MasterChef Junior

Announcer: Tonight...

the "MasterChef Junior" kitchen opens its doors...

Oh, my goodness!

Announcer: ...to 40 of the best young home cooks in America...

- I'm from Brooklyn. - I'm from Sugar Hill, Georgia.

I live in Sacramento, California.

- ...who will compete... - Two aprons up for grabs.

- Announcer: ...for a spot in the Top 20... - Whew!

Announcer: ...and prove themselves

to the food world's biggest names.

Announcer: Those who make the grade...

Welcome, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts!

Announcer: ...will rise to new heights...

- Our first responders are arriving. - Hi!

Announcer: ...and cook for some very special guests.

- Christina: Former First Lady. - Gordon: Julie Bowen.

- Mayim Bialik. - Martha Stewart.

- Wolfgang Puck. - And...

Ta-da! -

Announcer: As they take the culinary world...

- ( all scream ) - Announcer: ...by storm.

- Boy: Gordon! - ( screams, laughs )

- Announcer: ...with dish... - It's great.

- ...after stunning dish. - It's picture perfect.

Clearly you were born to cook.

Announcer: But only one will win $100,000

and claim the title of...

- I'm over-the-moon excited... - Whoo!

...that I'm one of the top 40 home cooks in America.

It's the most famous kitchen in the world

and it feels like my head's going to explode.

Evan: I've been cooking since I was three

and I've had tons of experiences in my life.

But being in the biggest culinary competition

in the whole galaxy is life-changing.

Welcome to "MasterChef Junior."

- ( all cheer ) - Gordon: You are

the 40 best home cooks,

all between the age of eight and 13,

across all of America.

We searched the country from coast to coast.

You stood out among that huge crowd of home cooks.

One of you will win the greatest culinary trophy

on the planet, $100,000,

and the title of "America's MasterChef Junior."

Before you can be a contender in this kitchen,

you need just one more thing.

A MasterChef white apron.

To win an apron, all of you must undertake a culinary challenge

set by Christina and I.

We'll see you inside.

Announcer: In their cook off for a white apron,

the junior home cooks will compete over their signature dishes.

The judges will then decide who will win an apron

and a place in the top 20.

First up, four aspiring young bakers...

- It's a all-girls party, girls. - Yay!

Announcer: ...each hoping to make a sweet start

in the MasterChef kitchen.

My name is Elisabeth. I am nine years old.

I have a pretty little home at the end of a dirt road

and I'm one of five kids.

Whole kids.

Not half. ( laughs )

This has all the people that helped me

to go on "MasterChef Junior."

Elisabeth: My family didn't really have the money

to go to the auditions so I had to do a fundraiser.

Looks delicious.

And if I get my MasterChef apron,

it'd be the sprinkles on top of my ice cream.

I like to cook desserts and Colombian food.

My name is Barbara and I'm in fourth grade.

My mommy.

My mom is from Colombia

and I've been traveling since I was born,

so I got a lot of tricks up this sleeve right here.

My name is Cydney, I'm 10 years old,

and I do things that a lot of fifth graders don't do.

I like to knit.

Here's a sock that I made the other day.

I also like to bake a lot, like, and make cakes.

Magical stuff happens here.

Cooking makes me smile so much, my face hurts.

Oh, my goodness! Gordon!

Welcome, girls. Come on down.

- Oh, my goodness! - Cool!

I'm Na'imah, I'm 10 years old,

and I'm from Chicago, Illinois.

My grandma taught me how to bake,

and now I have a baking business with my sister.

I'm a baking businesswoman.

Christina: Well, I gotta tell you what.

I, for one, love this group of talented, strong-minded,

smart, beautiful, lovely, independent women.

- Yes. - Yes.

Oh, yeah.

Uh-oh.

See, this is always the scary part.

I know. ( giggles )

Tonight, you'll each be making us...

- All: Ooh. - Christina: ...a tartlet.

- Yes. - A beautiful tartlet

just like one of these.

Gordon: Ladies, tonight you'll have 45 minutes

to make us one stunning tartlet.

Your 45 minutes starts...

- now. - ( ticks )

- ( Barbara giggles ) - ( whispers )

Oh, this thing is so heavy.

- Now, tartlets... - Mm-hmm.

- ...can be really tricky to execute. - Sure.

- Sugar. - The dough itself needs to be tender.

- Just the right amount of butter. - Who doesn't love butter?

- You can't overwork the dough. - Gordon: No.

- Right, Elisabeth, how are we feeling? - A little bit nervous.

Tell me about the tart. What are you putting in there?

It's a lemon custard, and I'm putting strawberries and kiwi.

I heard that you went on a little fundraising mission to get here.

Uh-huh, and then plus donations from people.

Do you know, I had to go to a local charity where I grew up

'cause they paid for my first chef whites

and my first wallet of knives?

Cool.

This tartlet sounds delicious.

- Good luck. - Uh-huh.

All right, guys, you have 21 minutes to go.

Miss Na'imah. Now, what kind of tartlet are you thinking of making?

A peach cobbler - inspired tart.

My grandma teached me how to cook a peach cobbler.

Oh, so this is a little bit of an homage to your grandma

- that taught you how to bake? - Yes.

All right, good luck, Na'imah.

Thank you.

- Barbara, how we feeling? - Good.

Tell me about the tartlet. What are you doing?

Well, I am making a Colombian fruit tart.

- The flavor's banana. - Gordon: Wow.

- Like a minion. - Gordon: Okay, love that.

- And then you're gonna caramelize the bananas. - How did you guess?

See, there you go. So, why don't you get the pan nice and hot?

Oh, I know, I know, I know.

- So, bouge ton cul. - What does that mean?

- "Move your butt." - ( gasps ) Oh! Wow.

All right, ladies, we're coming up to 15 minutes to go.

These pots are always so heavy.

- All right, Cydney. - Both: Hi.

- Where do you live? - I live in Brooklyn, New York.

So do you, and I love to bake.

- So we're kinda like soul sisters. - Yeah.

What kind of tartlet are you making us tonight?

My family loves coconut

and my parents can't have dairy

so they always have dark chocolate

and so I'm making a dark chocolate coconut tart.

Ooh, okay.

Now, what is your food dream?

To open up a little café

that sells baked goods, pastries.

Now, I gotta tell you, Cydney, when I was 10 years old,

I had a little dream, too.

And it turned out pretty good for me.

- Yeah. - So you stick with that dream.

- Good luck, Cydney. - Thanks.

- ( ticks ) - Five minutes to go.

- Keep it going. - That should be enough.

Oven open.

Barbara looks like she's fallen behind.

Barbara's tartlet has only been in the oven

- for six, seven minutes. - Yeah, right.

- That's not gonna be enough. - No.

- Ladies, last two minutes. - Oh, dear.

Gordon: This is where it counts. Finishing touches are crucial.

Ooh!

I don't have the sides.

What should I do? What should I do?

Okay, I just need to get a blueberry.

Come on, ladies, finishing touches.

- I can do this. - Gordon: 10...

Gordon, Christina: ...nine, eight, seven...

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

And, stop! Hands in the air.

- Christina: Hands in the air! - Well done. That was brilliant.

Ladies, carefully bring your tartlets to the front.

Gordon: You should be so proud 'cause that was incredible.

But only two of you can move forward

to the top 20 of this competition.

Now, Miss Elisabeth.

Talk to me about your tart shell.

I don't know what to say. It's beautiful.

All right. What is the pastry filling?

Elisabeth: It is a lemon custard

with strawberries and kiwi,

one blueberry and one blackberry.

All right, let's have a bite.

I hope it's scrum-diddly-umptious.

It's delicious.

Your pastry crust is rolled thinly,

it's very well baked.