MasterChef Junior (2013) s03e04 Episode Script
Raw Talent
Last week a giant mystery box revealed grandpa Gordon.
It's me, Gordon Ramsay.
Age 80-ish.
And in the terrifying elimination test some rose to new heights.
The depth of flavor of this chili is profound.
The real deal.
It's absolutely delicious.
My dish is the bomb dot com.
But for Kyler and Mia Keep cooking 'cause you inspired thousands.
it was the end of their journey in the MasterChef kitchen.
- Tonight - Three - You look good.
- Two - Hurry! - One Switch! - Go! Go! It's a high-pressure sushi tag-team challenge.
- Let's go! - Make it perfect! Only the cooks with raw talent You gotta be a ninja! - and the sharpest skills - Put them on! - Keep going! will make the cut.
Boom.
It's the best sushi we've ever had in this kitchen, even including the adults.
- Thank you.
- I love that.
Thank you.
Come on down, guys.
Welcome.
I'm so excited to be in the top ten.
The trophy is in my sights.
And when I become the next MasterChef Junior, I'll build a house for the trophy.
And it's gonna have a beautiful view of Central Park in New York and a butler just to clean the trophy every day.
Let's go, guys.
I'm 12, and I got into cooking when I was around four years old.
And when I grow up, I want to be a chef or some type of lawyer.
But I'd rather be a chef, 'cause it's more fun.
Welcome back.
Andrew, I love those moves.
Do it again.
Love those.
I didn't know you could dance.
What? I love that.
You can do that as well.
- I can do that.
- Go on! - Oh, no, no, no ,no - Come on, man.
- Okay.
All right.
All right.
That's all you get for now.
In the last challenge, three of you had the best dishes.
Now, those were made by Cory, Jenna, and Nathan.
All three of you please step forward.
It is time for a very special challenge.
The winner of this challenge will get a huge advantage in whatever we throw at you next.
You three stay in front of us.
Everyone else, step to the side.
Bye.
One of the most important skills that every chef needs to master is knowledge of ingredients.
For the upcoming challenge, we are going to test that knowledge.
Back there, in the MasterChef pantry it houses over 500 ingredients.
There 83 different dried herbs, This is one of the most incredible pantries in the entire world.
We are going to give you each a list of 20 random ingredients.
You'll each have two minutes to run into the pantry and fill your baskets with as many of the ingredients on this shop list as you can find.
Here we go.
Cory.
- Jenna.
- Thank you.
- We got to get everything? - Yes.
So, when I look at the list, I'm really nervous.
I think I'm really good at, like, identifying items.
But you need to be able to look for something in two minutes-- like, so quick.
I don't know if I can do it.
Oh, just one other thing.
We have taken all the labels of those 500 ingredients off in the pantry.
So you'll have to rely on your culinary knowledge.
Your two minutes starts Now! You guys, follow on.
Cheer them on, please.
Go! Let's go, Nathan! Let's go! Yeah, Nathan, come on! You got this! I feel this is gonna be pretty difficult because none of the food is labeled, and we only have two minutes.
That's honestly insane.
Honeydew, honeydew, honeydew.
I have a lot of experience in a grocery store.
But in my grocery store, it's, like, tiny, 'cause I live in New York City.
And, like, this pantry is already bigger than my grocery store.
- Dried cranberry? - Where are all these things? So, at this point, my only worry is being able to find all of it in such a short amount of time.
Ostrich egg! Ostrich egg.
Where's that I know where I will find it, but I keep on forgetting if it's a small one or a big one.
And I get confused, so I'm like: "Oh, my goodness.
" Got it! One minute left! One minute! Jenna, you got this.
The hardest thing on the list is Arborio rice because there's 11 different kinds of rice in there.
I mean, come on.
Let's go.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! And stop! Let's go.
Let's go, guys.
Well done.
Good job.
At the end of the challenge, it looks like Nathan has the most ingredients.
But Nathan could have and none of them could be correct.
Cory could have and all of them could be correct.
The young home cook that successfully brought back the most number of correct ingredients that we put on your shopping list will have a huge advantage in the next round of this competition.
Cory, I'm going to count yours first.
I'm not that worried that I don't have everything on my list.
I'm like: "I got a lot of stuff, I believe.
" So, first up, we're looking for a tomatillo.
No tomatillo.
Next, we're looking for a dry cranberry.
First score.
Next up, Arborio rice.
This is Arborio rice.
- Well done.
- One asparagus.
One pomegranate.
A giant California blueberry.
The honeydew melon.
- Star anise.
- I got it! You did.
That's seven.
Now, there's one more thing left in your basket.
It's one of the biggest eggs in the world of food that you can actually use and eat.
Here it is.
It's a quail egg.
The egg is big as Riley's head.
My egg that I choice is the size of an ant.
Cory did really, really well.
His score was 7 out of 20.
Good job.
Nathan, do you think that you did better than Cory? I hope so.
We're gonna find out.
Thank you, sir.
We're looking for a tomatillo.
Did you get one? Yes, you did.
Nice one.
Star fruit.
Bam! Asparagus.
Pomegranate.
Honeydew melon.
Good job.
New York strip steak.
Star anise.
Way to go.
You are now tied with Cory.
Two left.
If you get the ostrich egg or the Granny Smith apple, you are in the lead.
There's one thing in here.
And it is, in fact a Granny Smith apple.
You are at eight! That puts you currently in the lead, with one over Cory.
Jenna, the pressure is on.
Nine to win, Eight to tie.
Let's go.
Yeah, Jenna! I have absolutely no idea how many ingredients I have.
I had no time to check things off my list.
So I'm just hoping it's more than eight.
- Okay, sweet potato, yes or no? - Yes.
Is it in there? Yes, it is! - Starfuit, yes or no? - Yes.
- Correct.
That is definitely a dried cranberry.
Well done.
Next up, asparagus.
Yes.
Pomegranate, nice.
Well done.
- Do we have a fresh blueberry in here? - Yes.
Look at that beauty.
That is a pistachio nut.
Seven.
One more to tie with Nathan.
Did you get a penne pasta? You have a penne pasta.
Well done.
Amazing.
One more! One more! Now, you are tied with Nathan.
You need one more to win that huge advantage.
Come on.
I'm really nervous at this point.
There a couple other items in there that I know that I picked up, but I hope they're the right ones.
Does the New York girl have the New York strip? You have I'm sorry to tell you Still to come A tag-team challenge! the small home cooks - Keep going! - Let's go! - Man, that's killer! face the biggest challenge You got to be a ninja.
of their young lives.
- Put them on! - Come on! Oh, my God.
Does the New York girl have a New York strip? You have I'm sorry to tell you Nathan, you're beaten by Jenna.
It's a New York strip! Well done! Jenna! I beat Nathan.
Oh, my G! This is crazy! I've never beaten somebody that good in my life! And the winner, with ten ingredients Congratulations, Jenna.
Well done! - Great job.
How do you feel? - Really good.
Surprised.
All right, everybody up on the balcony, it is now time for the main event.
Everyone, please come down here off the balcony.
Jenna, are you ready to find out your huge advantage for winning that incredible ingredient challenge? Yes.
You picked the most correct ingredients from a list of 20.
So now you will get to pick all of the teams.
- It's a team challenge? - That's right.
Five teams of two.
Please come and stand here next to Gordon.
It is a competition, and I want to stay in it for as long as possible.
But I don't want people not to like me because they're unhappy with who they get.
Okay, Jenna, who is going to be your teammate? - Kayla.
- Kayla, come over here and join Jenna.
Okay, it's now time to choose who is going to be cooking with who.
I pick Andrew.
Who's Andrew gonna be cooking with tonight? Andrew is paired with - Riley.
- Riley, wow.
- We got this, man.
- I hope we win.
Okay, Jenna, next picks.
Ryan Kate.
Who are you going to pair Ryan Kate with? - Nathan.
- Nathan? Wow.
- Next up.
- Jack.
Who is Jack gonna be paired with? I'm gonna pair Jack with Cory.
Jack, how are you feeling? Cory's kind of a little crazy for me.
Cory has a pretty big reputation for being crazy and wild, but he's a really good chef, and I think that we can make a really good dish together.
So that leaves Jimmy, Ayla, as the last team.
You two, go and join at the end next to Jimmy.
Excellent.
All right, there we have it, five teams of two.
Listen carefully, because this will not be an ordinary team challenge.
This will be a very special team challenge.
A tag-team challenge.
There will be two of you on each team.
But only one of you will cook at a time.
Now, when we call "switch," you'll tag your partner and swap out.
Sadly, at the end of this challenge, one entire team of two will be leaving the MasterChef kitchen.
Tonight we want you to make a beautiful platter of food from Oh, my gosh.
- Japan.
- Sushi! Well, sushi's my favorite food.
I know how to make it.
But since it's a team challenge, I have to worry about Cory too.
And Asian food, in general, is really hard.
I don't think he will be able to pull it off.
Here you have tuna sushi, salmon sushi, a California roll, and crispy shrimp tempura.
Make no mistake that, regardless of your age, this is gonna push you to the limit and really challenge you.
It's time to get started.
Please head to your stations.
Behind your stations, you will have everything you need to replicate this beautiful platter of Japanese food.
You have crab, tuna, salmon, shrimp, seaweed, rice, and tempura.
You guys are gonna have to replicate this amazing platter of Japanese food.
Every ten minutes, when I say, "switch," you'll tag your partner and swap out.
- Is everybody ready? - Yes, Chef! Your 60 minutes starts Now! Let's go.
There you go.
Come on.
Cory, so first thing you're gonna want to do is prep your vegetables.
Now cut it into eighths, Cory.
Start with the small end or the big end? Do whatever you think is best.
Just do the salmon first.
Take those edges off.
- Taking them off, Riley.
- That looks nice.
I know you can do this, bro.
So this is a MasterChef classic The tag-team sushi challenge.
Did it with adults.
First time with kids.
Start off by cutting the fish diagonally.
These are 8- to 13-year-olds, and we're asking them to replicate high-end sushi platter.
Come on.
Seriously? It's crazy, but I mean, you almost forget the age because they're so good.
Try, instead of, like, sawing, like, do one long motion.
Good.
Good, good, good.
The most difficult part of this platter tonight, is in the slicing of that salmon and that tuna.
Tilt the knife back way more.
- It's about precision.
- I want it to be perfect, I want to get a few more good ones.
And then you've got the tempura batter.
That is so unforgiving.
Get a measuring cup to do it.
I don't need no measuring cup.
I know it off the top of my head.
After that, start cutting the vegetables.
Now, like, scrap the seeds out with your knife.
- Okay.
- Good job.
And then roll a stunning California roll.
This is where communication comes into play more than ever.
You have to set your teammate up for success.
A good tag team will ask: "Can I do this?, Can you do that?" - Rice.
- Rice, in the bowl right there.
And they start taking control of each other.
It's about what you leave your partner to do when they get on there.
That's the secret about tonight.
Okay, after this, if I can't finish, you start making the "sushimi.
" I can do that.
- What should I do next? - Do the rice, hurry! You got it.
Come on! I have three good pieces.
If you don't finish it, I can.
When you come, get the tempura batter ready.
- Hurry! - Five seconds.
Nothing to worry about.
Calm, composed.
Right? Man.
- Switch! - Let's go, let's go, let's go! - Come on! - All right.
Go, go, go, now.
One more avocado and one more cucumber, okay? Kay-kay.
Riley, get your hands really, really wet.
So the first switch just happened.
Now it's all about picking off where they just left without messing a beat.
Jack, what are you doing? Just finish the sushi rolls that I'm doing.
Yeah, grab the rice.
Perfect.
Right there! Right there! You got it, man.
You got it.
You got it.
Riley, the boss.
Getting out of the gate strong is critical.
The second ten-minute wave, if you start slowing down now, by the time you get back in there, you're in there for the third ten minute, you're behind already.
Never catch up.
Cory, we have to recut those sashimis.
No, they're all good.
No, they're not.
They're not the right shape.
Yes, they are! They're all good! Cory's nigiri is, like, uneven.
One side's see-through, one side's really thick.
No, Cory, they're not the right shape.
Jack, you're gonna make us get eliminated.
No, I'm not.
They're not the right shape.
Cory, trust me on this.
This is an elimination, and someone's going home, and I hope it's not us.
Cory, just stop.
They're not cut right.
Oh, my God.
In the first-ever MasterChef Junior sushi tag-team challenge - Switch! - the top ten young home cooks must prepare a restaurant-quality platter in just one hour.
Cory, we have to recut those sashimis.
- No, they're all good.
- No they're not.
But for some, working together is proving to be their most difficult task.
- They're not the right shape.
- Jack, you're gonna make us get eliminated.
No, I'm not.
Cory, just stop.
They're not cut right.
Oh, my God.
Cory, elbows off the table.
How was the first ten minutes? It was good, but he's just not making the fish right.
How can you help him? I'm trying to tell him to slow down, but he's just trying to go a little faster.
Having to work with Cory, it's kind of hard.
But it doesn't matter because he's on my team.
So me and Cory have to both do good for our dish to come out.
This is all about communication.
Yeah, great strategy.
So lots of encouragement, okay? - Good luck.
- Thank you.
Communicate.
Keep it going.
Let's go! Awesome! You make want to switch to a paring knife.
I'm not confident with that.
- Ayla, you feel confident? - Yes.
- You guys have good communication? - Yes.
- How's Jimmy doing? - It's like a perfect team.
- You think so? - Yes.
You gonna make the roll and he's making the sushi? Yes.
In the roll, you have to be very precise.
You have to be able to cut it and Yes, I'm very good at precise.
- All right, good luck, guys.
- Thank you.
Kayla, if you're done with the cucumber, do one more avocado! Right, Jenna, so what is Kayla doing now? She is cutting up some more avocado just in case our first roll doesn't turn out properly.
Wait, wait, Kayla, Kayla, don't start the roll.
Make the circles for the sashimi.
That's what I'm doing.
I know this is gonna be a tough one.
Make sure you nail it.
Just over 30 minutes remaining.
Shrimp, we don't need all of them.
We only need peeled shrimp.
Andrew, what do you got him going on now? So we're gonna peel the shrimp so we have that ready.
- Andrew, what do I do? - Go over to that row, even out the rice.
Make sure it's not like a mountain, all right? Hands wet.
Flip that back over.
I think there's a little too much rice.
- Yep.
- Andrew, I think it's done.
Okay, I'm gonna redo it 'cause you pushed it down a little too much.
So I'm gonna redo it real quick.
- Four, three - Three! - Two - Quickly, quickly! - One! And switch! (Graham) Let's go! I got it.
Don't worry.
Don't worry.
- All right.
- We're doing great.
- Good job.
- Go, go, go! Cory! - Come on, Andrew.
- I got it, all right? Don't put too much on that one I did.
- Sorry about that.
- Don't worry.
Did you want this back? You just threw some rice on me.
- Oh, sorry.
I just wanted to know if you wanted back or not.
- You can keep it.
- All right, good luck.
Come on.
Keep going! Riley is over there, he's cheerleading, telling Andrew what he needs to get done.
- Tell me what I need to do.
- You can cut that.
I love this guy's attitude.
I mean, he, for me, is already a head chef.
Yeah.
And he's got his sous chef, a perfect sous chef, in Riley, alongside.
- Some of the crab is a little sloppy.
- I know.
I'm worried about Jenna and Kayla.
I think that that was her first choice, and she went with a friend instead of somebody that she could've worked with.
Why are you rubbing it on there? This is the way I did it when I cooked sushi before.
Yeah, they're not working together.
Two minutes till you switch! - Keep going! - It's coming along well.
What are you doing now? Are you still cutting the shrimp? Yeah, they're just sitting there waiting for you.
- Sounds good.
- They're looking really good.
Make sure that roll is nice and tight.
Come on, Cory! Let's go! - Are you almost done? - Almost.
Wait, wait.
All right, guys.
Get ready.
Switch! Come on.
Let's go! Go, go! Switch! Jenna, switch! Jenna! Don't put too much more in.
I think that's almost perfect.
Make that into an oblong.
Kind of like this.
Take a piece of salmon.
Make sure it's a good piece that goes over the top.
Okay, spread out that rice and kind of roll it.
- Is it fully covered? - Pretty much covered.
- You look good.
- Show me the batter.
Add a tablespoon! A tablespoon.
Cory, this is cut unevenly.
We have to make another one.
No, you can't.
I mean, look at the time.
- Just dip 'em.
- This looks really thin.
If anything, just keep coating it.
Okay.
Two minutes until the next switch, guys.
Wait, wait, wait! Bring it over here.
- That's a little bit thin.
- It looks fine.
When it's thin it doesn't come out flaky.
It's not too thin.
It's fine.
How's the sushi roll coming out? It's coming out good.
It's great.
And don't damage it.
Roll it out again.
Kind of like Oh, my gosh, pick it up real fast.
- Got it.
- Good.
That's okay, we still got plenty left.
the next switch.
Put them all at the same time otherwise, they're gonna fry unevenly.
No, no ,no! All at the same - I'm not putting them in.
The basket's up.
- Okay.
Five, four, three, two, one.
And switch! - Cut it into eighths.
- Let's go! - Go! - Yeah! Go! Go! Go! - Oh, my gosh, we didn't - It's fine.
It's fine.
- Right, Riley, how're you feeling? - Good! - Now are you confident? - Yes, I am confident.
- Yeah? - Do you think you can win this tonight? - Yes, I do.
I think I could.
Sushi is not your forte.
How are you taking that guidance from Andrew? He's very confident and he works very fast.
- You are very confident, aren't you? - Thank you.
- I love that.
Thank you.
Five minutes till you switch.
Let's go! How's Cory doing? Is he keeping up his end of the bargain? - He's doing pretty good.
- Pretty good? He did a really nice job on the tempuras.
He's going to the boat already.
That's good.
You can do it.
Keep it up, guys.
Good work.
One minute to go Till you switch.
Good job, good job.
You got this.
- I'm gonna get this ready for you.
- Okay.
till your final switch.
Wasabi, where'd it go? Wasabi.
Keep going! That looks perfect.
Three, two, one.
- Go! Go! Go! - I am! I am! - Switch for the final time! - Come on! Let's go! Just ten minutes to go.
Make sure that row is nice and straight.
This is where they start presenting that platter.
The tempura should be on its way.
The slicing of the California roll should be on its way.
The tuna and the salmon should be done.
This is where it's gonna make or break them now.
Okay, pull those out really quickly, then take the sieve, and run it under water.
This one broke in the fryer.
- Take the sieve.
- So did this one.
Come on, Jimmy! Make sure they're evenly coated, okay? Even.
This is an amazing moment because you're seeing Andrew coach Riley into creating a perfect tempura from the sideline.
I'm really amazed to watch this happen.
- I see a tail.
- They're not ready yet.
- They need a minute or two.
- I know, I'm just getting the tail in.
- All right.
- Now it's in.
Now it's in.
Awesome! Bring the boat over here so I can see what's going on.
Kayla, please don't ignore me.
I'm trying to bring it over here without spilling anything.
Let's go, guys.
Vocal! That shrimp looks killer, man! That's killer! - Let's go! Come on! - Perfection on a boat.
It's not gonna get any better than that.
It's like I'm talking to a brick wall.
And you know, they said we were supposed to be able to communicate.
And you're not communicating at all with me.
It's stressful.
It feels like me and Jenna aren't really on the same team.
We're yelling at each other and that's not what friends do.
Wait! No, no, no, no, no.
I'm trying to do it the best that I can.
I came here to win but I don't want to lose our friendship.
If you don't want my help, I can just step back.
No, I want your help.
I need your help! The shrimp looks horrible.
Take the flat one like I was saying before.
- Like, wrap it around.
Like - Like this? - No, no, no, no.
- Top.
- Top! No! The top! Come on.
Lead us to victory! Let's go, guys.
Come on.
Come on, Jimmy, Let's go! You're doing awesome.
Don't forget your soy sauce, your wasabi, your ginger, all the details.
You can do this, Nathan.
Make sure those sushi platters are absolutely perfect! - Make it perfect! - Perfect.
Come on.
- Kayla, look at Jack's plate.
- Oh, my gosh.
Come on! You got this! Come on! You gotta be a ninja! You got this! You can do it! - We have seconds.
- 20 seconds to go.
Take the two worst ones.
Two worst ones! You have ten seconds! Put 'em on! - Let's go! - Ten Ten seconds! Come on, Riley.
Nine, eight - Jack, Jack! - Seven, six - Wipe it! - Five, four, three - Come on! - Two, one.
- Just put them on! - And stop! Hands in the air.
That really sucked, but we did great.
All of you.
Well done.
Now it's time to see if your sushi platters taste as good as they look.
Let's start off with the little and large pairing, Andrew and Riley, let's go.
Even though Riley's eight and he's the youngest one here, I think that we worked really well together.
Our boat looks amazing.
We're not going home.
First of all, you both worked brilliantly well together.
And right now, you look very proud of yourselves.
- Andrew, how was Riley's performance? - It was amazing.
He banged it out like a 21-year-old.
What was the hardest thing for you to do, Riley? - Nothing was really hard.
- Really? Wow.
- Yeah.
Right.
Visually, it looks great.
It looks like it sailed out of one of the top Los Angeles sushi restaurants.
- Who fried the shrimp? - Riley did most of the frying.
- Yes.
- Interesting.
Shrimp.
Nice and crispy.
Not too much coating on the batter.
Really good, indeed.
- Who sliced the California roll? - I put the roll together, Chef.
Rolled nice and tightly.
Tell me what's in there.
Some cucumber, we have some avocado, some of the crab, and on the outside is the sushi rice.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
It looks great.
It tastes delicious.
California roll sliced absolutely beautifully.
Japanese cuisine's all about precision, understanding, and that level of simplicity.
I just want to commend you both on the way you worked.
Disciplined, vocal, but incredibly accurate.
- Well done, both of you.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Yeah! - Hi, Riley.
Hi, Andrew.
- Hi.
- Hey, Chef.
So do you eat a lot of shrimp tempura and sushi back in Jersey? We don't eat too much there.
I guess California's the place where they eat a lot of it.
The cook on the tempura, perfect timing.
It's a gorgeous gold and it's got some crunch.
- Great flavor.
- Thank you.
So, you know, you always wanna just take a look at the fish and see how your knife-work was.
- Who cut the fish? - I cut the fish, Chef.
And I trimmed some of it up when we put it onto the plate.
Inspecting these, you can see that one is just a little bit larger than the other.
But overall, you see the beautiful grain running through the tuna.
- Sliced beautifully.
It's great knife-work.
- Thank you, Chef.
You guys should be very, very proud.
Showing a lot of skill, as well as maturity and respect for what the challenge was all about.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
Yeah! Go, Riley.
Andrew, good job.
Okay.
Next up, Kayla and Jenna.
Thank you.
Throughout the entire challenge, Kayla and I really didn't work well together.
Our boat is pretty decent.
but I'm not sure what's gonna happen with that shrimp.
Okay.
I'd like you both to tell me what happened, because the last three minutes didn't sound like your strongest three minutes.
I was trying to plate the shrimp, but I couldn't figure out the right angle.
- And it was kind of stressful.
- I can see that.
It kind of felt like Kayla didn't really listen to me.
And my feelings were hurt 'cause I felt disrespected.
When we don't work together, that's not being about disrespectful to each other.
It's just ignoring each other's demands.
There's times where Joe, Graham, and I may not agree on the same decision.
However, we've gotta come together and we have to talk it out.
'Cause you're only as good as your team.
- Okay.
The roll, who done that? - Jenna.
It's rolled nice and tightly.
That's done beautiful.
Look, again, nice and round.
Tight.
Beautifully done.
And the salmon.
You've got one tiny, little piece of salmon there.
And one big piece of salmon there.
Two different sizes.
Who did the tuna? Well, I cut the tuna, but she placed it on.
Yeah.
You've got to be absolutely, - Okay, who prepared the shrimp? - I did.
Did somebody take a bite? It broke in the fryer.
Here's the big issue for me.
Is this bit in here.
Who took the shrimp out of the fryer? We tried twice.
So greasy when you squeeze that.
All it does is release more fat.
So the shrimp are an absolute disaster.
They're overcooked and full of grease.
So I cannot go anywhere near that.
Okay.
Jenna, how would you sum this performance up together as a team? I'm not really proud of how it turned out.
I think that we both did a really good job, but I just don't want to go home.
So the shrimp are an absolute disaster.
They're overcooked and full of grease.
I just don't want to go home.
I don't want you to go home either.
I don't want Kayla to leave.
And I certainly don't want you to leave.
You're in the top ten of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the country.
And I'm only ever gonna judge you on what you put in front of me.
And I know you can do a much better job.
And you know that.
That's why I say: "Give us your best.
" Thank you, ladies.
Okay.
Let's pull it together here, guys.
You're from New York.
New Yorkers, tough.
Right, Jenna? Right, Kayla? Certainly, there was problems with your shrimp.
But your roll actually looks good.
Balanced very nice.
I mean, it's almost perfect.
I think your sushi is actually pretty textbook.
So this was a super competitive day.
Life is very, very competitive.
You're gonna run into a lot of things where you're not gonna be the best.
I mean, frying shrimp, it's a technical thing.
I don't think you have to get upset.
Look at it as a fundamental learning lesson.
This will make you a lot stronger.
A lot tougher.
So chins up, because there's not many kids that could get close to what you guys done.
- Thanks, ladies.
- Thank you.
Even though me and Jenna didn't work well as a team, we're friends and I know this is not gonna ruin our friendship.
But I'm also nervous because we know we might go home because of our shrimp.
All right, next up, Ryan Kate and Nathan.
Walking up with our boat, I'm very proud of what we did.
Back in Dallas, I don't eat a lot of sushi.
But I feel really confident that this sushi boat will keep us safe.
Ryan Kate, Nathan.
Texas, California.
One is a little more sushi-centric, I would say.
Do you think that that put you at maybe more of an advantage, Nathan? being from San Diego? - I would say so.
- What do you think, Ryan Kate? You agree? Probably so.
Well, visually, it's beautiful.
First thing that pops out, the roll.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
Nice and tight.
You got this one, right? Look at that.
Look at how beautifully compacted everything is in the inside.
A lot of times, you go to pick it up, and then it all falls apart everywhere, and you look really stupid.
That would not happen with these.
Good job.
The sushi itself, a little big.
You know? If you look at that size versus the tuna, it's about 30% bigger.
Just want to make sure that you make tiny little footballs of fish right over the top.
- But the knife-work is great.
- Thank you.
- Who did the tempura? - I did the tempura.
It started to curl.
I did slice them across the ends.
And for some reason, they curled while they were frying.
They cook on the tempura-- Nice.
Crispy The only issue was, you should have dabbed it off a little more 'cause you can see some of that grease.
But the cook on the actual shrimp is perfect.
You nailed it.
Great flavor.
And, again, knife-work and the roll on that California roll was great.
Good job, guys.
Thank you, Chef.
Nice job! Okay, next up, Jack and Cory.
Let's go, please.
I'm really not confident that our dish turned out good because me and Cory just didn't work well together.
So I'm just hoping for the best.
Okay.
The roll is beautiful.
Let's get that right.
- Who made that? - I did, Chef.
- Who cut that? - I did.
Great job.
Nice and compact.
I love the almost perfect sort of roundness of it all.
- Look, it fits beautifully.
- Thank you.
Salmon sliced way too big.
The secret here is to make the rice a little bit smaller.
I'm gonna go into my dipping sauce.
And then I'm And I've still got all that left.
It took one and a half bites.
Not two and a half.
Okay.
And it's a shame that look Even the tuna Smaller? Yeah, but you've got the thin end here, and the thick end there.
It shouldn't look ragged.
It shouldn't look like the cat's had a bite.
And you've got to make sure that you slice with the grain, not against it.
- Okay.
- Yes, Chef.
- Who cooked the shrimp? - Me, Chef.
So when you cook something that's fried, it should blotted, right? Yes.
The shrimp have sort of sat in, like, a little pool of grease.
The reason why it's glistening, 'cause it's just soggy.
So it just disintegrates into a greasy, soggy mess.
So I can't eat that.
What a shame.
'Cause the platter was potentially set up for success.
California roll, done beautifully.
Salmon, way too big.
Shrimp, way too greasy.
And you know, at this stage in the competition, we have seriously high expectations.
What a shame.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
Last up, Ayla and Jimmy.
I look down at our sushi boat, I'm really proud of me and Ayla because we worked well together, and I don't think that many other people could pull off this sushi boat in just 60 minutes.
So I hope they like it.
Okay.
Ayla and Jimmy.
This is very stunning.
California and Missouri.
You guys were like the perfect team of thunder and lighting.
Are you both sushi experts? Well, I've made it before.
And I think we did a pretty good job.
I mean, it's identical to the one we showed you in both its aesthetic and its construction.
Aside from the beautiful knife-cuts on the tuna and the salmon, I think that the main thing is the proportion of rice in roll, the proportion of rice in the nigiri, and then the fry on the tempura is perfect.
I'm gonna take a bite of this 'cause it just looks too good to pass up.
This is really amazing.
Congratulations to you guys, because you could go to a restaurant and probably pay and be totally happy, and certainly not know that it was made by an 11- and a 12-year-old.
Did either of you have, like, a sushi restaurant in your restaurant dreams or plans? In all of the restaurants I own, I'm sure there's a sushi restaurant in there somewhere.
Well, we'll be there because I would go as far as to say it's the best sushi we've ever had in this kitchen.
Even including the adults.
I mean, this is about as good as it gets.
Great job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Well done.
Nice job.
I know.
Good job! All of you, well done.
Trust me, that was a very tough challenge.
The first time we've ever introduced that tag team challenge in the MasterChef Junior kitchen.
With sushi.
Come on.
I mean, seriously, you all did an amazing job.
Sadly, for one team, it'll be the last time cooking in the MasterChef kitchen.
And that means the end of the road.
Sadly, for one team, it'll be the last time cooking here, in the MasterChef kitchen.
And that means the end of the road.
Joe, Graham, and I need a moment to discuss.
So the best, I mean, precision beyond belief, Jimmy and Ayla.
Yeah, I mean, it was almost tailor-made for them.
Yeah.
Textbook.
It's pretty amazing, I mean, when you compare it to the adult tag team sushi challenge, this is like another level.
I know.
Nathan and Ryan Kate, they work really well together.
They missed some cuts though.
Yeah.
I'm impressed with Andrew.
I mean, don't think Andrew was up against it but he certainly had a weaker individual in Riley.
Right, and Andrew never really had sushi before.
You know? He hasn't been to any high-end restaurants or tried raw fish.
- I know we can win.
- I hope so, we win.
You're not going home.
- Jenna, Kayla.
- Couldn't even try the shrimp.
- The batter wasn't even there.
- You tried your best.
Cory struggled.
Jack struggled.
Yeah, their slicing of the fish was really all over the place.
Tempura, greasy as anything.
Like, they said, like, our roll was, like, probably, like, one of the best.
But everything else was, "eh.
" That's why I don't think you're going home.
So one word to describe that all was "wow".
Every single one of you rose to the occasion and exceed what we expected.
There was one team tonight, who really nailed this challenge.
We've never seen the sushi done at this level that these two did today.
That team was Jimmy and Ayla.
Good job, guys.
Awesome! It feels so good to have won this challenge.
We have made it into the top eight.
Great job! It just means I'm this much closer to getting the title of MasterChef Junior.
That's awesome.
Now we need two teams to join us up here at the front.
Please step forward Jack and Cory.
And Jenna and Kayla.
It's not my time to go home, I mean, I've done so well in this competition already.
I want to stay and I want to show even more.
One team will remain in the competition.
One team will go home proud, into the sunset.
I really wanna stay in the competition pretty badly.
I'm having a lot of fun and I feel I've grown as a junior chef, so I'm just hoping for the best.
The team that will be going home tonight.
But going home proud Cory and Jack.
Kayla and Jenna, please head back to your stations.
Cory and Jack, you two guys have been an inspiration to many 8- to 13-year-olds across the board.
You showed great commitment.
But more importantly, you both have confirmed bragging rights now when you head back to school.
Have this be the start of a new chapter.
And continue cooking.
Great job, both of you.
Come say good-bye.
Take care.
I'm really sad to leave MasterChef Junior.
But I'm proud of myself that I made it this far in the journey.
Take care, guys.
I can't wait to go back home to make my cookie business bigger than Donald Trump and all his corporations.
You were my best, crazy friend in the world.
Good job, Jack.
Overall, this was a really good experience.
I learned a lot here and I got to make some really good friends I'm gonna miss you guys.
When I get home, I'm still gonna accomplish my dream.
I'm gonna get my restaurant in Chicago.
And I'm gonna keep cooking as long as it's not a tag team.
Next week Are we gonna cook like aliens or something? the MasterChef kitchen goes bananas.
Oh, gosh! (Graham) It's like eating a banana-flavored cloud.
And a pintsized Ramsay My daughter, Matilda Ramsay.
Challenges the contestants with one of her dad's classic dishes.
Salmon en croute with basil - "Bas-il!" You're not American! - We're in America, Dad.
in there toughest challenge yet.
What does it look like? I don't know what to do! I don't know if she can pull it back.
It's me, Gordon Ramsay.
Age 80-ish.
And in the terrifying elimination test some rose to new heights.
The depth of flavor of this chili is profound.
The real deal.
It's absolutely delicious.
My dish is the bomb dot com.
But for Kyler and Mia Keep cooking 'cause you inspired thousands.
it was the end of their journey in the MasterChef kitchen.
- Tonight - Three - You look good.
- Two - Hurry! - One Switch! - Go! Go! It's a high-pressure sushi tag-team challenge.
- Let's go! - Make it perfect! Only the cooks with raw talent You gotta be a ninja! - and the sharpest skills - Put them on! - Keep going! will make the cut.
Boom.
It's the best sushi we've ever had in this kitchen, even including the adults.
- Thank you.
- I love that.
Thank you.
Come on down, guys.
Welcome.
I'm so excited to be in the top ten.
The trophy is in my sights.
And when I become the next MasterChef Junior, I'll build a house for the trophy.
And it's gonna have a beautiful view of Central Park in New York and a butler just to clean the trophy every day.
Let's go, guys.
I'm 12, and I got into cooking when I was around four years old.
And when I grow up, I want to be a chef or some type of lawyer.
But I'd rather be a chef, 'cause it's more fun.
Welcome back.
Andrew, I love those moves.
Do it again.
Love those.
I didn't know you could dance.
What? I love that.
You can do that as well.
- I can do that.
- Go on! - Oh, no, no, no ,no - Come on, man.
- Okay.
All right.
All right.
That's all you get for now.
In the last challenge, three of you had the best dishes.
Now, those were made by Cory, Jenna, and Nathan.
All three of you please step forward.
It is time for a very special challenge.
The winner of this challenge will get a huge advantage in whatever we throw at you next.
You three stay in front of us.
Everyone else, step to the side.
Bye.
One of the most important skills that every chef needs to master is knowledge of ingredients.
For the upcoming challenge, we are going to test that knowledge.
Back there, in the MasterChef pantry it houses over 500 ingredients.
There 83 different dried herbs, This is one of the most incredible pantries in the entire world.
We are going to give you each a list of 20 random ingredients.
You'll each have two minutes to run into the pantry and fill your baskets with as many of the ingredients on this shop list as you can find.
Here we go.
Cory.
- Jenna.
- Thank you.
- We got to get everything? - Yes.
So, when I look at the list, I'm really nervous.
I think I'm really good at, like, identifying items.
But you need to be able to look for something in two minutes-- like, so quick.
I don't know if I can do it.
Oh, just one other thing.
We have taken all the labels of those 500 ingredients off in the pantry.
So you'll have to rely on your culinary knowledge.
Your two minutes starts Now! You guys, follow on.
Cheer them on, please.
Go! Let's go, Nathan! Let's go! Yeah, Nathan, come on! You got this! I feel this is gonna be pretty difficult because none of the food is labeled, and we only have two minutes.
That's honestly insane.
Honeydew, honeydew, honeydew.
I have a lot of experience in a grocery store.
But in my grocery store, it's, like, tiny, 'cause I live in New York City.
And, like, this pantry is already bigger than my grocery store.
- Dried cranberry? - Where are all these things? So, at this point, my only worry is being able to find all of it in such a short amount of time.
Ostrich egg! Ostrich egg.
Where's that I know where I will find it, but I keep on forgetting if it's a small one or a big one.
And I get confused, so I'm like: "Oh, my goodness.
" Got it! One minute left! One minute! Jenna, you got this.
The hardest thing on the list is Arborio rice because there's 11 different kinds of rice in there.
I mean, come on.
Let's go.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! And stop! Let's go.
Let's go, guys.
Well done.
Good job.
At the end of the challenge, it looks like Nathan has the most ingredients.
But Nathan could have and none of them could be correct.
Cory could have and all of them could be correct.
The young home cook that successfully brought back the most number of correct ingredients that we put on your shopping list will have a huge advantage in the next round of this competition.
Cory, I'm going to count yours first.
I'm not that worried that I don't have everything on my list.
I'm like: "I got a lot of stuff, I believe.
" So, first up, we're looking for a tomatillo.
No tomatillo.
Next, we're looking for a dry cranberry.
First score.
Next up, Arborio rice.
This is Arborio rice.
- Well done.
- One asparagus.
One pomegranate.
A giant California blueberry.
The honeydew melon.
- Star anise.
- I got it! You did.
That's seven.
Now, there's one more thing left in your basket.
It's one of the biggest eggs in the world of food that you can actually use and eat.
Here it is.
It's a quail egg.
The egg is big as Riley's head.
My egg that I choice is the size of an ant.
Cory did really, really well.
His score was 7 out of 20.
Good job.
Nathan, do you think that you did better than Cory? I hope so.
We're gonna find out.
Thank you, sir.
We're looking for a tomatillo.
Did you get one? Yes, you did.
Nice one.
Star fruit.
Bam! Asparagus.
Pomegranate.
Honeydew melon.
Good job.
New York strip steak.
Star anise.
Way to go.
You are now tied with Cory.
Two left.
If you get the ostrich egg or the Granny Smith apple, you are in the lead.
There's one thing in here.
And it is, in fact a Granny Smith apple.
You are at eight! That puts you currently in the lead, with one over Cory.
Jenna, the pressure is on.
Nine to win, Eight to tie.
Let's go.
Yeah, Jenna! I have absolutely no idea how many ingredients I have.
I had no time to check things off my list.
So I'm just hoping it's more than eight.
- Okay, sweet potato, yes or no? - Yes.
Is it in there? Yes, it is! - Starfuit, yes or no? - Yes.
- Correct.
That is definitely a dried cranberry.
Well done.
Next up, asparagus.
Yes.
Pomegranate, nice.
Well done.
- Do we have a fresh blueberry in here? - Yes.
Look at that beauty.
That is a pistachio nut.
Seven.
One more to tie with Nathan.
Did you get a penne pasta? You have a penne pasta.
Well done.
Amazing.
One more! One more! Now, you are tied with Nathan.
You need one more to win that huge advantage.
Come on.
I'm really nervous at this point.
There a couple other items in there that I know that I picked up, but I hope they're the right ones.
Does the New York girl have the New York strip? You have I'm sorry to tell you Still to come A tag-team challenge! the small home cooks - Keep going! - Let's go! - Man, that's killer! face the biggest challenge You got to be a ninja.
of their young lives.
- Put them on! - Come on! Oh, my God.
Does the New York girl have a New York strip? You have I'm sorry to tell you Nathan, you're beaten by Jenna.
It's a New York strip! Well done! Jenna! I beat Nathan.
Oh, my G! This is crazy! I've never beaten somebody that good in my life! And the winner, with ten ingredients Congratulations, Jenna.
Well done! - Great job.
How do you feel? - Really good.
Surprised.
All right, everybody up on the balcony, it is now time for the main event.
Everyone, please come down here off the balcony.
Jenna, are you ready to find out your huge advantage for winning that incredible ingredient challenge? Yes.
You picked the most correct ingredients from a list of 20.
So now you will get to pick all of the teams.
- It's a team challenge? - That's right.
Five teams of two.
Please come and stand here next to Gordon.
It is a competition, and I want to stay in it for as long as possible.
But I don't want people not to like me because they're unhappy with who they get.
Okay, Jenna, who is going to be your teammate? - Kayla.
- Kayla, come over here and join Jenna.
Okay, it's now time to choose who is going to be cooking with who.
I pick Andrew.
Who's Andrew gonna be cooking with tonight? Andrew is paired with - Riley.
- Riley, wow.
- We got this, man.
- I hope we win.
Okay, Jenna, next picks.
Ryan Kate.
Who are you going to pair Ryan Kate with? - Nathan.
- Nathan? Wow.
- Next up.
- Jack.
Who is Jack gonna be paired with? I'm gonna pair Jack with Cory.
Jack, how are you feeling? Cory's kind of a little crazy for me.
Cory has a pretty big reputation for being crazy and wild, but he's a really good chef, and I think that we can make a really good dish together.
So that leaves Jimmy, Ayla, as the last team.
You two, go and join at the end next to Jimmy.
Excellent.
All right, there we have it, five teams of two.
Listen carefully, because this will not be an ordinary team challenge.
This will be a very special team challenge.
A tag-team challenge.
There will be two of you on each team.
But only one of you will cook at a time.
Now, when we call "switch," you'll tag your partner and swap out.
Sadly, at the end of this challenge, one entire team of two will be leaving the MasterChef kitchen.
Tonight we want you to make a beautiful platter of food from Oh, my gosh.
- Japan.
- Sushi! Well, sushi's my favorite food.
I know how to make it.
But since it's a team challenge, I have to worry about Cory too.
And Asian food, in general, is really hard.
I don't think he will be able to pull it off.
Here you have tuna sushi, salmon sushi, a California roll, and crispy shrimp tempura.
Make no mistake that, regardless of your age, this is gonna push you to the limit and really challenge you.
It's time to get started.
Please head to your stations.
Behind your stations, you will have everything you need to replicate this beautiful platter of Japanese food.
You have crab, tuna, salmon, shrimp, seaweed, rice, and tempura.
You guys are gonna have to replicate this amazing platter of Japanese food.
Every ten minutes, when I say, "switch," you'll tag your partner and swap out.
- Is everybody ready? - Yes, Chef! Your 60 minutes starts Now! Let's go.
There you go.
Come on.
Cory, so first thing you're gonna want to do is prep your vegetables.
Now cut it into eighths, Cory.
Start with the small end or the big end? Do whatever you think is best.
Just do the salmon first.
Take those edges off.
- Taking them off, Riley.
- That looks nice.
I know you can do this, bro.
So this is a MasterChef classic The tag-team sushi challenge.
Did it with adults.
First time with kids.
Start off by cutting the fish diagonally.
These are 8- to 13-year-olds, and we're asking them to replicate high-end sushi platter.
Come on.
Seriously? It's crazy, but I mean, you almost forget the age because they're so good.
Try, instead of, like, sawing, like, do one long motion.
Good.
Good, good, good.
The most difficult part of this platter tonight, is in the slicing of that salmon and that tuna.
Tilt the knife back way more.
- It's about precision.
- I want it to be perfect, I want to get a few more good ones.
And then you've got the tempura batter.
That is so unforgiving.
Get a measuring cup to do it.
I don't need no measuring cup.
I know it off the top of my head.
After that, start cutting the vegetables.
Now, like, scrap the seeds out with your knife.
- Okay.
- Good job.
And then roll a stunning California roll.
This is where communication comes into play more than ever.
You have to set your teammate up for success.
A good tag team will ask: "Can I do this?, Can you do that?" - Rice.
- Rice, in the bowl right there.
And they start taking control of each other.
It's about what you leave your partner to do when they get on there.
That's the secret about tonight.
Okay, after this, if I can't finish, you start making the "sushimi.
" I can do that.
- What should I do next? - Do the rice, hurry! You got it.
Come on! I have three good pieces.
If you don't finish it, I can.
When you come, get the tempura batter ready.
- Hurry! - Five seconds.
Nothing to worry about.
Calm, composed.
Right? Man.
- Switch! - Let's go, let's go, let's go! - Come on! - All right.
Go, go, go, now.
One more avocado and one more cucumber, okay? Kay-kay.
Riley, get your hands really, really wet.
So the first switch just happened.
Now it's all about picking off where they just left without messing a beat.
Jack, what are you doing? Just finish the sushi rolls that I'm doing.
Yeah, grab the rice.
Perfect.
Right there! Right there! You got it, man.
You got it.
You got it.
Riley, the boss.
Getting out of the gate strong is critical.
The second ten-minute wave, if you start slowing down now, by the time you get back in there, you're in there for the third ten minute, you're behind already.
Never catch up.
Cory, we have to recut those sashimis.
No, they're all good.
No, they're not.
They're not the right shape.
Yes, they are! They're all good! Cory's nigiri is, like, uneven.
One side's see-through, one side's really thick.
No, Cory, they're not the right shape.
Jack, you're gonna make us get eliminated.
No, I'm not.
They're not the right shape.
Cory, trust me on this.
This is an elimination, and someone's going home, and I hope it's not us.
Cory, just stop.
They're not cut right.
Oh, my God.
In the first-ever MasterChef Junior sushi tag-team challenge - Switch! - the top ten young home cooks must prepare a restaurant-quality platter in just one hour.
Cory, we have to recut those sashimis.
- No, they're all good.
- No they're not.
But for some, working together is proving to be their most difficult task.
- They're not the right shape.
- Jack, you're gonna make us get eliminated.
No, I'm not.
Cory, just stop.
They're not cut right.
Oh, my God.
Cory, elbows off the table.
How was the first ten minutes? It was good, but he's just not making the fish right.
How can you help him? I'm trying to tell him to slow down, but he's just trying to go a little faster.
Having to work with Cory, it's kind of hard.
But it doesn't matter because he's on my team.
So me and Cory have to both do good for our dish to come out.
This is all about communication.
Yeah, great strategy.
So lots of encouragement, okay? - Good luck.
- Thank you.
Communicate.
Keep it going.
Let's go! Awesome! You make want to switch to a paring knife.
I'm not confident with that.
- Ayla, you feel confident? - Yes.
- You guys have good communication? - Yes.
- How's Jimmy doing? - It's like a perfect team.
- You think so? - Yes.
You gonna make the roll and he's making the sushi? Yes.
In the roll, you have to be very precise.
You have to be able to cut it and Yes, I'm very good at precise.
- All right, good luck, guys.
- Thank you.
Kayla, if you're done with the cucumber, do one more avocado! Right, Jenna, so what is Kayla doing now? She is cutting up some more avocado just in case our first roll doesn't turn out properly.
Wait, wait, Kayla, Kayla, don't start the roll.
Make the circles for the sashimi.
That's what I'm doing.
I know this is gonna be a tough one.
Make sure you nail it.
Just over 30 minutes remaining.
Shrimp, we don't need all of them.
We only need peeled shrimp.
Andrew, what do you got him going on now? So we're gonna peel the shrimp so we have that ready.
- Andrew, what do I do? - Go over to that row, even out the rice.
Make sure it's not like a mountain, all right? Hands wet.
Flip that back over.
I think there's a little too much rice.
- Yep.
- Andrew, I think it's done.
Okay, I'm gonna redo it 'cause you pushed it down a little too much.
So I'm gonna redo it real quick.
- Four, three - Three! - Two - Quickly, quickly! - One! And switch! (Graham) Let's go! I got it.
Don't worry.
Don't worry.
- All right.
- We're doing great.
- Good job.
- Go, go, go! Cory! - Come on, Andrew.
- I got it, all right? Don't put too much on that one I did.
- Sorry about that.
- Don't worry.
Did you want this back? You just threw some rice on me.
- Oh, sorry.
I just wanted to know if you wanted back or not.
- You can keep it.
- All right, good luck.
Come on.
Keep going! Riley is over there, he's cheerleading, telling Andrew what he needs to get done.
- Tell me what I need to do.
- You can cut that.
I love this guy's attitude.
I mean, he, for me, is already a head chef.
Yeah.
And he's got his sous chef, a perfect sous chef, in Riley, alongside.
- Some of the crab is a little sloppy.
- I know.
I'm worried about Jenna and Kayla.
I think that that was her first choice, and she went with a friend instead of somebody that she could've worked with.
Why are you rubbing it on there? This is the way I did it when I cooked sushi before.
Yeah, they're not working together.
Two minutes till you switch! - Keep going! - It's coming along well.
What are you doing now? Are you still cutting the shrimp? Yeah, they're just sitting there waiting for you.
- Sounds good.
- They're looking really good.
Make sure that roll is nice and tight.
Come on, Cory! Let's go! - Are you almost done? - Almost.
Wait, wait.
All right, guys.
Get ready.
Switch! Come on.
Let's go! Go, go! Switch! Jenna, switch! Jenna! Don't put too much more in.
I think that's almost perfect.
Make that into an oblong.
Kind of like this.
Take a piece of salmon.
Make sure it's a good piece that goes over the top.
Okay, spread out that rice and kind of roll it.
- Is it fully covered? - Pretty much covered.
- You look good.
- Show me the batter.
Add a tablespoon! A tablespoon.
Cory, this is cut unevenly.
We have to make another one.
No, you can't.
I mean, look at the time.
- Just dip 'em.
- This looks really thin.
If anything, just keep coating it.
Okay.
Two minutes until the next switch, guys.
Wait, wait, wait! Bring it over here.
- That's a little bit thin.
- It looks fine.
When it's thin it doesn't come out flaky.
It's not too thin.
It's fine.
How's the sushi roll coming out? It's coming out good.
It's great.
And don't damage it.
Roll it out again.
Kind of like Oh, my gosh, pick it up real fast.
- Got it.
- Good.
That's okay, we still got plenty left.
the next switch.
Put them all at the same time otherwise, they're gonna fry unevenly.
No, no ,no! All at the same - I'm not putting them in.
The basket's up.
- Okay.
Five, four, three, two, one.
And switch! - Cut it into eighths.
- Let's go! - Go! - Yeah! Go! Go! Go! - Oh, my gosh, we didn't - It's fine.
It's fine.
- Right, Riley, how're you feeling? - Good! - Now are you confident? - Yes, I am confident.
- Yeah? - Do you think you can win this tonight? - Yes, I do.
I think I could.
Sushi is not your forte.
How are you taking that guidance from Andrew? He's very confident and he works very fast.
- You are very confident, aren't you? - Thank you.
- I love that.
Thank you.
Five minutes till you switch.
Let's go! How's Cory doing? Is he keeping up his end of the bargain? - He's doing pretty good.
- Pretty good? He did a really nice job on the tempuras.
He's going to the boat already.
That's good.
You can do it.
Keep it up, guys.
Good work.
One minute to go Till you switch.
Good job, good job.
You got this.
- I'm gonna get this ready for you.
- Okay.
till your final switch.
Wasabi, where'd it go? Wasabi.
Keep going! That looks perfect.
Three, two, one.
- Go! Go! Go! - I am! I am! - Switch for the final time! - Come on! Let's go! Just ten minutes to go.
Make sure that row is nice and straight.
This is where they start presenting that platter.
The tempura should be on its way.
The slicing of the California roll should be on its way.
The tuna and the salmon should be done.
This is where it's gonna make or break them now.
Okay, pull those out really quickly, then take the sieve, and run it under water.
This one broke in the fryer.
- Take the sieve.
- So did this one.
Come on, Jimmy! Make sure they're evenly coated, okay? Even.
This is an amazing moment because you're seeing Andrew coach Riley into creating a perfect tempura from the sideline.
I'm really amazed to watch this happen.
- I see a tail.
- They're not ready yet.
- They need a minute or two.
- I know, I'm just getting the tail in.
- All right.
- Now it's in.
Now it's in.
Awesome! Bring the boat over here so I can see what's going on.
Kayla, please don't ignore me.
I'm trying to bring it over here without spilling anything.
Let's go, guys.
Vocal! That shrimp looks killer, man! That's killer! - Let's go! Come on! - Perfection on a boat.
It's not gonna get any better than that.
It's like I'm talking to a brick wall.
And you know, they said we were supposed to be able to communicate.
And you're not communicating at all with me.
It's stressful.
It feels like me and Jenna aren't really on the same team.
We're yelling at each other and that's not what friends do.
Wait! No, no, no, no, no.
I'm trying to do it the best that I can.
I came here to win but I don't want to lose our friendship.
If you don't want my help, I can just step back.
No, I want your help.
I need your help! The shrimp looks horrible.
Take the flat one like I was saying before.
- Like, wrap it around.
Like - Like this? - No, no, no, no.
- Top.
- Top! No! The top! Come on.
Lead us to victory! Let's go, guys.
Come on.
Come on, Jimmy, Let's go! You're doing awesome.
Don't forget your soy sauce, your wasabi, your ginger, all the details.
You can do this, Nathan.
Make sure those sushi platters are absolutely perfect! - Make it perfect! - Perfect.
Come on.
- Kayla, look at Jack's plate.
- Oh, my gosh.
Come on! You got this! Come on! You gotta be a ninja! You got this! You can do it! - We have seconds.
- 20 seconds to go.
Take the two worst ones.
Two worst ones! You have ten seconds! Put 'em on! - Let's go! - Ten Ten seconds! Come on, Riley.
Nine, eight - Jack, Jack! - Seven, six - Wipe it! - Five, four, three - Come on! - Two, one.
- Just put them on! - And stop! Hands in the air.
That really sucked, but we did great.
All of you.
Well done.
Now it's time to see if your sushi platters taste as good as they look.
Let's start off with the little and large pairing, Andrew and Riley, let's go.
Even though Riley's eight and he's the youngest one here, I think that we worked really well together.
Our boat looks amazing.
We're not going home.
First of all, you both worked brilliantly well together.
And right now, you look very proud of yourselves.
- Andrew, how was Riley's performance? - It was amazing.
He banged it out like a 21-year-old.
What was the hardest thing for you to do, Riley? - Nothing was really hard.
- Really? Wow.
- Yeah.
Right.
Visually, it looks great.
It looks like it sailed out of one of the top Los Angeles sushi restaurants.
- Who fried the shrimp? - Riley did most of the frying.
- Yes.
- Interesting.
Shrimp.
Nice and crispy.
Not too much coating on the batter.
Really good, indeed.
- Who sliced the California roll? - I put the roll together, Chef.
Rolled nice and tightly.
Tell me what's in there.
Some cucumber, we have some avocado, some of the crab, and on the outside is the sushi rice.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
It looks great.
It tastes delicious.
California roll sliced absolutely beautifully.
Japanese cuisine's all about precision, understanding, and that level of simplicity.
I just want to commend you both on the way you worked.
Disciplined, vocal, but incredibly accurate.
- Well done, both of you.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Yeah! - Hi, Riley.
Hi, Andrew.
- Hi.
- Hey, Chef.
So do you eat a lot of shrimp tempura and sushi back in Jersey? We don't eat too much there.
I guess California's the place where they eat a lot of it.
The cook on the tempura, perfect timing.
It's a gorgeous gold and it's got some crunch.
- Great flavor.
- Thank you.
So, you know, you always wanna just take a look at the fish and see how your knife-work was.
- Who cut the fish? - I cut the fish, Chef.
And I trimmed some of it up when we put it onto the plate.
Inspecting these, you can see that one is just a little bit larger than the other.
But overall, you see the beautiful grain running through the tuna.
- Sliced beautifully.
It's great knife-work.
- Thank you, Chef.
You guys should be very, very proud.
Showing a lot of skill, as well as maturity and respect for what the challenge was all about.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
Yeah! Go, Riley.
Andrew, good job.
Okay.
Next up, Kayla and Jenna.
Thank you.
Throughout the entire challenge, Kayla and I really didn't work well together.
Our boat is pretty decent.
but I'm not sure what's gonna happen with that shrimp.
Okay.
I'd like you both to tell me what happened, because the last three minutes didn't sound like your strongest three minutes.
I was trying to plate the shrimp, but I couldn't figure out the right angle.
- And it was kind of stressful.
- I can see that.
It kind of felt like Kayla didn't really listen to me.
And my feelings were hurt 'cause I felt disrespected.
When we don't work together, that's not being about disrespectful to each other.
It's just ignoring each other's demands.
There's times where Joe, Graham, and I may not agree on the same decision.
However, we've gotta come together and we have to talk it out.
'Cause you're only as good as your team.
- Okay.
The roll, who done that? - Jenna.
It's rolled nice and tightly.
That's done beautiful.
Look, again, nice and round.
Tight.
Beautifully done.
And the salmon.
You've got one tiny, little piece of salmon there.
And one big piece of salmon there.
Two different sizes.
Who did the tuna? Well, I cut the tuna, but she placed it on.
Yeah.
You've got to be absolutely, - Okay, who prepared the shrimp? - I did.
Did somebody take a bite? It broke in the fryer.
Here's the big issue for me.
Is this bit in here.
Who took the shrimp out of the fryer? We tried twice.
So greasy when you squeeze that.
All it does is release more fat.
So the shrimp are an absolute disaster.
They're overcooked and full of grease.
So I cannot go anywhere near that.
Okay.
Jenna, how would you sum this performance up together as a team? I'm not really proud of how it turned out.
I think that we both did a really good job, but I just don't want to go home.
So the shrimp are an absolute disaster.
They're overcooked and full of grease.
I just don't want to go home.
I don't want you to go home either.
I don't want Kayla to leave.
And I certainly don't want you to leave.
You're in the top ten of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the country.
And I'm only ever gonna judge you on what you put in front of me.
And I know you can do a much better job.
And you know that.
That's why I say: "Give us your best.
" Thank you, ladies.
Okay.
Let's pull it together here, guys.
You're from New York.
New Yorkers, tough.
Right, Jenna? Right, Kayla? Certainly, there was problems with your shrimp.
But your roll actually looks good.
Balanced very nice.
I mean, it's almost perfect.
I think your sushi is actually pretty textbook.
So this was a super competitive day.
Life is very, very competitive.
You're gonna run into a lot of things where you're not gonna be the best.
I mean, frying shrimp, it's a technical thing.
I don't think you have to get upset.
Look at it as a fundamental learning lesson.
This will make you a lot stronger.
A lot tougher.
So chins up, because there's not many kids that could get close to what you guys done.
- Thanks, ladies.
- Thank you.
Even though me and Jenna didn't work well as a team, we're friends and I know this is not gonna ruin our friendship.
But I'm also nervous because we know we might go home because of our shrimp.
All right, next up, Ryan Kate and Nathan.
Walking up with our boat, I'm very proud of what we did.
Back in Dallas, I don't eat a lot of sushi.
But I feel really confident that this sushi boat will keep us safe.
Ryan Kate, Nathan.
Texas, California.
One is a little more sushi-centric, I would say.
Do you think that that put you at maybe more of an advantage, Nathan? being from San Diego? - I would say so.
- What do you think, Ryan Kate? You agree? Probably so.
Well, visually, it's beautiful.
First thing that pops out, the roll.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
Nice and tight.
You got this one, right? Look at that.
Look at how beautifully compacted everything is in the inside.
A lot of times, you go to pick it up, and then it all falls apart everywhere, and you look really stupid.
That would not happen with these.
Good job.
The sushi itself, a little big.
You know? If you look at that size versus the tuna, it's about 30% bigger.
Just want to make sure that you make tiny little footballs of fish right over the top.
- But the knife-work is great.
- Thank you.
- Who did the tempura? - I did the tempura.
It started to curl.
I did slice them across the ends.
And for some reason, they curled while they were frying.
They cook on the tempura-- Nice.
Crispy The only issue was, you should have dabbed it off a little more 'cause you can see some of that grease.
But the cook on the actual shrimp is perfect.
You nailed it.
Great flavor.
And, again, knife-work and the roll on that California roll was great.
Good job, guys.
Thank you, Chef.
Nice job! Okay, next up, Jack and Cory.
Let's go, please.
I'm really not confident that our dish turned out good because me and Cory just didn't work well together.
So I'm just hoping for the best.
Okay.
The roll is beautiful.
Let's get that right.
- Who made that? - I did, Chef.
- Who cut that? - I did.
Great job.
Nice and compact.
I love the almost perfect sort of roundness of it all.
- Look, it fits beautifully.
- Thank you.
Salmon sliced way too big.
The secret here is to make the rice a little bit smaller.
I'm gonna go into my dipping sauce.
And then I'm And I've still got all that left.
It took one and a half bites.
Not two and a half.
Okay.
And it's a shame that look Even the tuna Smaller? Yeah, but you've got the thin end here, and the thick end there.
It shouldn't look ragged.
It shouldn't look like the cat's had a bite.
And you've got to make sure that you slice with the grain, not against it.
- Okay.
- Yes, Chef.
- Who cooked the shrimp? - Me, Chef.
So when you cook something that's fried, it should blotted, right? Yes.
The shrimp have sort of sat in, like, a little pool of grease.
The reason why it's glistening, 'cause it's just soggy.
So it just disintegrates into a greasy, soggy mess.
So I can't eat that.
What a shame.
'Cause the platter was potentially set up for success.
California roll, done beautifully.
Salmon, way too big.
Shrimp, way too greasy.
And you know, at this stage in the competition, we have seriously high expectations.
What a shame.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.
Last up, Ayla and Jimmy.
I look down at our sushi boat, I'm really proud of me and Ayla because we worked well together, and I don't think that many other people could pull off this sushi boat in just 60 minutes.
So I hope they like it.
Okay.
Ayla and Jimmy.
This is very stunning.
California and Missouri.
You guys were like the perfect team of thunder and lighting.
Are you both sushi experts? Well, I've made it before.
And I think we did a pretty good job.
I mean, it's identical to the one we showed you in both its aesthetic and its construction.
Aside from the beautiful knife-cuts on the tuna and the salmon, I think that the main thing is the proportion of rice in roll, the proportion of rice in the nigiri, and then the fry on the tempura is perfect.
I'm gonna take a bite of this 'cause it just looks too good to pass up.
This is really amazing.
Congratulations to you guys, because you could go to a restaurant and probably pay and be totally happy, and certainly not know that it was made by an 11- and a 12-year-old.
Did either of you have, like, a sushi restaurant in your restaurant dreams or plans? In all of the restaurants I own, I'm sure there's a sushi restaurant in there somewhere.
Well, we'll be there because I would go as far as to say it's the best sushi we've ever had in this kitchen.
Even including the adults.
I mean, this is about as good as it gets.
Great job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Well done.
Nice job.
I know.
Good job! All of you, well done.
Trust me, that was a very tough challenge.
The first time we've ever introduced that tag team challenge in the MasterChef Junior kitchen.
With sushi.
Come on.
I mean, seriously, you all did an amazing job.
Sadly, for one team, it'll be the last time cooking in the MasterChef kitchen.
And that means the end of the road.
Sadly, for one team, it'll be the last time cooking here, in the MasterChef kitchen.
And that means the end of the road.
Joe, Graham, and I need a moment to discuss.
So the best, I mean, precision beyond belief, Jimmy and Ayla.
Yeah, I mean, it was almost tailor-made for them.
Yeah.
Textbook.
It's pretty amazing, I mean, when you compare it to the adult tag team sushi challenge, this is like another level.
I know.
Nathan and Ryan Kate, they work really well together.
They missed some cuts though.
Yeah.
I'm impressed with Andrew.
I mean, don't think Andrew was up against it but he certainly had a weaker individual in Riley.
Right, and Andrew never really had sushi before.
You know? He hasn't been to any high-end restaurants or tried raw fish.
- I know we can win.
- I hope so, we win.
You're not going home.
- Jenna, Kayla.
- Couldn't even try the shrimp.
- The batter wasn't even there.
- You tried your best.
Cory struggled.
Jack struggled.
Yeah, their slicing of the fish was really all over the place.
Tempura, greasy as anything.
Like, they said, like, our roll was, like, probably, like, one of the best.
But everything else was, "eh.
" That's why I don't think you're going home.
So one word to describe that all was "wow".
Every single one of you rose to the occasion and exceed what we expected.
There was one team tonight, who really nailed this challenge.
We've never seen the sushi done at this level that these two did today.
That team was Jimmy and Ayla.
Good job, guys.
Awesome! It feels so good to have won this challenge.
We have made it into the top eight.
Great job! It just means I'm this much closer to getting the title of MasterChef Junior.
That's awesome.
Now we need two teams to join us up here at the front.
Please step forward Jack and Cory.
And Jenna and Kayla.
It's not my time to go home, I mean, I've done so well in this competition already.
I want to stay and I want to show even more.
One team will remain in the competition.
One team will go home proud, into the sunset.
I really wanna stay in the competition pretty badly.
I'm having a lot of fun and I feel I've grown as a junior chef, so I'm just hoping for the best.
The team that will be going home tonight.
But going home proud Cory and Jack.
Kayla and Jenna, please head back to your stations.
Cory and Jack, you two guys have been an inspiration to many 8- to 13-year-olds across the board.
You showed great commitment.
But more importantly, you both have confirmed bragging rights now when you head back to school.
Have this be the start of a new chapter.
And continue cooking.
Great job, both of you.
Come say good-bye.
Take care.
I'm really sad to leave MasterChef Junior.
But I'm proud of myself that I made it this far in the journey.
Take care, guys.
I can't wait to go back home to make my cookie business bigger than Donald Trump and all his corporations.
You were my best, crazy friend in the world.
Good job, Jack.
Overall, this was a really good experience.
I learned a lot here and I got to make some really good friends I'm gonna miss you guys.
When I get home, I'm still gonna accomplish my dream.
I'm gonna get my restaurant in Chicago.
And I'm gonna keep cooking as long as it's not a tag team.
Next week Are we gonna cook like aliens or something? the MasterChef kitchen goes bananas.
Oh, gosh! (Graham) It's like eating a banana-flavored cloud.
And a pintsized Ramsay My daughter, Matilda Ramsay.
Challenges the contestants with one of her dad's classic dishes.
Salmon en croute with basil - "Bas-il!" You're not American! - We're in America, Dad.
in there toughest challenge yet.
What does it look like? I don't know what to do! I don't know if she can pull it back.