Gordon: Previously on "masterchef junior"...
- Welcome! - ( screaming )
you guys are the best 16 young home cooks in the entire country.
( cheering )
this year is going to be the hardest season ever.
The gloves are off.
Aarón: Let's go, guys. You can do it.
You cooked one of the most difficult proteins anywhere on the planet perfectly.
- Daphne: Incredible plating. - It looks restaurant quality.
Thank you so much.
The cooking of the crawfish is just not done well, young man, sadly.
Blake, I'm so sorry, young man.
Thank you.
Tonight, the kitchen goes italian
for the first team challenge of the season...
Gordon: Each team will have 20 minutes
to make as many perfect pizzas as they can.
...Where some will take out the competition.
Hot behind! Hot behind!
- Jeez. - What are you doing?
Would you guys eat that?
And the first mystery box...
What?
...That really tests the senses.
Cooking blindfolded?
No way.
( music playing )
- ( squeals ) - gosh!
Oh, my gosh!
- Pizza! I smell pizza! - ( overlapping chatter )
- oh, my gosh. - Pizza!
( chatter continues )
I see this guy throwing pizzas.
And it's like, what's going on?
- Oh, no! - ( gasping )
this direction, that direction, that direction, over there.
( kids scream )
I wanna try it, but on second thought,
I might break something or mess it up.
So, I'll stick to the cooking part,
he can do the throwing part.
- ( cheers and applause ) - oh, my goodness.
Gordon: Welcome, guys,
to the masterchef junior pizzeria.
- Come on! - ( cheering )
- oh, boy. Right. - My kind of day.
Gordon: Joe is a world record holder.
- Highest pizza toss at 21.5 feet. - What? Wow.
- Daphne: All right, let's see, let's see. - Gordon: Here we go, joe.
- ( kids scream ) - yay!
What an amazing toss up!
Give it up, please, for the amazing joe.
Come on.
I hope we don't need to toss pizza dough today.
- Amazing. Thank you so much. - Very nimble. Thank you.
'cause if I toss the pizza dough,
it's probably gonna land on their heads.
So, tonight we turned the masterchef kitchen
into a pizza parlor.
All of you will get to experience what it's like
to be in a kitchen of a very busy pizza restaurant.
- Yay! Pizza! - Freddy, favorite pizza, bro?
I like just, like, classic pepperoni.
- Love that. Starla? - Meatlover's!
- Meatlover's? - Nice. I love that.
Grayson, favorite pizza.
Prosciutto,
figs, balsamic vinegar.
Of course.
Right, guys, it's time
for your first team challenge.
Tonight, you'll be competing
in three teams of five.
Each team will have 20 minutes
to make as many perfect pizzas as you can.
But I'm gonna help you out.
I'm gonna show you how to make the perfect pizza pie.
Okay? All right, guys, come up here. Come close to me here.
Being able to see daphne cook a pizza
right in front of my eyes? This is so cool!
We are gonna make some perfect ten-inch pizzas.
Get a little flour on your hands, get a little flour on your board.
That's gonna make sure your dough doesn't stick.
And we're just gonna roll it and turn it as we roll.
A little cornmeal here, guys.
Don't forget that step. That's gonna make sure
that my dough doesn't stick when I go to put this in the oven.
The true trick to pizza, guys, is not going overboard.
You want just enough of those ingredients,
but not so much that the pizza stays wet
and soggy after it's been cooked.
When we're judging your pizzas, we wanna make sure
that I'm getting a bite of each topping
- in every piece. - That looks like it's so good.
- That looks so good. - Daphne: Let's go to the oven.
So, you gotta work flat and fast.
Done, okay. It's gonna rise and be crispy, golden brown, crunchy.
A little bit of dark golden brown on the top is actually a good thing.
You want that little bit of a char.
I love that we're making pizza.
Daphne, I'm famished over here, come on.
This is, like, my thing. I do pizzas all the time.
You know what gordon's favorite pizza is?
- Kids: What? - Pineapple.
I do not--
I hate pineapple pizza.
Now, who agrees that pineapple should be
outlawed from pizza-making forever?
Me!
I figure pizzas have chicken,
mushrooms, and red onions,
but not pineapple.
I mean, that sounds like...
( gags )
I mean, that's horrible.
Three minutes later, this is what you get, guys,
a gloriously cooked, delicious-looking pizza.
Gordon: Round of applause for miss daphne, please.
- That was amazing. - Daphne: Love some pizza.
- Good job, huh? Man! - I want to eat that.
Now, in this challenge, we're having ourselves
a good old-fashioned pizza race.
It sounds like fun, right?
All: Yes!
It's time to pick your teams.
You're gonna pick a straw. Ready?
Go ahead, starla. Let's start with you. One straw at a time.
You'll see each of you is pulling a different color,
one of three options, right?
( overlapping chatter )
start forming your teams.
Red team, over there.
White team there, green team there.
- Let's go. - Ivy: Back home,
I play for soccer teams, lacrosse teams.
Not too much cooking teams,
but the key to a strong team
is to communicate and get things done.
Each team will have 20 minutes to make as many
perfect pizzas as they can.
Daphne: So, we wanna see perfectly round pies,
just the right amount of sauce and cheese,
and of course, all five toppings evenly distributed.
And if we think a pizza doesn't make the cut,
then it does not count.
The two winning teams will be heading up to the balcony.
The losing team will have to stay down here
and face an elimination challenge.
- Oh, my god. - This might be a race, but it's no game.
Please be careful, because if you're not careful, your pizza will burn
and your team's hopes of victory will go down in flames.
- Clear? - Yes, chef!
Start planning how you're going to organize your team.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. First, there are gonna be
three people starting with the dough.
We have to get the dough going we need two people with topping.
I'm on the red team, so I'm feeling pretty good about my teammates.
I know that jillian, eva, maclain, and ciara
are all very talented chefs.
- I'm doing toppings. - I wanna do toppings by myself.
- No, it's so long. It takes too long. - You're both gonna do toppings.
- No, I can do-- - a'dan, stop.
Don't do that. A'dan, you're not in charge of this whole group, okay?
We have to all work together.
I don't feel confident in going in this
because it's not really organized already.
I'm worried if we don't start off strong
in the beginning, we can't end strong.
Molly is starting roll, then you are on toppings.
You are on oven.
There's only gonna be one person doing the toppings, though.
Five minutes in, grayson breaks off and helps starla with the ovens.
Green team is going to be a powerhouse.
- We're gonna stay focused. - Green team!
Get into your starting positions.
So I think we can definitely
push through this challenge.
Right, let's have 20 minutes on the clock, please.
The great masterchef junior pizza race...
...Starts now!
- Let's go. - Whoo!
Add a lot of flour so the thing doesn't stick.
Start cornmealing.
Make sure they're a perfect round, okay?
Now, tonight's name of the game
- is about quality, yes? - Yeah, they can't get seduced
- into the idea of making tons of them. - That's right.
Daphne: We're looking for beautifully round,
rolled pizza dough, tomato sauce,
and then, of course, the five toppings
all evenly distributed and then well cooked.
- Pizza in! - Pizza in!
- Eva, how's it looking? - Great! It's looking great.
Jillian: I think the best strategy is you have to figure out
what role everyone's playing.
I mean, there are gonna be the pizza rollers,
the toppers, and people who are putting it in the ovens.
Everyone has to work like a well-oiled machine.
Make sure we're communicating well.
Move.
Guys, just keep passing them down.
Hot behind! Hot behind!
Come on, guys, we gotta go. They've got their second pizza.
That one's done. Take it out, take it out.
Here, here, here. Peel, peel, peel.
- Get cheese on it. - Be careful, it has to be perfect!
Grayson: Make sure they're done before we take them out
or they won't be counted.
Gordon: Guys, we're just under 14 minutes to go.
Let's go, come on!
Hot behind! Hot behind!
- Hot pizza behind! Hot pizza behind! - Good job, good job, guys.
Red team are off. Look at that. Red team has six already.
Ready, guys? We got this!
In a professional kitchen, talk to us about communication.
I mean, this is what it all comes down to.
That's 90% of the battle.
And if someone's not stepping up to the game,
remove that person and get somebody in there that can do that.
It's gonna burn. It's been in there for too long, starla.
You have to be on the ovens constantly.
My team is a great team.
And sure we're gonna have a few struggles,
but every team is gonna have a few struggles.
- Grayson: Andrew, can you be on ovens? - Andrew: Yeah.
- Okay, starla, you're gonna help with topping. - Thank you. Okay.
- I know ovens might not have been your favorite. I'm sorry. - I-- yeah.
It's about how we get through those struggles.
And we have been getting through them,
so I think we are gonna be safe.
Grayson: We gotta go! We gotta go!
We need to get a lot of pizzas, guys.
- Box! Box! I need a box! - ( overlapping chatter )
- box. - That looks really good!
Guys, we're coming to halfway. Ten minutes to go.
Ten minutes left! Ten minutes left!
Grayson, two are about to be done.
- Go do something else. I'm not trying to be rude. - Are you sure?
- I'm really good at this. - Yes, I got it.
I gotta carry this team.
There's a lot of chaos going on.
People are yelling at each other,
and I think we're falling behind.
They have a lot more than us.
All these ovens should be full, freddy.
The big thing I'm watching for is making sure they remember
to get that cornmeal onto the pizza peel.
It's such an easy thing to forget
and it's gonna make it impossible to get a loaded pizza
- off into the oven. - You guys aren't cornmealing it right.
You guys put all the cornmeal right here.
- It's not gonna work. - Freddy!
What are you doing?
So, I'm throwing pizzas away
because the pizzas won't come off.
- Oh, my god! - We have no time to waste,
so I'm not fighting with a pizza.
You're not even watching the pizzas!
Guys, we need all these ovens filled!
Jeez! It's not gonna work.
- Freddy, what are you doing? - Hey, guys,
there's nothing in the ovens.
I need pizzas in there. Come on!
Freddy's throwing pizzas on the floor.
I'm like, "freddy, step up, man.
Put more cornmeal on the peel
or we might lose this challenge."
you guys aren't cornmealing the things correctly.
- Communicate, guys! - Guys, don't yell at each other.
Hey, white apron team, we gotta get it together a little bit, let's go.
Grayson, you gotta get that peel over here.
I think the front-running team is the red team.
Their got their pizzas in and out.
The white team, they're more the underdog.
But the green team, I know we are very confident,
but we gotta hurry up.
Five minutes to go.
Come on, come on, pizza, come on. Don't be so slow!
Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook! Cook!
The red team's doing really well.
I think we have a good amount of pizzas,
and if we stay on this pace, we're gonna be on that balcony.
- Pizza in! - A'dan: Freddy!
- Are they full? - ( muttering )
put one in! Put one--
- oh, no, one fell! - Pizza down.
Put one in! Put one--
- oh, no, one fell! - Pizza down. It's okay.
Just keep on going. Just keep on going.
I think our team is looking pretty strong.
And then eva drops an entire pizza.
We're making these tiny mistakes that we can't afford.
- Hot behind! - Hot behind!
90 seconds to go, guys. Come on, green team.
We gotta hustle, guys, come on.
- Run, freddy, run! - Guys, remember,
quality over quantity!
Wow, this is really getting down to the wire.
Everyone's right neck and neck.
- Hot behind! Hot behind! - Ivy: We got this, guys!
- 40 seconds to go. Come on! - 40 seconds to go, guys!
Cruz: I glance over to the red team
and they had, like, a monstrosity pile of pizzas.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
- Gordon: And stop. - Aarón: That's it, yeah!
- High-five, high-five. - All right, we did great.
- Guys, good job. Good job. - ( overlapping chatter )
the white team definitely have the lowest stack of pizza boxes.
The odds are definitely against us,
and I'm pretty scared.
Remember, kids, anyway you slice it,
the losing team will face
a very tough elimination challenge.
Let's start off with the red team's pizzas, please.
Very carefully bring them up. Thank you.
Since we already have the most,
I'm hoping that all of ours are cooked perfectly.
So nice and warm. And they smell incredible, right?
It smells good in here, you guys.
Shall we? Pizza number one.
- Yeah, good. - That's nice. Wow.
- Daphna: Hmm. - So, what is that?
- Undercooked. - Gordon: Oh, dear.
- Aarón: Yep, that's under as well. - That's a no.
What happened to that?
It's not looking good at all.
Oh, dear. Started off well.
Would you guys eat that?
- All: No. - Some of them are raw.
Some of them are burnt.
Just most of them are very unpresentable.
Give me something, please. Oh, my lord.
- That's a scorcher. - That's burnt.
- So how many do we have? - After 14 pizzas,
you only have four good ones. Red team, what happened?
Gordon is not happy with our pizzas right now.
Underdone pizza. Come on, give me something.
And I don't know if we're gonna be on that balcony tonight.
Oh, my lord.
Finally, a beautiful pizza.
- And, oh, wow. Beautiful. - Aarón: There you go.
Now we're back on the street. Yes!
- Yes. - Yes!
- I'll take it.
- Yes. - And the last one is...
- Fingers crossed. Yes. Look at that. - Number 12, number 12.
- ( screams ) - daphne: That works for me.
- That works. - Look at that.
- ( overlapping chatter ) - we got this. We got it.
12 stunning pizzas by the red team.
- Well done. - All: Thank you, chef.
Okay, white apron team, you guys are up.
We may have less pizzas than everybody,
but I really hope we can make this.
It has to be quality over quantity.
That's what I'm hoping for.
All right.
Whoo!
Definitely a no.
All right, how about number two?
So the toppings are all over the place,
olives only in the corner,
and also it's really wet, you guys.
Ooh! Three is gorgeous.
- You guys nailed that one. - ( no audible dialogue )
we only have 17.
Ooh, that looks good!
If we get five wrong,
then we're gonna be under the red team.
You guys are on a roll already.
You have five good pizzas here, okay?
Oh.
Some people like their marshmallows dropped in the fire,
but I don't think on this one we can go that far.
Oh, see, this makes me sad, guys,
'cause this pizza is beautiful.
- But what's it missing? - Topping.
- Gordon: Mushrooms. - It has to be a no,
even though that is a gorgeous pizza.
Looks a little wet.
Why is it watery on top?
Our pizzas are messed up
and I'm starting to get really,
really scared and nervous
'cause I don't know how we're gonna win this.
Daphne: Beautiful. Okay, let's count them up, guys.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten good pizzas.
Hey, look, two under. We're two under.
- We're good. - Good job, guys. Good job.
There's still hope because only one team has to go
to the elimination challenge.
We can still beat out the green team.
- You never know. - Red team had 12.
You guys had ten.
Red team is definitely safe from elimination!
And you guys are still in the running.
Maclain: I'm so glad that red team is safe.
We're going to the balcony.
It's gonna be our first time up there
and it's going to be amazing.
Now, we're looking at the white versus the green team
to see which one of you is gonna face elimination.
Green team, please, bring up your pizzas.
Molly: I'm a little nervous about our pizzas now.
The judges are being really picky.
All we need is 11 good pizzas and we're safe.
I just hope our pizzas turned out good.
All right, guys, let's see.
Green team, it's up to you guys.
Let's start with this first one.
That right there, that's a showstopper. Beautiful. All right, guys?
Way to start out the gate.
- Ooh, another good one. - Daphne: Looks good!
Let's see number three. That's another yes.
Ten is the number to beat.
Most of the pizzas are really good, which is awesome.
I'm just hoping all of our pizzas can be perfect.
Ooh. Can you guys see how this has cooked properly
and this is raw?
It's a shame. You guys started out so good.
This does not look good.
This is aesthetically not pleasing.
- Halfway there. - Oof. Look at all that.
- Daphne: Flip it around, too. - Aarón: Yeah.
I mean, do you guys wanna eat all that burnt, acrid cheese?
I mean, the raw and undercooked pizzas just keep coming in.
It's not looking good.
- Let's see here. - There we go.
- Daphne: That looks great. - Aarón: That's beautiful.
Seven so far. Okay, now we're talking.
Now we're cooking with gas. I like that.
Daphne: Nine good pizzas so far.
Two pizzas left. All right, here we go.
- That's nice. - We got a tie right now.
Aarón: All right, guys, this is gonna decide
who goes into the elimination challenge.
- Here we go. - Please, please, please.
Please, please, please.
Please be a good pizza.
If this is a phenomenal pizza, you will go up there
and join the red team, green team.
Here we go.
- Wow. - That looks great.
- Man, that is beautiful. - Daphne: Looks good, you guys.
It's round, it has all the toppings there.
Perfect distribution of cheese.
- You cooked it perfectly. - Daphne: Yeah.
- Man. - Green team is safe.
Well done. Green team, congratulations.
Well done. And, red team, congratulations.
Thank you, chef.
Grab your pizzas and run upstairs
and have a pizza party, let's go.
Take one each that's open.
- You earned it. - Molly: This was so close.
I'm so proud of the green team right now.
Thank you, pizza gods.
This is on my bucket list.
Now, white apron team, all of you,
go put on your black aprons.
Because when we see you next,
you'll be facing the elimination challenge.
Thank you.
I think my team lost because of miscommunication.
And, freddy, he was throwing pizzas away.
I think seven-eighths of it was his fault.
Some of the pizzas that you threw out weren't too bad.
They wouldn't come off. What do you want me to do?
Don't worry, we lost by one pizza. We did great.
Look at the green group, they had so many pizzas.
And how many did we have? Only 11.
Well, they still beat us, so...
- Victory tastes like pizza. - Gordon: Right,
over to your stations, please.
It's time for your elimination challenge.
It's gonna be your first mystery box of the season.
You guys lost the pizza race.
And now at least one of you
will be leaving this kitchen tonight.
I'm kind of getting a little scared
because it could be anything in the world,
and I might not even know how to cook it.
Now, very carefully, on my count of three
lift those boxes.
One...
Two...
Three! Lift!
- All: What? - What is that?
- No. - ( overlapping chatter )
- oh, my god! - That's a blindfold!
No way. No, no, no, no.
Pick up your blindfolds and come down here
to the front, please. Let's go.
Are we gonna have to cook blindfolded?
I'm gonna burn or cut off my fingers.
- Stay strong, guys. - Judges!
I'm too young to die!
All right, a great chef
has to rely on all of their senses--
taste, smell, and of course, touch.
And there's no better test for those senses
than to try a dish blindfolded.
- Oh, I see. - Oh!
- I hope it's cooked. - They're gonna have to try it
- and then cook it. - To survive in this kitchen,
you're gonna have to make what is under there.
It is a michelin starred dish...
- ( gasps ) - ...That I cooked earlier.
- No way. - It's up to your educated palate
to identify what it is,
and then you're gonna replicate the dish I've just cooked.
Please, all of you, put on your blindfolds.
When I say go, you'll have five minutes to taste that dish.
Ready? Your five-minute tasting
starts... Now.
( music playing )
ivy: I don't know what it is.
- A'dan, what do you taste? - I'm tasting something
like a grape salad.
So I'm feeling like it's a fruit salad--
- a fruit salad. Wow. - Ooh, I like that.
- Ivy, what are you tasting? - I'm tasting, like, mustard
and I felt something like rice or, like, couscous.
Gordon: Interesting. Liya, what are you tasting?
Liya: It's probably something like a fish,
because I can feel the scale and it's hard.
Liya: I have really good senses, I think.
My smell, it's really good,
because I can always smell my brother after he plays golf
because they're all sweaty and disgusting
and no one likes it.
Freddy, what do you taste?
- A salmon. Ugh. - A'dan: Delish!
Gordon, you did a great job.
- Thank you, a'dan. - Mmm!
A'dan, taste that, what you're holding.
- ( coughs and gasps ) - you can touch.
Are you okay, a'dan?
Unh-uh. I just ate something that I don't like.
- There's a napkin on the side if you don't like it. - Gordon: Thank you, ivy.
Teaching him some manners. 60 seconds to go.
Daphne: Taste the different parts, guys.
You need to recreate everything that's on this dish.
- Definitely couscous. - But it's sweet.
Crispy skin. Crispy skin.
Make sure you taste every component.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
- That's it. - Stop eating.
Oh, gosh.
I hope you've all taken enough bites,
because now that you've tasted it,
you're gonna have to make it.
You're gonna find all the ingredients that you need in the pantry,
and a bunch of stuff that you definitely don't need.
You guys will have 45 minutes
to replicate the dish that you just tried.
This is a true test of your palates
and all of the other senses
that a chef must bring to the table.
Unfortunately, one of you will be leaving the competition.
Make sure it's not you.
We will be judging you both on the taste
and how well you replicate the dish.
Your 45 minutes...
...Start now. Let's go.
- Hurry! - Let's go, guys.
I like that hustle.
- Capers. - Where are they?
It is very difficult trying to identify these flavors.
Tasted like...
- There's the fish. - Salmon.
It's not as texture-y as mashed potatoes.
- And there's the sauce. - Butter. I need butter.
I'm horrible at identifying sauces.
- Yeah, go, a'dan! - Come on!
Liya, trust in yourself.
There definitely was couscous in it
'cause I could taste the little tiny balls.
And there was salmon in it,
and I could taste, like, carrot and, like, a cucumber.
Couscous.
( muttering )
abir: Go, freddy! Yeah!
Got this. You got it.
Right, tough one. I love teaching my young chefs
- how to taste first before they cook. - Yeah.
Because if you don't know what it tastes like, you shouldn't be cooking it.
Daphne: Okay, so we gave them a pan-seared salmon.
Underneath that was some cauliflower couscous
with golden raisin and apple.
They had a medley of squash around the plate
and this delicious brown butter caper sauce coating the whole thing.
Gordon: The easiest thing is going to be the salmon and the capers.
The hard one tonight is gonna be that couscous.
If anyone gets that cauliflower couscous here, I will be shocked.
Oh, it wasn't broccoli couscous. It wasn't broccoli couscous.
- Tegan's already put her fish in the pan. - Yep.
That's gonna overcook, okay? That's gonna be solid.
Tegan didn't even season her fish.
Gordon: Guys, just over eight minutes gone. Let's go.
- Freddy, how you feeling? - I'm feeling pretty good.
Now, when that blindfold went on with you, what were you thinking?
I think it's salmon.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of salmon,
but I know what it tastes like.
It could've been a trout, no?
Nah.
So why have you got trout?
Oh, that's trout?
Well, what does it say?
Oh!
"thank you, chef." "you're welcome, freddy."
- thank you. - The lights are on
and freddy's not at home.
Tegan, you got this.
- Daphne: Hey, tegan. - Hi.
What'd you think you ate up there under the blindfold?
I think I ate some, like, salmon,
couscous, like, carrots,
and it tasted like grapes or apples.
Aarón: All right, so you're going with couscous,
- grapes, butter, carrots, right? - And salmon.
Now let me ask a question. What do you put on salmon?
There's a little thing that starts with an s.
- Salt. - There you go.
What are some of your favorite things to cook at home?
- Where is home, by the way? - Billings, montana.
My parents are bakers.
I get to work at the bakery, and it's awesome.
Like, sometimes I'll be making cream puffs.
Delicious.
Make sure you keep an eye on the time.
We're just under 30 minutes, okay?
- Okay. - You might not want to cook that too much,
'cause it doesn't take that long to cook.
Might want to drop that a little bit. Good luck.
Liya, tell me the first thing you tasted when you got in there.
Couscous, capers, and also there was something
that was like-- it was, like, hard and round.
- I didn't know what it was. - Mm.
Work that palate overtime, yes?
20 minutes remaining. Let's go!
- Hello. - Hello.
- What's happening here? Salmon? Nice. - Salmon.
And then I have my sauce, and I have couscous,
and then I have some vegetables.
All right, so, ivy, when you were tasting,
you kept saying, "mustard, mustard."
but there isn't any mustard.
So what else can give you that kind of, like, tangy--
I got a little bit of apples.
I think, ivy, the idea of apple is a very smart choice.
I think I might add some couscous.
Why do you love cooking so much?
It makes me feel so happy.
I love cooking because it calms me down.
Like, if my siblings are being annoying
and then I get mad, I ask my mom to cook.
All right, you're look like you're in good shape here.
- Keep cooking. - Okay.
Let's go.
So, let's go back to those flavors.
What was on there? What was that?
- It was capers. - What are you using for protein?
- Black cod or salmon. - Wow.
That's cooked beautifully. Touch the top of that.
And then touch the top of that. Which one did you taste?
- That one. - Good boy.
- Good job, liya! - Look at liya's couscous.
All right, so what did you think you tasted at the blindfold station?
So I tasted-- the couscous was supposed to be a little sweet,
so then I started thinking mayonnaise.
It's probably, like-- there's some kind of creaminess
and sugariness that can go inside.
And what kind of veggies are in here?
So there's zucchini, granny smith apples,
carrots, and capers.
And how confident are you feeling right now?
- Really confident. - You're not going home today?
- Unh-uh. - Not this girl. Not today.
Let's go, freddy!
Ooh, sorry.
Make your dishes look beautiful, guys, okay?
Be careful of the plating. Don't rush it, freddy.
So I was really fascinated.
Liya thinks there's mayonnaise in with this couscous.
It is interesting how they're picking up on those creamy elements.
Their mouth tastes fat, but they don't know where it's from.
That's not good.
Gordon: Tegan, I don't think
her salmon is gonna be cooked nicely,
'cause it's been in the pan for the last 35 minutes.
Daphne: I don't see apples or vegetables
or anything on freddy's plate.
Where did all that stuff go?
You got this, freddy!
Aarón: Here we go, guys, to the final stretch.
- Ivy, let's go! - Guys, check your stations.
Make sure you got everything you cooked on the plate.
60 seconds to go. Let's go!
Aarón: Think about your dish. All the elements, please.
You got this, liya.
( sighs )
ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
- That's it. - Hands in the air.
- Great job, everybody! - Liya! Liya!
- Well done, you guys. - Ivy: I'm feeling great about my dish.
I feel like the mustard taste
when I was tasting it was the capers.
And then I put a little bit of apple in my couscous
because I knew that that was making it sweet.
And I think my salmon is cooked perfect.
I thought you all did an amazing job. Well done.
Now, this is what you were supposed to make.
A beautiful, delicious, pan-seared salmon.
- Yes! - Sitting on a bed
of the most amazing...
- Couscous... - Yes!
...Of cauliflower.
What?
I grated the cauliflower to make a modern couscous
flavored with apples and golden raisins.
I melon balled zucchini, squash,
and the sauce was a brown butter caper sauce.
Yes!
Now, despite how close you might've gotten,
we all know that ultimately
it comes down to taste.
Right, first up, freddy.
Please bring your dish forward.
Freddy: I'm kind of nervous
because I missed out on a lot of key important things
for the flavor of the dish.
I definitely could go home.
Young man, describe your dish.
I made a pan-seared salmon
with couscous, capers,
and I cooked the apples in the brown butter sauce.
Tell me, what is in the couscous?
The melloned apples and the capers.
- Shall we? - Let's.
Tell me how you think you've cooked the salmon.
I think I got a nice sear on the salmon.
- But is it pink inside? - I think so.
I need you to be positive. Yes or no?
Yes.
Tell me how you think you've cooked the salmon.
I think I got a nice sear on the salmon.
- But is it pink inside? - I think so.
I need you to be positive. Yes or no?
Yes.
And you're right.
- Aarón: Mmm. - Daphne: Beautiful cook.
Thank you, chef.
Unfortunately, you've forgotten the fundamental basics.
It's called seasoning.
Second, third mouthful on the couscous? It's just bland.
Then you tasted the vegetables, right, on my plate?
So why didn't you put vegetables on there?
Because you've got veg behind you.
See, I thought-- I tasted it, and it had, like, a couscous texture.
When you had your blindfold on, you confused yourself.
I'll tell you why, because you were mashing everything up.
- Yeah. - And so you confused yourself.
You should have been just smart.
One slice, fingers on, and then in.
One mouthful at a time, go around the plate.
Zucchini and then the butternut squash?
- It was there for a reason. - Daphne: When I eat your dish,
the flavors themselves that are there are okay.
I think you're missing quite a bit of salt and that lemon,
the little bit of acid that would have gone a long way.
The apples are great, but there's not enough of them
to really color the whole dish.
For me, that's not a great representation
of chef ramsay's dish. It just need freshness.
I think the vegetables could've been a beautiful relief
from all the richness you have here.
And also you plated with five minutes to go, young man,
and all you did was waltz around.
I wanna see that five minutes of energy thinking back
to the blindfold and pushing yourself.
Because when you're pushed, that's when you accelerate.
Thank you. Head up.
- Good job, freddy. - My dish completely sucks
and I don't want to go out like this.
Hopefully, gordon thinks someone else's dish is worse
and doesn't send me home.
The next dish that we'd like to look at, liya.
- Good luck, liya. - Really good.
Aarón: Liya, please describe the dish.
So you have a salmon with mayonnaise and salted couscous,
with a zucchini, carrot, and apple mix.
You're 85% of the way there because, visually,
- it looks really appetizing. - It does.
Aarón: I think the cook on the salmon
is accurate as can be towards chef ramsay's.
I love the fact that you have the vegetables.
You do have the carrot.
I think a lot of you guys got mistaken
between the carrot and butternut squash.
Shall we?
- Look how gorgeous that is. You see it? - Yeah.
Your cook on the salmon is beyond reproach.
I think you did such a great job.
- The flavor of the mayonnaise is a little odd. - Yeah.
- I don't think it's delivering... - Sorry!
- ...As much as you hoped it would. - Yeah.
I got a really nice punch from the granny smith apple,
which you nailed, the capers, all of it.
And I think you gave us a great dish.
- Thank you. - Gordon: Delicious dish.
Fish cooked beautifully, young lady.
Couscous, mayonnaise? Big no-no.
- Don't ever put those two again together. - Sorry!
Really good job. Well done.
- Thank you. - Good job, liya!
Next up, a'dan, please. Let's go.
Describe your dish, please.
Today I made pan-seared salmon
with couscous, a brown butter sauce,
and grapes and cucumbers.
Visually, it looks a little bit messy.
Why all the grapes at the end?
I tasted grape in it, so I thought grapes would be in the dish.
A'dan, just knowing chef ramsay and what he's done,
I don't think he's the kind of chef that's gonna put
raw grapes on a plate, you know what I mean?
Gordon: Shall we? How did you cook the salmon?
I pan-seared it. Then I baked it in the oven.
I think you got the crispiest skin by far
of any of the salmons that I've tasted,
and I think that right there is very compelling.
When I'm looking at chef ramsay's plate,
I think the one thing that's missing is vegetables.
You just need to work on having the dish come together
- in a way that paints a whole picture. - Yes, chef.
Fish cooked nicely. Lack of seasoning, unfortunately.
The grapes, that's a bit of a joke,
and the couscous is bland.
Close but not close enough.
Back to your station, please.
Next up, ivy's dish.
Thank you.
All right, ivy, tell us what you made tonight.
I made a pan-seared salmon with a brown butter sauce
and apple flavored couscous with pan-seared vegetables.
This dish looks really, really good.
- Thank you, chef. - Daphne: This one looks the most like chef gordon's.
It is really beautifully balanced.
You nailed-- the circle of vegetables
around the couscous, I thought was really strong.
- It meant that you actually took your time tasting. - Thank you.
- Shall we? I'm dying to dig in that salmon. - Let's do.
Let's see if the skin crunches.
- Oh, I feel a little crunch. - Gordon: Wow.
- Gordon: How is it in the center? - Ooh!
- Lovely! - Yes!
- Oh, boy. - That is the perfect cook.
You want it nice and glossy like that on the inside.
It is really well-flavored.
You cooked the vegetables through.
I mean, so delicious.
Repeat after me. I do solemnly swear.
- I do solemnly swear. - That I was born in 2010.
You may be tiny and one of the youngest,
but you're packing a punch.
- Thank you, chef. - Head back to your station, please.
Great job, ivy! You did great!
You did awesome.
Really good.
( squeals )
all right, tegan, please bring your dish up.
- Good job, tegan! - Go, tegan!
You got this!
I think my dish is about 80%
like gordon ramsay's dish.
I don't think mine is the best dish,
but I don't think it's the worst.
Daphne: What are you serving tonight?
Tonight I'm serving you a pan-seared salmon
with carrots, couscous, and green apples.
- The plating is a little bit on the flat side. - Okay.
I was expecting you to put a few more vegetables on there and take a few risks.
So why did you chose to leave everything separate
in little pieces like that?
Um, I don't really know?
With 38 minutes to go, you started cooking the salmon.
Salmon should take around eight, nine minutes.
- Okay. - So, my big worry
is the fact the salmon is gonna be really overcooked.
- Shall we? - Mm-hmm.
With 38 minutes to go, you started cooking the salmon.
- Okay. - So, my big worry is the fact
the salmon is gonna be really overcooked.
- Shall we? - Mm-hmm.
Daphne: It's dry. It's cooked to death.
Oh, dear.
There is a bit of sauce around the plate. What's that?
That's just the brown butter sauce.
I'm so glad you got the brown butter sauce on.
What does it remind you of?
- Absolutely right. - The couscous is cooked well,
but it needs seasoning. A lot of seasoning.
- Okay. - I just think there's so many missing elements
from chef ramsay's dish,
like the capers and all the other things
that would've lifted your dish up a little bit.
- Okay. - Gordon: The salmon was overcooked.
- The apples should've been inside the couscous. - Okay.
And then more vegetables on there would've made me happy.
- I think the dish leaves room for improvement. - Okay.
- Thank you so much. - Good job, tegan!
Tegan: I feel kind of worried.
I just hope that one little mistake
isn't gonna keep me out of the whole competition.
I just really hope I can stay,
and if I do, I'll study, study,
study, study, study.
Miss daphne, aarón, and myself
have some serious talking to do.
We'll be back in a moment. Thank you.
Oh, my god.
So, tegan got the brown butter right.
The salmon was overcooked.
Everything else was just bland, unfortunately.
Freddy's, a little bit lacklust.
- Mm-hmm. And rushed. - And rushed. Yeah, exactly.
Liya took a risk with the mayonnaise and the couscous,
but everything else on her plate was really delicious.
- Ivy's, I mean, that was exceptional. - She nailed it.
- She really knocked it out of the park.
A'dan, a little bit disappointed with a'dan.
Aarón: Yeah, I think he was very presumptuous
to think that raw grapes would be what we would do at this level.
A'dan: I'm worried right now about the grapes.
Why would I serve them raw?
I don't know what I was thinking.
I might have to leave today.
Tonight that was a very tough elimination challenge, right?
Yes, chef!
You five got the protein right.
The bad news is somebody is going home.
If I call your name, please step forward.
Liya.
Ivy.
You two...
...Are safe.
The best dishes of the night.
- Yes! - Congratulations.
Please, make your way up to the balcony.
I feel so excited
because I had one of the top two dishes.
And I feel so happy that I impressed the judges enough.
Like, that's gordon ramsay!
Now, for the three of you remaining,
you know what this means.
Tegan, tonight your dish was missing several key components.
And also, the salmon, unfortunately,
as you know, it was overcooked.
A'dan, young man, tonight you threw grapes on your dish.
I don't know where they came from
because there was no grapes anywhere near mine.
And, freddy, your dish lacked seasoning.
Now, let's get one thing clear, tegan, a'dan, freddy,
you are all very talented cooks.
Now, sadly, one of you will be going home this evening.
That person is...
Tegan.
Unfortunately, there were just
too many mistakes on your plate.
You're the best, tegan!
- Keep your head up high! - Bye-bye, tegan.
Gentlemen, please, head upstairs. Let's go.
Tegan, come and give us a little hug good-bye.
- Daphne: Yes, please. - Come on.
Tegan: It's pretty hard hearing that I was going home
'cause I didn't get to show them any of my baking skills.
This is just the first step,
and you beat thousands of people.
- You're top 15. - Absolutely.
Good job, mija.
The best moment of "masterchef junior"
probably wasn't even the cooking.
It was just meeting everybody.
I can't wait to see what you'll continue doing
- in your career. - Yeah.
- Say good night, guys. - Good night, tegan!
Great job, tegan!
I'm pretty sad to be going home.
- Bye! - I'll keep my head up high
and keep cooking.
As for the rest of you, get some rest.
Because when we see you next,
it's the fight between good
and medieval.
- Good night. - What?
What is that supposed to mean?
Think about it. Medieval.
Gordon: Next time on "masterchef junior"...
Good tidings, young travelers!
- What is this? - ...The top 14 take a trip
back to medieval times,
and must make a feast fit for royalty.
Gordon: This is your first field challenge.
Make sure it's not your last.
- Help out, let's go! - Hurry, we gotta go, go, go.
- Cook faster. - Make sure you're doing everything perfectly!
- Who's the captain now? - Team meeting!
But for one junior cook...
Gordon: This is a disaster.
...It will be their last meal.
- Listen to your captain. - You gotta recover from this.
- Oh, boy. - Oh, my gosh!