to the pantry and see what advantages you have. Let's go. Thank you. Amazing. Thank you. Well done, well done. Come, Nathalie. 12-year-old Nathalie is now in control of the elimination test. At the end of this challenge, some junior home cooks will leave the competition. Nathalie, welcome to the amazing MasterChef Pantry. Thank you. For your first advantage, Nathalie, you are safe from elimination. Congratulations. Thank you. For your second advantage, you get to choose what everyone out there has to cook. This is where you hatch your plan. Okay. Let me go grab the first choice. Okay. Wow. Could it be? Handsome fella, ain't he? Yeah. One of the things you get to choose from tonight is a chicken. Chicken ain't the only choice. It's a duck. It is a duck indeed. Chefs love to cook duck, but it requires a ton of technique to get right. Now, Nathalie, there's one more of the birds you have to choose from. It's a turkey. I didn't know turkeys were that big. It looks kind of like my grandma. Nathalie, young lady, it's time to choose which one of these three beautiful birds, the chicken, the duck or the turkey, do you want all your fellow competitors to have to cook with tonight? I choose. Nathalie is safe from elimination in this challenge. In the pantry, Nathalie had to choose between three different types of birds. Nathalie, which bird did you choose for your fellow contestants? I'm not telling. Oh, excuse me. In that case, all of you are gonna have to go into the pantry and find out for yourselves. Yay! Is everyone ready? Yes, Chef! Go! They smell nasty. I'm gonna have chickens squawking in my nightmares. Sam, I'm from New York. I can't do this. I'm a city kid, so I don't want to lift up a chicken. I got one. I got one. I don't got it. It's so much fun to have animals everywhere because I love animals. I got one! Let's go, guys. Now, please. Here we go. Tonight, you'll all have to cook us one amazing chicken dish. Now, I hope you haven't got too close to your feathered friends. You do have to say goodbye. Oh, no. They're gonna kill this guy. I didn't sign up to butcher chickens. Don't worry. You don't have to cook those guys in your hands. They're gonna live a very long and happy life. I don't have to kill the chicken. Chickens are pretty, pretty nice people. Bring him up. Nice and gentle. Just put him in here. Gentle. Okay, guys, you ready? In this challenge, you'll find all different parts of the chicken in the pantry for you to cook with. Breasts, wings, thighs, legs and even livers. Your one hour starts... now. It's a madhouse in the pantry. Everyone is freaking out. Probably the most pressure I've ever felt in my life. I'm freaking out. Green onions over here! Anybody see the peanuts? Oh, this thing is getting heavy. Let's go! What have you got in there? Got everything. Yeah, this is not gonna work. The rules here are no different than any other MasterChef, and we expect a restaurant-quality dish from our lowly chicken. The sad news is tonight, after this challenge, we'll be saying goodbye to a few of them. Where'd my garlic go? There it is. I have to say that, especially for a young home cook, chicken's something you eat every day. So to think about it as an elevated restaurant or a MasterChef dish might be very challenging. Can I use some of that chicken stock? Sure. I'm making chicken Milanese and fingerling potatoes with wilted greens. There's a lot of pressure down here. I don't want to go home. Today I'm making fish sauce chicken wings with a light ponzu salad. Salt. All righty. Sammy, how are you doing? I'm doing very good. How are you? Wow, there's a lot going on here. Describe the dish, please. It's five-spice marinated chicken wings with some lemongrass and cilantro rice. Pickled vegetables and sriracha foam. Sriracha what? Foam. Foam. Why foam? Because I think it adds some textural interest to the plate. Textural interest. Have you thought about reining in a little bit and focusing on better with two things as opposed to five things averagely? I think there's enough brain capacity right now to get everything done. Good luck. Thank you. Okay, Abby, where are you from? I'm from Winchester. Winchester? Virginia. Virginia. And where'd you learn how to cook? My mother taught me. Oh, that's nice. What are you making? Fried chicken? Yes. Wow. And this is some zucchini? Yes. And you're eight years old? Yes. Oh, my goodness. What happened to your hand? Oh, nothing. I'm just using that so I don't get my hand dirty. Oh, that's an excellent idea. 30 minutes to go. Oh, no. I see in front of me that Nasir's pan is smoking. And the chicken wings are just burning. And I'm like, he's in big trouble tonight. What happened down there, bud? Yeah, they were too burnt. Man. Damn. Nasir, what happened? You burning it? Yeah. The chicken's burning. I mean, that is, uh, that's not looking good. Someone's going home at the end of this and the sear's not looking too great. What happened down there, bud? Yeah, they were too burnt. Man. Damn. Nasir, what happened? You burning it? Yeah. The chicken's burning. I mean, that is, uh, that's not looking good. Have you got any more chicken, though? Yeah. Oh, you've got some more. So why don't you start off with a fresh pan? Because if you continue cooking in there like that, what's gonna happen? It's gonna burn again. So I know it's a little bit pressurized tonight, but I would start the fresh pan. And that way, when you start searing them, they all won't come out like that. Okay. Thank you, chef. Yeah. Good man. Let's go. You're doing good, Nasir. Thanks. 20 minutes to go. All of you, speed up. Oona, how are you doing? I'm doing pretty well. I'm doing a chicken liver pâté. Wow. That is hardcore. I didn't think anyone was gonna go with the chicken livers. And I'm also doing brûlée pears with it. That is really ambitious. And I like your glasses. Oh, thank you. Do you want to try these on, see if they help you focus more? They look good. They look real good on you. Gotta get you a pair. Thanks. All right. Good luck. This sounds great. I sure hope it does. Let's check on those. Yeah, they need another few minutes. Perfect. Isabella, how are you doing? I'm doing very well. Great. Describe the dish for me, please. I'm making a chicken parmesan. It's like a very cheesy, very saucy experience. Sounds a bit like Joe. Good luck. Thank you. Five minutes remaining. This is gonna be a challenge. Guys, who's got the best dish out there? Una's doing the crostini with the chicken liver mousse. She's got some brûlée pear. Super fancy pants. So young Sean, he made chicken wings with a Vietnamese salad that I swear to God would come out of any restaurant in L.A. Amazing. I'm not cooking. Oh, yeah. It's going well. Come on. Last minute, guys. Whisk, whisk, whisk. Speed up. Natalie, from up there, who's looking strong? Um, I think Levi. Wow. Who's looking vulnerable? I think Samuel. Interesting. Go, guys. Make it count. Ah, look at them. So pretty. Let's go. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Stop. Hands in the air. Good job. Well done, all of you. Everybody's dish looks incredible. It's time to see how they taste. First up, Una. Let's go. I'm pretty confident with this chicken liver dish. My parents brought me to restaurants at an early age, so I'd say that my palate's pretty good. Wow. Una, describe your dish, please. Chicken liver pâté on a garlic crostini with brûlée pears. Where are you getting these ideas from? Um, well, I've always really wanted to make a chicken liver pâté, so I thought I might try it. You're only nine years of age. How long have you been dying to make a chicken liver pâté? Since I was six years old. Delicious. Finesse, restraint, great flair. Do you think you can be the first ever female MasterChef Junior winner? Um, I hope I can. You hope you can? I don't know. I'm going to try. If you keep cooking like this, there's a very good chance you will be. Uh, incredible. Well done. Thank you. Una, how are we doing? Pretty good. This is awesome. And, Una, I love your name, but I think we're going to have to change it to Uno, because right now, you're number one. Thank you. Great. Thank you, Chef. Next up, Isabella. I just love his cooking ability. I just, I idolize him. So I'm a little intimidated, but I'm also really excited to show him my culinary skills. Isabella, describe the dish, please. Um, it is a chicken parmesan with marinara sauce. Wow. That is huge. Why such a big portion? Uh, I don't know. I thought, since we're three of you, I... Oh, dear. See that there? I can't eat that. Yeah? Damn. I'm sorry. You don't want me to eat more chicken, do you? Uh, why such a big portion? Uh, I don't know. I thought, since we're three of you, I... Oh, dear. See that there? You don't want me to eat more chicken, do you? Uh-uh. I... You have to be very careful there. Let me find something I can eat. This bit here. It's seasoned really well. The sad news is, the chicken is undercooked. I'd pour Isabella. Okay. Because she's really nice and, um, I don't want to see her cry. None of us, I don't think, are A-plus students all the time. My dad's number one rule. Always have fun. When all the contestants come up to hug me, it is an amazing feeling. Thank you, guys. You guys are so supportive. Thank you. Everyone is there to, like, help me and, you know, watch after me. Come on, show me a smile. Not until you show me a smile. Some people are really mean on TV, but these kids, they're really nice people. And I thought that that was really cool. Okay, Sean, please bring up your dish. Wow. What's going on? This is a fish sauce chicken wings with a yuzu salad. What restaurant do you steal that from? Me and Sean are going to make money because this kid knows how to take a dollar worth of chicken wings and turn it into a $20 dish. Wow. The flavor is amazing on the chicken wings. It's so aggressively spiced. 12 years old? Yes. What do you want to do with your life? Run a restaurant? Yes. Excellent. That's a good idea. Because this is a incredibly flavored technical dish that literally is kind of flawless. You, my friend, are one to watch. Thank you. All right, next up, please. Coco. For the first challenge, I was pretty overwhelmed, but at this point, I'm feeling pretty good about this dish and I think I might be able to win. Hi, Coco. Hi. How are you? Good. Tell me what we have. That is a chicken Milanese with wilted greens and fingerling potatoes. Great crunch. What did you put in the actual breading? Flour and a little bit of cayenne and then some breadcrumbs with parsley and Parmesan. I would say that this part is cooked better than here. You could see it starting to flake and, you know, get that powdery look. OK. The chicken, just a little dry, but overall, I love that you put the Parmesan and the cayenne in there and give it some flavor. Good job. Next up, Barry. It's a Moroccan chicken with couscous and a fava bean salad. What's in the sauce? Turmeric, cayenne, coriander. Very nice seasoning. Why did you boil the chicken? Because I wanted to get all the flavors in there. Sometimes boiling chicken can be a very tricky thing to do because it renders it dry. But good seasoning. Very Moroccan. Good job. Thank you, Barry. Next up, Nazir. I have a lemon drumlet with Thai katarogi on it. My mouth's on fire. Chicken's cooked sort of slightly three or four minutes too long. Very dry. We got this raw spice on that. Tonight's objective was to make sure the hero stood out as the star. Unfortunately, your potatoes, the sugars in that, peas and the lemon are the star. And the chicken is the sort of appendix, the bit you want out. Thank you. Our plating was good, but I think that my dish was too spicy. Abby, please, can you bring your plate up? I'm too confident about my dish because I love fried chicken and I love Mexican food. Bring them together, you get Mexican fried chicken. Hello, Abby. Hello. You're eight years old. Yes. The youngest here. Yes. Do you think that puts you at a disadvantage? No. I've been cooking since I was two. What did you make? I made Mexican fried chicken with a grilled corn salad zucchini and hot sauce sour cream. Hot sauce sour cream. Just a little hot sauce. Just a little bit. Thank you. Delicious. Thank you. It's spicy. It's crunchy. You might be the youngest here, Abby. Yes. You've got big, big potential. Thank you. Last up, Samuel, please. Thank you. I feel like I have a larger culinary repertoire than some of the younger kids, and I want to redeem my culinary supremacy in the kitchen. What's this? This is a five spice chicken wing with a black rice and cilantro mixture, pickled vegetables and a sriracha foam. The chicken wings are absolutely delicious. Five spice. You've got the blend brilliantly done. This perhaps has to be one of the most technically accomplished dishes this evening. I love what you've done with that pickled vegetable salad to cool down the heat from the five spice, but the star is those five spice wings. Absolutely delicious. I want to pick them up and eat them all. Good job. Well done. Thank you so much. This wave of euphoria and relief passes over me because I have redeemed myself and I'm going to be taken a whole lot more seriously now. All of you, well done. Tonight confirmed. We definitely have got the best 16 young, talented home cooks in America. Based on tonight's performance right now, we need a serious moment to discuss who's moving on and sadly, who's moving home. Based on tonight's performance right now, we need a serious moment to discuss who's moving on. I wish everyone could win. I don't want anyone to go home, but it is a competition and someone has to go home. Give us a minute, please. Thank you. They told me that I was number one. Coco's dish was very unbalanced. It was over simple, clumsy. You're not going home. No, you're not. Isabella, raw chicken. How much to say about that? Once chicken's raw, you can't even really taste it. You just had a simple sauce. A little overcooked and a little undercooked. It was undercooked. But still, it was just a tiny bit. That was a tough decision back there. And unfortunately, we do have to say goodbye to some home cooks tonight. Right. Will the following seven cooks please come down to the front? Coco. Sean. Perry. Una. Lucille. Samuel. Finally, Isabella. If I call your name, please step forward. Sean. Una. Samuel. You three home cooks, age 12, 12 and nine, gave us the best dishes of the night. Congratulations. Great job, guys. Go ahead and head back to your stations, please. I feel, like, so amazed that my dish was the top three of the night. Just because the judges cook at such a high level and they thought my dish was extremely good. It's just an accomplishment. Isabella, I'm sorry to say, tonight is the end of your journey here in the MasterChef kitchen. Now, keep your heads up high. You made it into the top 16. And please, continue cooking. It's gonna be worth it. It's really sad, but it's okay because I got to learn so many great things and met such great people. I'm feeling really sad I have to leave the MasterChef Junior kitchen. But I also want to go home and see my dog and my dad. I'm glad that I came here and I got to experience this. I mean, I was one of the top 16 home cooks in America. That's a huge deal. I'm gonna go home and continue cooking and make sure I don't stop my passion of cooking. And make sure every time I cook, I wear my MasterChef Junior apron. Next week on MasterChef Junior. The top 12 young home cooks flip out. And the judges find themselves in a very sticky situation. Then, a tough baking challenge produces amazing results. It's absolutely delicious. That, for me, is the pie of the year.