Announcer: Last week...
Welcome to "MasterChef Junior."
( cheering )
...the search for America's next MasterChef Junior began.
Christina: You are the best young home cooks in America.
He has such good knife skills.
And only the very best...
- Wonderful. I'm really impressed. - ...made the grade.
You're really bringing some serious talent.
- Would you like me to do an impression? - Yes, please.
( high-pitched voice ) I think Sadie's going to be
the next MasterChef Junior.
- Tonight... - Let's go!
You guys get bananas, I'll bring the ice cream.
- the competition... - A foot, B foot.
...gets much closer.
- Make one more! - ( screams )
And the judges face...
a very messy end.
- Followed by... - Wow.
...an elimination challenge,
- ( screaming ) - that's alive and pinching.
We're just kids.
( cheering )
Welcome back.
I think a lot of my fifth-grader friends
are just playing lacrosse and playing tennis.
But instead, I'm in the top 22 of "MasterChef Junior."
It's always been my dream to be here,
and this is just out of this world.
Good to see you, guys.
When I grow up I want to be a chef or a food critic.
If I am a chef, I will cook for a bunch of celebrities,
like Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.
And if I am a food critic,
I'd like to critique Gordon's food.
Christina: Welcome back, everyone!
You're the top 22 young home cooks
in all of America.
This is not just the greatest kitchen in the entire world,
it's also your new classroom.
Tonight, in your next culinary skills challenge,
we will be asking you to make us a timeless classic.
It's one of my all-time favorite desserts.
I'm talking about...
banana split!
- ( cheering ) - Banana split!
Yes! This is my favorite food.
The beautiful banana split
always has a banana split perfectly down the center,
three even, beautiful scoops of ice cream,
three beautiful dollops of whipped cream,
some rainbow sprinkles.
And no banana split is complete
without the cherry on top.
Oh, my God, the cherry!
( cheering )
Tonight, you're gonna be working in three teams of four.
Now, in order to decide on tonight's teams,
we're gonna need bananas.
Come up and grab yourselves a banana.
I eat banana split sundaes a lot
because it has fruit... your banana,
and your cherry on top.
It has dairy, your ice cream,
and your whipped cream.
So that's good for you.
But it's not really.
Aarón: You'll see a lot of those bananas have a sticker on them.
If you randomly have a banana with a pink sticker,
you're on the pink team.
And if your banana has a green sticker,
you're gonna be on the green team.
Yellow sticker, yellow team.
Christina: If the banana you randomly grabbed has no sticker on it,
you get a free pass up to the safety of the balcony.
- Yes! - Whoo!
All right, home cooks, off you go.
Come on, yellow team.
- Ooh, you got yellow apron, too? - Yeah.
On the yellow team, it's Tal, Matthew, Ashley, and I.
And I think it's gonna be great
because Matthew is very enthusiastic.
Keep organized and be ready to be bossed around, okay?
By you?
Ashley is very focused,
making sure everything looks good.
Tal is the oldest here,
so he can really lead this team to victory.
I think we're gonna win this.
- Pink team? - Yep.
I'm feeling really good about this pink team.
We have Sadie, Malia, and Brielle.
Do you need help, Sadie?
Sadie won the first mystery box challenge
and I have made many banana splits in my past.
I'm just gonna rock this with my teammates by my side.
- Jayden's the only boy on the pink team. - Uh-huh.
We need a girl, 'cause they're very organized.
On my team I have Rhashad, Kyle, and Thomas.
It's kinda shaky to be the only girl on the team,
because I know that boys can be a little messy.
- Got it? Perfect. - Teamwork is dream work.
Home cooks, each team will be responsible
for assembling as many banana splits as possible
in just 15 minutes.
The winning team will be safe
from the next elimination
and will get to save a judge from a very messy end.
Which one of us is safe
from becoming a human banana split?
- ( cheering ) - Yes!
- We gotta do this. - Pink team,
my fate is in your hands.
Yellow team, you're competing for me.
Gordon: Green team, I need you.
Two hours and 55 minutes every fricking morning
to get my hair looking like this.
Wow!
Now, working in real professional kitchens is all about teamwork.
So I decided for this big challenge,
you'll be tied together with these.
Oh, my gosh.
What?
- We can do it! - Yes!
Being from Texas, usually it's the animals on my ranch
- that are lassoed together. - Oh, my gosh.
I don't like that we're going to be tied together.
I think it's going to be, like, really hard.
How are we supposed to, like, do this?
Gordon: All of you, hop on over to your stations.
- One, two, one, two. - Gordon: At your stations
you've got everything you need to make a perfect banana split.
Are you ready to go bananas?
All: Yes, Chef!
Your 15 minutes start...
...now!
- Go! - A foot, B foot.
- Turn around. - Come on!
- A foot, B foot. - Okay, Rhashad, grab the cream.
Bring the heavy cream over there,
and then we bring the dishes over here.
Go, go, go!
We need to, like, move a little faster.
Hurry! Hurry!
Guys, guys, guys, we gotta go!
- We gotta go! - Aarón: Gordon, you are one evil man.
This challenge is difficult as is,
and then you had the wisdom
of tying these young cooks together.
- What's behind that? - Every great kitchen in America
works bound together behind a line.
Okay, guys, I'll prepare the whipped cream.
My idea about tying them up together tonight
was to get that level of coordination.
Peel 'em as you walk. Peel 'em as you walk.
Let's go. Don't peel. Just focus on going.
They need to take one person to lead and three to follow.
- Come on! - I'm getting the whipped cream in.
Quality, not quantity.
Move in sync, scoop in sync,
pipe in sync.
Do this together and communicate.
Come on, come on. Move! Move!
We're doing good.
Our strategy is to divide jobs.
Jayden, 'cause you're the biggest,
do you wanna get a thing of ice cream?
Um, and, like, a scoop?
Jayden is gonna scoop ice cream.
Go get the fudge. Back up.
Malia is gonna do hot fudge.
The cherries, the cherries!
And we're all gonna put the cherry on top.
- Let's go! - We got it, we got it.
- More cherries! - Come on, come on, come on.
We need to come together as a team
in order to win this challenge.
- How many more cherries? - Two.
Good job, guys.
- Sprinkles! We need sprinkles! - Sprinkles, sprinkles.
Green team, you got this!
One each! Make it perfect!
I think we're moving
a little bit slower than the other teams.
But our strategy is slow and steady wins the race.
Every pipe of that whipped cream matters.
Rhashad, you're amazing at piping.
Every sprinkle of sprinkle matters.
All right, guys, it's MasterChef worthy. Let's go!
It's not about who makes it fastest,
it's about who makes them perfect.
We need to save Gordon Ramsay's hair!
Looks amazing! You got this!
If something's not good, I'm not gonna put it on the doily.
Quality, not quantity.
If we churn out these banana splits fast,
they are not gonna look good, and the judges are tough.
We need to get these perfect!
So, my strategy with my team is quality over quantity.
- This is a perfect scoop. - Beautiful!
And that is what is going to help us win.
Beautiful, yellow team! Good job.
We gotta not let Christina down!
More importantly, we can't let ourselves down.
Nine minutes to go. Come on, Jayden.
- We're good. Let's go. - All right, start assembling!
Yellow team, they are on it, right?
Scoop! Scoop!
All right, there we go. Perfect.
- Let's go! - Run, run, run!
I had no idea that a banana split is so hard to make.
Oh, everything's getting so messy.
It looks simple, but looks can be deceiving.
Wow! This is cold!
It needs to have the perfect halved banana.
Guys, that one broke.
The perfect scoops of ice cream.
That looks... oh, no.
You need just the right amount of fudge.
- All right, here. - Assembly line!
Assembly line.
And you need to pipe your whipped cream carefully,
and that's a lot to do.
Guys, don't hurry about it.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Rhashad, perfect!
Do not drop this!
Yellow team's getting ahead!
Let's go! Time to get sprinkles! Sprinkles!
Look at the yellow team go.
Save Christina! All right!
- Save Christina! - I got a banana!
Pass it down, pass it down.
The green team's starting to pick up.
- Look at 'em. - Gordon: Yeah.
They've got three more incredible banana splits.
- Work it! - We can do this!
The pink team is surging.
Y'all, we're gonna win this!
Two minutes! Let's go!
- Come on, Kate! - Let's go, let's go!
Get the bananas! Matthew!
I'm worried the yellow team's starting to slow down.
They were fast out of the gates
- but they're really losing momentum. - It's gonna be close.
- Matthew, no! - We're falling apart because boys don't listen.
How are we supposed to do this?
Tal is going this way, Ben is going this way,
Matthew's going this way.
- So, our team's splitting. - Here, take this.
We need to fix this and get back on track...
Let's go! Let's go!
- ...so we can win this challenge. - Come on, yellow team.
- You gotta go! - Pink team, you're in the lead.
- Pink, give me one more! - Guys, come on!
- Make one more! - 30 seconds to go.
- Whipped cream! - Come on, green team!
- Faster, faster! - No, no, Thomas!
Okay, now let's take them over.
- No, come on! We got it. - We need to go now!
- We need cherries. - Here, cherries. Cherries.
- We're neck and neck with pink. - Now sprinkles!
- We need to go! - Judges: Ten, nine,
- Oh, no. - eight, seven,
- Let's go! Come on. - six, five, four,
- three, two, one, stop. - ( screams )
Ben! Are you okay?
Where's Matthew?
- Hi, guys. - ( Aarón laughs )
Gordon: Oh, man! Well done.
It was frantic, it was chaos, it was brilliant.
Right, now it's time to tally up those banana splits.
- Oh, that one is bruised. - Shh!
I'm not sure, but I feel like the green team and the pink team
do not have as many sundaes as us.
Right, how did that go?
Tal: It was chaotic, but I think we did well.
But this doesn't mean we've won. Our sundaes need to be perfect
- to save Christina. - Too much ice cream.
If there's a broken banana, if the cherry has fallen off,
it's not a sundae anymore.
Man.
I don't think we have the same amount as everyone else.
I think they have a little more,
but the other teams don't have as many
little cherry stems poking up,
so I'm thinking theirs is a little more sloppy.
So I think we're still gonna be able to pull ahead
'cause I think ours is just a tiny bit neater.
How'd it go?
We think we did pretty good.
We can forgive that.
I think we're gonna be able to save Gordon Ramsay
and I think that's all that matters right now.
- You happy? - Yeah.
Aarón: I like that. I hope my team does better.
Jayden: The pink team worked together as a team,
and now our banana splits look gorgeous.
The whipped cream, the sprinkles, the fudge.
Nice... Nice whipped cream.
Beautiful whipped cream.
They look like art, and we won't let Aarón down.
Are we happy?
All of the three teams come down to the front.
Christina: All right.
If your team wins,
you will be getting to press
- the "Do Not Push" button. - ( kids gasping )
Dude, I need to push it.
But first, we need a big banana.
- ( gasping ) - This is incredible.
- Aarón: We also need syrup and whipped cream, no? - Yes.
Oh, no.
Oh!
The winning team tonight successfully made
eight banana splits.
Congrats goes to...
- the yellow team. - Yeah! Yes!
Christina, that means you are safe.
Very proud.
I kinda feel that we let down Gordon Ramsay
and his two hours and 55 minute hair,
but it's still going to be pretty fun to watch.
Hands on the button.
Three, two...
One!
( all laughing )
Hands on the button.
Three, two...
- One! - Oh, no!
- ( all laughing ) - No!
Gordon looks like the yummiest treat of all.
I just wanted to eat him up.
No way!
( screams )
Oh, my God.
- Oh! - Now, you wait. Come on.
It's not a complete banana split just yet, right?
Without whipped cream.
( laughing )
Dude!
- Perfect! - Oh!
Hold on. Hold on, hold on. This doesn't seem fair, right?
- Not at all. - What do you mean? No, fair square.
I don't think Christina should stand there with nothing.
It's fair! It is fair!
- We're a team of judges. - Yep.
So it's only fair that all three judges
- take the hit. - Ooh, I don't know about that.
Green team, pink team, help me out here, guys.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa! - On the count of three.
- This isn't fair! They won! - One, two, three.
But they won. But they won! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Oh, my Lord.
No!
I'm feeling pretty sad
because Christina spent a very long time
doing her makeup and hair,
and I mean, I know it's a struggle to do hair,
'cause this is not easy.
Wait.
I feel like this banana split is incomplete.
- Gordon: What? - All: Sprinkles!
Oh, my God!
All right, no banana split is complete without...
All: Cherry!
- Yes! - Cherry on top!
- Thank you. - Yeah!
- Right, we're gonna get cleaned up.
All of you head back to your stations.
- Oh, man. - Oh, my Lord.
There are sprinkles in my shoes!
Let's go.
Kid: Yes, Chef.
Yeah, you're looking smooth.
All right, so there are eight of you
incredible young home cooks standing right here.
Gordon: Yellow team, you're safe
and will not be cooking in tonight's elimination challenge.
Now, unfortunately, we do have to say good-bye to two of you
at the end of the night.
Christina: For this elimination challenge,
you're gonna be plunging the depths of the sea.
We're going to challenge you
to master a very important ingredient,
an ingredient that even chefs who've been working for years
still struggle with.
Please, step down to the front, thank you.
Now, tonight, you'll all be working with one amazing ingredient.
A protein that is full of incredible flavor.
It's an ingredient that can be found in restaurants
all across America.
Beautiful, fresh, alive, and kicking.
- ( screaming ) - Oh, my gosh!
- Gordon: Live lobsters. - Oh, my gosh.
( kids scream )
Oh, my God! Don't get killed.
Guys, when you stepped into this MasterChef kitchen,
you left your amateur days behind you.
So, tonight, we're tasking you with killing it,
- ( gasps ) - cooking it,
and extracting all that beautiful lobster meat all by yourselves,
just like a pro would.
We're just kids.
Eww!
You can make anything that you'd like
using this beautiful lobster meat.
But before you can get started,
you're each gonna need to pick your own lobster.
- Oh! - I want that one.
I'm a bit of a germophobe,
so I don't really want to stick my hand in there.
All right, Sadie and Kyle.
But this is "MasterChef Junior,"
so you gotta do what you gotta do.
Ooh, I don't know which one to grab.
You got this.
Gordon: Good girl.
There we go. That's cold.
- That's really cold. - Whoo! Yeah, Kyle!
Sadie, you got a big one.
- Onto your bench, quick. - All right, Brielle and Malia.
Pick those lobsters wisely.
Perfect choice.
Kiss it, Brielle. It's good luck.
No, thank you.
Christina: All right, Jayden, Rhashad.
Oh, my goodness. Okay.
Three, two...
Jayden: I'm a little freaked out
because the lobster feels icky!
Christina: Oh.
This is what we're cooking with?
Ugh.
- ( screams ) - This is a little bit worrying.
Hi there, little guy.
Christina: Shannen, Thomas, get in there.
Oh, my God, it's so cold!
Christina: Great job. Up and out.
Oh, my God.
Back at home in Scarsdale, New York,
my family, we don't really cook with lobster.
Now kiss it.
So how am I supposed to kill a live lobster?
That's really nerve-wracking.
Now, tonight, you'll have just one hour
to break those lobsters down,
extract that meat, and make us an incredible lobster dish.
You'll have access to that amazing equipment room
where you'll find everything you need
to make us a stunning dish.
Are you guys ready?
All: Yes, Chef!
Your 60 minutes starts... now.
- Go! Go! Go! - Whoo!
- Thank you so much! - Yeah.
Right, this is the toughest challenge ever
we've had in the history of "MasterChef Junior."
Aarón: So, Gordon, walk us through
all the complex techniques that needs to be accomplished.
- First of all, we are killing them humanely. - Yeah.
Don't be scared!
And then they get plunged into boiling water.
- Girl: Let's go, Brielle. - Blanch them for 30 seconds.
There's a tentacle sticking out.
And then plunge them into ice cold water.
- That releases the meat. - Get in there.
- Is that a tentacle? - Eh, that's okay.
And the secret behind taking that flesh out of those shells
is taking it out when the shell is still warm,
'cause the flesh just slides straight out.
This is a challenge of nerve,
a challenge of determination.
Great, guys! Let's go! Keep up the good work!
Gordon: Guys, 45 minutes remaining.
Malia, take your time.
Come on.
( gasps ) Medic!
Oh.
You okay, darling?
And look over there.
- You okay? - I don't...
I don't know what happened.
Matthew: I don't even know how Malia cut herself.
It doesn't look good!
Clean cloth, please.
I am just hoping that she is gonna be okay.
Oh, dear.
Malia: Medic!
Oh.
You okay, darling?
And look over there.
- You okay? - I don't... I don't know what happened.
Don't you worry. We have a little cut on there.
- Okay? Little cut. - Little cut.
I don't even know how I cut myself,
but I just felt it when some lime juice went on me.
- We'll stop the bleeding. You okay? - Yeah.
- Maybe a little glove, medic, as well over there. - Yeah.
It's hurting, but I need to be focused
- and just get it together. - Go for it, honey.
Good girl.
Come on, Malia, you can recover from this.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
- Good girl. You okay? - Yeah.
It's not over till the fat lady sings.
Now, tell me about the dish.
My family and I love tacos.
So I'm just making some lobster tacos
with avocado cream and sweet potato fries.
Listen, can you do this?
I'm not gonna let just a little cut
stop me from cooking.
Good. Can you become America's next MasterChef Junior?
- Yes, Chef! - Good luck.
Christina: Home cooks, keep your eye on that clock.
Being Boerne, Texas, I have never cooked lobster,
but I've killed quite a few animals when I hunt,
so I'm going to make a lobster roll
with fried jalapeños and a mango salad.
I am not ready to go home tonight.
I'm eight years old and I'm from Conley, Georgia.
Come on in.
At four years old, I started cooking,
and I think about food all the time.
My favorite type of food to cook is seafood and Italian food.
VoilÃ ! That's how it's done.
When I grow up, I wanna be a botanist chef
because I like cooking and I wanna help the environment.
I make pasta every week or so for my family.
So I'm making lobster with linguini
in a cherry tomato sauce.
I think the judges are gonna like my skills and the lobster.
Love it, Jayden.
- Jayden. - Hi.
How old are you and where you from?
I am 12 years old and I am from San Antonio, Texas.
Do you get a lot of lobster down in Texas?
We do, but I'm not really a big seafood person.
It looks like you're handling this lobster like a pro.
What's the dish?
I'm making lobster rangoons
- with a sweet and sour sauce. - Okay, great.
- I know you can do this. Good luck. - Thank you.
Nice job, Shannen!
I'm nine years old and I'm from Scarsdale, New York.
This is my gorgeous house!
Isn't it beautiful?
My mom was born in Azerbaijan,
my dad was born in Bangladesh,
and it influences my cooking
because I like to add a lot of those spices into my foods.
Today me and my aunt are making "pan-geh,"
which is an Azerbaijan dish.
Other nine-year-olds might sit at home
playing video games,
but I like to be in the kitchen cooking.
All right, so, Shannen, what are you gonna do with that lobster?
I think you're going to be kind of happy
since you're like... your heritage is kinda Mexican.
I'm making lobster tacos.
What?
You are speaking my language!
- Yeah! - I love that.
I also want to represent my Azerbaijan heritage.
- Mm. - So I'm also putting sour cream
on top of my salsa, and then I'm putting the claw on top.
Oof! You're giving us tons of lobster!
- I love that, Shannen. Good luck. - Thank you.
- Do you need help getting anything? - I got it.
Gordon: 18 minutes remaining. Come on, guys.
- Awesome, Kyle. - Thank you.
I'm 11 years old and I'm in the fifth grade.
And this is my home in Rye, New York.
Come on in.
I love to travel.
I also have a few maps over here.
Because you get to experience different cultures
and different foods.
I am just constantly amazed
at the stuff that he puts in front of me.
I started cooking when I was about four and a half.
I love cooking from all over the world,
whether it's Italian seafood or pastries from France.
Perfect.
I love cooking so much that I even named our dog Brisket.
I love you, Brisket.
Gordon: Right, Kyle, tell me about the dish.
So I am making a lobster tail in a lemon beurre blanc
with roasted asparagus and orzo.
Give me in insight to the kind of dishes you cook.
French food. I cook everything.
Favorite French dish, what is it?
Oh, my God, I love snails.
- I love snails. - They're really good.
Young man, potentially, you got a winning dish there
- but think about the presentation, okay? - Yes, Chef.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
Kid: Take your time and make it perfect!
- Rhashad. - Hello.
- So, 12 years old. - Yes.
- What are you making? - I like Caribbean food,
so I'm making a Caribbean lobster
with curry rice and coconut jerk sauce.
I'm gonna use my lobster shells,
- jerk, and red pepper flakes. - All right.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
- Whoo! - Doing good, Sadie.
Thank you.
I'm 12 years old and I live in Seattle, Washington.
This is my home in Seattle.
I am definitely not your average 12-year-old.
I am very sophisticated.
Many of my friends call me a fierce feminist.
She's totally charismatic
and the most dedicated foodie.
Sadie: Julia Child is my biggest idol.
This is my favorite cookbook of all time.
I love it.
I like all cuisines, but French is my favorite.
- Sadie, how you doing? - I am great, Chef. How are you?
You're great. Tell me about the dish. What are you doing?
I am making a lobster cake.
Hold on a minute. A lobster cake?
Well, it's like a lobster tower.
So there's an avocado base layer,
then my lobster mixture, which is mayo, dill, chives.
- Right, and what's the chips? - Just tortilla chips.
Tortilla chips really just add that crunch. That's really nice.
I mean, it's quite a sophisticated job, this.
- Yes, it is. - How many lobsters have you cooked in your life?
I'm a Seattleite. We have the best seafood.
And with my knowledge,
I will be able to perfect this lobster.
Make sure this dish has the wow factor.
- Will do. - Good luck.
Oh, my God, this is the best smell.
Perfect, Brielle!
Beautiful, Sadie!
We have eight cooking,
and sadly, at the end of this challenge,
we have to say good-bye to at least two.
Less than five minutes to go.
Start thinking about the presentation.
Let's go.
I'm so behind right now.
Gordon: Uh, incredible.
We're minutes away from getting amazing dishes tonight.
Malia, that is good!
Christina: Guys, Malia is using the lobster tail shell
- As the base. Smart. - as the holder for this taco.
- I love that. I love that. - How clever is that?
I'm speechless right now.
With Rhashad, I have to say, he's taking his lobster shells
and he's going to make a coconut lobster sauce out of that.
His dish has the makings of something incredibly elegant,
elevated, and impressive.
Gordon: Let's go, guys. Come on.
Aarón: Make sure you clean your plate.
Christina: Every last detail counts.
Whoo! Nice job, Shannen.
You guys got this. Come on, guys!
Guys, Thomas is in a little bit of trouble here.
I've never cooked this shellfish before,
and I burnt too much time
making this lobster roll perfect.
- Hurry, hurry, Thomas. - I'm trying.
Now I'm rushing to get everything on the plate.
- Only minutes to spare, guys. - Dang it, dang it.
Thomas has so much stuff to do.
He's really stressed.
I'm scared that he might be going home.
Aarón: Thomas, get moving.
( sighs )
Dang it, dang it.
Hurry, hurry! You have minutes, Thomas.
Guys, Thomas is in a little bit of trouble here.
Christina: He's really up against the time right now.
There's only a few minutes left
and I'm rushing to get everything on the plate.
Thomas, you got it.
Thank you, but I feel terrible.
I do not want to go home right now,
so I need to push through.
Aarón: Thomas, get moving.
Last minute, guys. Come on!
Let's go! Make sure everything looks beautiful.
Christina: Every last detail counts.
Kate: Beautiful, Sadie.
- Gordon: 15 seconds to go. - Final touches, guys!
- Let's go, guys, come on. - Christina: Come on.
Judges: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
- You guys, I believe in you! - five, four, three, two, one.
Gordon: Stop. Well done.
- Hands in the air. - ( cheering )
Amazing job, everyone.
For tonight's challenge, we asked you
to make a MasterChef quality lobster dish.
Now it's time to find out how they taste.
- Let's start with Malia. - Kid: Good luck, Malia.
Even though I cut myself, I just kept on pushing through.
This really was a hard challenge,
but I tried my best to knock it out of the park
with these lobster tacos.
What do we have here?
What I made for you guys today is a lobster taco
with some sweet potato wedges,
and a slaw with an avocado crema.
- You know that tacos is kind of my thing, right? - Yes.
And I'm looking at this dish that you presented
and you know the first feeling I have?
Is jealousy.
The fact that you chose to use the lobster shell as a vessel
to keep all that beautiful goodness of the lobster
kind of enclosed is unreal.
Now look at that. This is a perfect mouthful.
- Thank you so much. - You think I like it?
You think I do the little taco dance for anybody?
I don't think you like it. I think you love it.
You're absolutely right.
That's such a great taco.
Lobster's cooked perfect,
and the avocado crema is balanced,
it's creamy, it's rich.
Is it okay if I steal that idea of using the lobster like that?
- If you want. - On the menu, "Lobster taco inspired by Malia."
Okay.
If I had to change one thing,
this doesn't stand up to how good that is.
So maybe some herbs, maybe do something different
- to that part of it. - Okay.
But you celebrated the lobster,
and let me tell you, you were so resilient.
You showed so much courage.
Great job, young lady.
- Thank you so much. - Awesome.
- Yeah, Malia! - ( cheering )
- Good job, Malia. - Next up, please, Shannen.
Good luck, Shannen.
Right now I feel so nervous
because I also made lobster tacos,
but I've never made lobster before.
So I hope that I did enough to impress the judges.
Miss Shannen, what did you make for us tonight?
Today you have a lobster taco with carrot chips.
So, from New York.
- We basically are neighbors. - Yeah.
What do you think lobster tacos
with lobster meat that big would go for in New York?
- Around 30 to 40. - Yeah, girl.
A hundred percent. I bet you could get 'em to pay 50, too.
Now, I'm gauging by the look of this taco,
that this tomato underneath is meant to be salsa,
- is that right? So what's going on there? - Mm-hmm.
I might've put it in the food processor a little long.
You've got great acidity in that salsa,
but it's a little too puréed,
so it's more wet than it is textural.
- Mm-hmm. - Your lobster, it's a little overcooked.
You can start to see where it starts to get grainy.
And I like your idea of the carrot chips from a textural standpoint,
but they don't really make sense
- with lobster and taco. - Mm-hmm.
- But thank you for the effort. - Thank you.
My dish was not perfect, but I took a big risk
making something that I've never made before.
So I hope that will keep me from going home.
Next up, Sadie, please. Thank you.
Being from Seattle, I'm used to working with seafood,
but this was my first time cooking lobster.
So I really hope that I did this lobster justice.
Young lady, describe the dish, please.
So I made a lobster cake with avocado,
pickled onions, and tortilla chips.
You grew up in Seattle.
So you understand seafood with your eyes closed, right?
Yes.
How many times have you eaten lobster?
- Probably once. - Oh, is that all?
- Yeah. - Wow.
- Tell me about the tortilla chips. - I added the tortilla chips
just to give it a little bit of crunch.
Sadie, have you tasted that?
Um, I tasted the mayo mix, but not the actual lobster.
Wow. I'm gonna be honest.
Um... oh, my Lord.
Sadie, have you tasted that?
I tasted the mayo mix, but not the actual lobster.
Wow. I'm gonna be honest.
Um...
it's absolutely delicious.
Thank you.
It's got finesse, it's got charm. It's rich, it's sweet.
Love the chips and that crisp texture.
And the fresh dill, it's just mind-blowing.
What would I do differently? Less mayonnaise,
- Okay. - but well done.
- Thank you. - Yeah, Sadie.
Good job!
- Next up, please, Jayden. - Go, Jayden!
I love me a lot of crab rangoons.
Every time I go and visit my family in Hawaii,
I eat a lot of them.
So I made a lobster version this time,
and I know the judges will love them.
Jayden, tell me about this dish.
I made lobster rangoons
with a sweet and sour sauce.
Now, the way that you've pinched these beautiful little
fried dumplings together is very masterful.
And where's the lobster? In the cream cheese?
Yes.
Your dish is very clever,
but some of these are a little underdone,
which makes them a little chewy.
The filling is smart, but I want more lobster.
Don't be stingy with the lobster,
- especially in a lobster challenge. - Yes, Chef.
- But nice job. - Thank you, Chef.
- Good job, Jayden. - Next up, Brielle.
- Go, Brielle. - Describe your dish to me.
I have a linguini with lobster and fresh tomato sauce.
First time tackling lobster, correct?
Yeah.
This pasta right here is delicious.
- Thank you. - You did a good job cooking the lobster,
but putting cheese is kind of a mistake.
Seafood doesn't like cheese, but good job, young lady.
- Thank you. - Good job, Brielle.
Gordon: Next up, Thomas, thank you.
Describe the dish, please.
I made a lobster roll with fried jalapeños.
Why so much jalapeño?
Jalapeño is a big part of the culture around Texas,
so I thought I'd show you where I come from.
But lobster's a little bit pink there.
But the actual mango with the lobster, that works beautifully.
However, I've got more jalapeño than I have got lobster.
That's the bit that's sort of destroying it.
- Thank you. - It's okay, Thomas.
The next lobster dish that we'd like to try, Rhashad.
In Georgia, I eat a lot of spicy food,
because I travel to the Caribbean
with my family all the time.
So my lobster dish has jerk spices in it.
I just hope it's not too spicy for the judges.
Rhashad, tell me what you have right there.
I made a Caribbean lobster
with curry rice and coconut jerk sauce.
Look at that plate.
This plate is as buttoned up
and fashionably cool as you are.
- That is gorgeous. - Thank you.
- How did you cook it? - I put it to a boil,
and then at the end, I seared it
with tomatoes and green onion.
Let me tell you, this...
- is unbelievable. - Thank you.
You did a couple things here that are amazing.
You didn't overcook the lobster,
and it's very fragrant and really out there
as far the spice level,
but it's all in check with the coconut milk.
'Cause the coconut milk helped balance all that heat
and kind of tempers that a little bit.
If I had to change something,
make the sauce a little bit more brothy.
- Okay. - And let that lobster sit in that broth.
'Cause you have all that beautiful rice, you wanna sop it up
- in that great coconut curry, right? - Yes.
- But good job, Rhashad, I appreciate it. Thank you. - Thank you.
- Good job, Rhashad. - Whoo!
- Next up, Kyle, please. Thank you. - Kid: You got this.
I make lobster about once a month.
And this dish is going to show the judges
that I can make a simple presented dish,
but make it taste really complex.
So I think I got this in the bag.
Kyle, describe the dish, please.
So today I made for you a lobster
in a lemon beurre blanc with orzo
and roasted and salted asparagus.
So, visually,
it looks a little bit bizarre.
When you have a lobster that is a jewel of the sea,
don't hide it, highlight it.
- Make it look glamorous. - Yes, Chef.
Let's get in there. How did you cook the lobster?
First I boiled it for about five minutes,
and then for three minutes, I sautéed it in a pan.
Here's the thing, the actual lobster...
is cooked beautifully. So inside, it's glistening.
- What did you season it with? - I seasoned it with salt,
pepper, and I basted it in butter and thyme.
The asparagus, why leave the stems on like that?
I wouldn't even serve them to my rabbit.
- You know you can't eat those bits, right? - Yes, Chef.
And just to have all this plain pasta
when you cooked that lobster beautifully is a great shame.
And what worries me is that this is a competition,
and you know there's two going home tonight.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.
I'm really upset.
I feel like that my dish just missed the mark.
It's tough. Two outstanding dishes.
For me it comes down to where was the lobster the star?
- Yeah. Are we happy? - Absolutely. Yep.
Kyle: And I'm kind of nervous,
because I don't want to go home.
All of you did an incredible job tonight.
You broke down and cooked those lobsters
like true professionals.
Now, we have two great dishes tonight
that we want to highlight.
The second best lobster dish of the night
belongs to a young home cook
who really showed us some serious finesse.
Congratulations... Sadie.
That dish was stunning.
But the very best dish of the night...
- ...Malia! Amazing. - ( cheering )
Well done.
Now, unfortunately, we do have to say good-bye
to two of you talented young home cooks.
So, if I call your name,
please come down here to the front.
Thomas,
Brielle,
Shannen,
and Kyle.
Good job, Kyle.
Let's get one thing right, okay?
You four are all talented young home cooks
with a very bright future. Remember that.
Now, two of you just managed to stay in the competition,
and two of you will be leaving with your aprons.
Brielle, Kyle, step forward, please.
Brielle, Kyle...
...you did just enough to survive.
Head back to your stations.
Both of you, please.
Oh, my God.
My dish missed the mark this time,
but I'm so happy and I'm so relieved
that it did enough to get me safe from elimination
since I wanna keep moving forward in this competition.
Take a deep breath. It's okay.
Thomas, Shannen,
tonight your lobster dishes just missed the mark.
But hold your heads up high.
There's no doubt in my mind
that your food journey is just beginning.
Gordon: Well done, both of you.
Continue cooking. Promise?
- Promise. - Now, you two, please,
say good-bye to your friends and head home.
- Thank you. Good night. - All: Bye.
You guys were amazing, all right?
- Keep going! - Bye, guys.
Even though I'm going home
to Scarsdale, New York,
I am looking forward to showing my family
- what I've learned from here. - Bye, Shannen.
I'm going to be the chef in the house now.
Bye, Thomas!
See you in San Antonio.
I definitely don't want to go home,
but I'm still one of the top 22 junior chefs in all of America.
You guys did really good!
I beat so many kids getting here.
I bet no one in my school has ever done
anything like this before.
- Bye, y'all. - We'll miss you.
I'm still gonna keep cooking,
and I know I definitely made Texas proud.
Announcer: Next time on "MasterChef Junior"...
( screaming )
...the top 20 step right up
to the biggest, most dangerous,
- most frightening challenge... - Oh, no.
- I'm scared of clowns. - ...of their young lives.
Our performers are arriving.
- What? - ( honking horn )
- Who will walk the high wire? - There's people waiting.
I need everything ready. Finish now!
- And who will fall... - Don't cut off the ends.
...to the bottom of the competition?
They are not listening to a word the captain is saying.
Blue team! Blue team! Blue team!
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