Gordon: Previously on "masterchef junior"...
You have to take these dishes from your past
And turn them into dishes from your future.
- What? - Focus on that pork tenderloin,
'cause it's got no fat in there. So make sure it's pink, not dry.
- Shoot, shoot, shoot. - Asher, he looks a little bit stressed over there.
Wow, look at that with michael.
Tilly: This looks better than half the dishes
That come out of my dad's restaurant.
- Well... - Burn.
The best dish tonight was cooked by michael.
Yes.
Asher, the lobster is so undercooked.
Jordyn, the pork is overcooked.
Oh, dear.
The young home cook going home tonight is jordyn.
- Gonna miss you. - Bye, jordyn!
- Bye! - Tonight...
Welcome, everyone, to the semifinal of "masterchef junior."
- Yes! - You're all fighting for a spot in the finale,
But there's still one thing standing in your way.
- It's me. - Oh!
But if they can't keep up with the master.
- And, turn, let's go. - No!
Put it down and work two hands.
- I can't watch. - I know.
...They could be headed...
- Oh, gosh. - Whoa!
...For disaster.
Quit messing around
And focus on your job.
- It looks terrible. - Oh, no.
- You're good. You're good, dude. - ( crying )
- Semifinal night. - Indeed.
One of the most exciting nights.
Aarón: Talk about a tough challenge
In front of them right now.
- This is no joke. - If they get through this one,
- They definitely deserve their spot in the finale. - Daphne: Yeah.
- Whoa! - What?
- What are those? - What?
- Welcome back, guys. - What's going on?
- I feel really excited
Because I'm the only girl left. That means I'm the queen.
And I'm trying to prove that I deserve a spot in the finale.
Like, girl power.
- What are these? - I'm scared.
These boys are good, but not as good as me.
Right, welcome, everyone,
To the semifinal of "masterchef junior."
- Yes! - So cool.
- Let's go! - Now, there are just four of you left.
And after tonight, we're going down to three.
That's right. A spot in the finale is on the line.
Aarón: And you know what that means, guys?
One of you four is gonna win the whole thing.
The trophy, $100,000, and of course, the title of masterchef junior.
- So cool. - Amazing.
Gordon: But listen up.
Before we get into tonight's challenge,
I want to give you all a hands-on food demonstration.
- Yes. - Let's go.
- And you're all gonna do it with me. - Uh-oh.
You're gonna follow my lead and do everything I do.
Do this well, and it will set yourself up
For success in tonight's big challenge.
- Oh. - Shall we?
Ooh! I'm so excited that chef ramsay is doing a demo.
This has to be a dream.
Now, we're gonna work together
With what's ever under these cloches.
- Which one shall I choose? - The middle one.
- That one. That one. - Hold on.
- That one! That one! That one! - Too much yelling. I'll decide.
- Duck, duck... - Duck.
- Goose? - Goose! Oh.
- It's a duck. - I was right the first time.
- It's a duck. - Yes! I love duck.
I'm gonna show you how to break down a duck perfectly,
And you're gonna do it with me every step of the way.
Right, head to your stations. Let's go.
- Come on, guys. - I can't wait to do this
Because we raise ducks at my house,
And once they get big enough, me and my dad butcher them.
Well, actually, I've never butchered a duck,
But always watched my dad, because I'm a little too scared.
Right, first thing. Pick up the chopping knife.
A little sharpen. Razor sharp.
Start with the base here. Come away, back down.
- Come away, back down. - Yes, chef.
That's it. There you go. Down and back. Down and back.
Right, that's it. Nice and slow.
- The speed will come. - Yes, chef.
Right, down. Okay, pick up your ducks. Six o'clock.
The breast side towards your tummy, yeah?
Follow along, guys. You gotta get it off the board. Come on.
- Ah! - Take your towel, and just dry that duck off.
This will stop the duck from slipping off the board.
- Yes, chef. - Now, first off, we'll take the wing tips.
Go to the end, come through like that,
And literally let the knife do the work.
Two wing tips. It's gotta be perfect, guys.
- Got it. - Daphne: Seeing kids this young
Working with knives like this is really extraordinary.
- It's so impressive. - Come on, now.
You with me? After that, we come back to the thighs.
Just pierce the fat through and pull, okay?
- What? - I'm confused.
Watching chef gordon break down the duck is kind of hard
Because he's like the flash... Of cooking.
Open that up, and you can see now that beautiful thigh bone.
Up, pop that out, the tip of the knife underneath.
And literally take that off.
One thigh, one drum.
Remy looks a little confused right now.
Did I do it right? Wait, what did he do?
We got the drum, we got the thigh.
Right, from there-- you with me?
- Yeah? - Wait, wait. What?
Wait, I'm so confused.
I'm trying to figure it out, but gordon's just like,
"did you get that? Did you get that?"
I'm like, "huh? No, I didn't get it.
I'm on the tips of the..."
( babbling )
Same again with the other one.
Pop out the joint, come underneath,
And take that off. I want to hear the joint. Good, michael.
Aarón: Come on, remy, you can do this.
Just hit at the joint. Right at the knuckle.
- Is this the knuckle? - There you go.
Man, if they think this is hard, wait till later.
Now, we've got these beautiful thighs and the drums.
- Yes? - Yes, chef.
- Good, let's go. - Oh, my god.
You could be doing math quizzes.
I like them better.
- From there, place the duck over... - Jeez.
...Find the knuckle. Separating the drum and the thigh,
You just come through and let the knife do the work.
- Everybody feel that knuckle? - This is hard.
You got questions, guys, ask me.
- I'm confused. - Yeah, same.
- Okay, which part? - Um, with the thigh.
- Want me to show you again? - Yeah.
Listen up, guys, please. Listen up.
Turn that round. Feel the knuckle in there.
- Feel the knuckle? - Yes.
So it's a lot easier slicing through that than it is the bone.
So you get the knuckle, pull your finger out,
And then you slice through. And that's it then, yeah?
Feel that knuckle. You can do that one.
I feel like I'm like a surgeon,
'cause you have to get, like, almost perfect cuts.
- God, asher. - I know.
- It's absolutely terrifying. - Feel the knuckle?
- Yeah. - Good.
From there, the knife does the work easy, right?
- Yes, chef. - See? You do that one.
- Show me where that joint is in there. - Right here.
There you go. Off you go. Good boy.
- Did I do this one correctly? - You did, well done.
- And then I can't get this one. - I'm not grossed out at all.
I mean, it's sad to watch a duck get butchered,
But not when they're already dead.
- Got it. - Aarón: There you go. Good job.
- Nice work, remy. - Good. So, both legs are off. Look at me.
So far, we've got two wing tips, two legs and thighs.
- Yes, chef! - Now, from there, we get the duck base here.
Bryson, turn the duck round. Base to the tummy again.
Right. Here. The duck's here. No, other way round.
- No. That's upside-down. - Flip it, yeah?
- Bryson, see how this-- - no, no, no, no.
- Gordon: Flip here, bud. - Over. Top to bottom.
- Top to bottom. - Chef ramsay is going so fast,
I'm starting to have really-- just, like, brain farts.
- Turn that round towards you. - Oh, thank you.
There you go. Now, top of the knife.
Feel that breastbone there.
Use the tip, come down, lift the knife up,
And then through the wishbone, and just slice all the way through.
- Okay. - From there, watch me.
Then we hold the breast 'cause we gotta get
All that meat off the carcass.
- Got me? - Yes, chef.
If we don't peel that back,
All the meat's gonna stay on the carcass,
And we need these breasts, okay?
I think taking it slowly is what they need to do.
Because if you rush it, you're just gonna mess it up.
- Oh, ow. - Now, lift up the wing. See where the knuckle is?
And slice through there. Off.
Don't hack it. Let the knife do the work, guys.
If you destroy it now, you're not gonna get that perfect dish later.
- Yes, chef. - Look at the concentration on these kids' faces.
- There we go - perfect.
Michael looks really in control right now.
Michael: In the kitchen back home in florida,
My dad wants everything perfect,
So I'm used to following his lead.
So it's kind of like me following my dad,
And my dad being gordon, basically.
Now, I've got both breasts off.
And all we do here now is just literally, gently, trim the fat, okay?
- Yes. - Just trim them nicely.
Don't take too much off, guys,
'cause we're now in the expensive cuts.
- It looks good. - And there we have two wings,
Two drums, two thighs, and two beautiful breasts.
And that's how a true masterchef breaks down a duck perfectly.
Right, off you go, guys. 60 seconds to finish it off, guys. Let's go.
- Quick as you can. - There you go, remy.
- Gordon: Finish strong. - Nice.
- Gordon: All uniform. Let's go. - Let's go!
- Nice work, bryson. Very good. - Gordon: Come on, michael.
- Yes, chef. - Get it all on the tray.
- Perfect, okay. - Whoo!
- Come on. - Gordon: Here we go.
Aarón: That's it.
- Whew! Thanks. - Nice job, asher.
- Wow. - That was kind of hard.
It's a little harder than chicken, though.
Now, all of you, you'll need one of your duck breasts for what's coming next.
- Okay. - Clean up the rest of your stations. Let's go.
I know it's the semifinals and I know it's gonna be,
Like, one of the hardest challenges yet,
But I don't know what's actually happening
Because the judges look so scary for some reason,
'cause it's four of them going...
I don't know what's happening, but the suspense is killing me.
Okay, it's time to start the main event.
You're all fighting for a spot in the finale.
But there's still one thing standing in your way.
Well, one person, actually.
You are going to have to cook a duck dish
Alongside a true masterchef
With dozens of restaurants, and even world records.
Now, they're waiting backstage. Let me go and get them.
Excuse me.
- Who could it be? - I don't even know.
Is shaq coming?
He has a lot of world records.
Or I wonder if it's nick digiovanni.
- Who do you think it is? - It's nick. Could it be nick?
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
Next up, you are going to have to cook a duck dish
Alongside a true masterchef.
Now, they're waiting backstage. Let me go and get them.
Excuse me.
- Who do you think it is? - It's nick digiovanni.
- Who could it be? - Could it be nick?
Oh.
- That's right, it's me! - ( cheering )
There is one challenge in "masterchef" that every home cook fears.
Even the adults.
The challenge is to make one of my dad's signature dishes.
But you'll have to make it at the exact same time as chef gordon.
It's time for keeping up with gordon.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
I gotta keep up with chef gordon?
The number one? The goat? The best chef in the world?
I have to keep up with him? I'm only 11.
How am I supposed to do this?
You'll be keeping up with me
As we cook a stunning
- Duck á l'orange. - Wow.
Beautiful perfectly cooked duck with a crispy skin,
Orange sauce that you have to flambé,
Broccolini seasoned with chili flakes and garlic,
All on a bed of delicious caramelized endive.
- How amazing is that? - So cool.
This dish is probably, like, made in the 1800s.
That's how old it is.
And I don't even know what duck tastes like.
I don't know if it's good-- if it's bad if it's pink.
I don't know if it's supposed to be purple.
Now, I'm gonna show you exactly how it's done,
And if you want to make it into the finale,
- You cannot fall behind. - Let's go!
This isn't just about speed tonight,
It's about making a dish that looks and tastes exactly like mine.
- Yes, chef! - Oh, my goodness.
It was hard keeping up with chef ramsay
Breaking down the duck, so how am I supposed
To keep up with him doing this whole entire cook?
He has been cooking this dish for more than I've been alive.
Now, once I'm done and I've plated my duck dish,
All of you will have an extra 60 seconds to catch up.
- Is everybody ready for this? - Yes, chef.
- Dad, are you ready? - Tils, I was born ready.
Right, our time starts now.
Right, first off, get your best-looking duck breast,
Nice sharp knife, and use the tip of the knife,
And we're gonna criss-cross across that skin.
- Not into the flesh, just the fat of the duck. - Here we go.
- Okay? - Perfect.
Now, once that duck is scored,
Beautifully season with salt and pepper.
And we're gonna rub the pepper and the salt into the breast.
Seasoning is crucial. Let's go, guys.
And now, first pan, olive oil.
Just a teaspoon of oil into the pan.
Crank up the heat, and we lay away, fat side down.
- ( sizzling ) - that's the noise you want to hear.
And now we are moving. Right.
Come on, guys. Get your duck in the pan. Quick, quick.
- Come on, remy. - Now the hard part.
Asher! Skin side down.
- Oh. - Fat side down.
Now, the duck is rendering down.
And then, look at me, take your tongs,
Hold the breast, and pour some fat into the pan.
We're gonna start the sauce. Now we're working two pans.
From there, chop the "shallot."
- It's a "shall-it." - hey, young lady, look at me.
Quit messing around and focus on your job.
Oh.
Look at me. Cut that in half.
Down, along, through,
- And then beautifully, finally chopped. - Ah.
Remy really needs to focus, otherwise she's just gonna fall behind.
- Oh, my god. - Michael, well done.
- In with the shallots. - ( sizzling )
Hear that noise? Beautiful.
Shallots plus butter equals flavor.
- Perfect. - Good, michael.
Well done, asher. Come on.
- Come on, remy, you can do this. - Bryson, good boy.
Oh, yeah, look at that.
Let's go, remy. Wakey-wakey, girl.
Aarón: You gotta get moving. Please don't fall behind.
Remy: Dang it.
Let's go, remy. Wakey-wakey, girl.
- Dang it. - I didn't think it was gonna be this hard.
It's really hard keeping up with chef gordon.
And now for the sauce. Take two cloves of garlic.
- Two of them. - And slice them thinly.
Garlic in with the shallots. Now, caramelize those shallots.
We're working two pans. We got the duck.
We got the sauce. Okay? Let's go.
Come on, remy. You can do this.
I'm a little bit behind right now,
But I just need to take a deep breath
Because I need that spot in the finale.
So I'm not playing, I'm slaying.
That's enough, now. That's enough. Get it in.
- Yes, chef. - Good girl.
Right, get your tongs, flip over your duck,
And make sure you get a really nice caramelization.
Okay, I got it. Good!
I feel like a lucky duck
Because I've cooked a duck many times,
And I think I'm probably the only one who's cooked duck before here.
Once it's seared, roll it back round fat side down. And in the oven it goes.
- Let's go, guys. - Open oven!
- Open oven!
- Keep up with me. Let's go, guys. - Fat side down.
The duck is so important on this dish
Because that's like the hero of the plate.
Okay, that's good.
And chef ramsay is so particular about the cook on this duck.
Now, let's focus on the sauce.
Shallots caramelized, garlic caramelized.
Now, we're gonna start the flambé. Heard?
- Yes, chef! - Get your cognac. Please be careful.
Watch. In and tilt. And flambé.
Walk away, let the alcohol burn off.
- Let's go! - Whoa, whoa, michael.
- This is so intense. - Oh, gosh.
Come on, guys. Keep up with me.
- Let's go, let's go, let's go. - Mine's not doing it.
- Do the whole thing. - Whole thing.
All of it, step back. That's it.
Tilt your pan. Good boy. Finally, we are moving.
Right, want to go in with our orange juice.
This is the start of the duck á l'orange.
Orange juice in. Give that a mix.
- Whole thing? - Two thirds of what you've got.
All right, let's do this.
Right, now we're gonna start the endive.
Take your endive, take the base, and cut an inch off.
Open them up. We want the nice big leaves of endive.
That's what's gonna formulate that beautiful star
- Around the outside of the plate. - Got it.
Asher is still trying to get his off the stem.
( groans ) oh, darn it.
He forgot to trim the bottom off of the endive,
So he's trying to rip these leaves off, and part of the issue
Is that it has to look like gordon's dish, not just tasting like it.
Let's go, asher. Open them up.
- Come on. - Right. Salt, pepper.
- Yes, chef. - After that, powdered sugar. Lightly dusting.
That takes the bitterness out of the endive.
- Heard? - Yes, chef!
From there, olive oil over.
Asher is really starting to fall behind.
- Balsamic vinegar, over. - Yes, chef!
But, michael, he is in the zone.
- Look at his focus. - Olive oil and then some...
I am literally multitasking on a new level.
How is the orange juice? Is it reducing down?
Yes, chef!
It is so fun and so cool and scary,
But I'm learning a lot of things, too.
Now, take your chicken stock and add that to your sauce.
And we reduce that down. Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Endive, sauce, the duck's in the oven.
Chef gordon is going as fast as he goes with adults.
- Daphne: A hundred percent. - Gordon: Let's go, asher.
Now we're gonna start with the broccolini.
Olive oil into the pan. Two cloves of garlic.
- Yes, chef! - Under the knife and crush.
In we go. Broccolini into the pan.
- Heard? - Yes, chef!
- Keep it going, guys. - Daphne: Don't slow down, you guys. Keep it up.
- Mmm, beautiful. - Now season with a little touch of chili flakes.
- Yes, chef! - So, we got the sauce working.
We got the broccolini. Let's check our duck.
Look at that. Nice and pink. Probably up to medium rare now.
And let it sit and rest, okay? Really important.
- Oven open! - Oven open!
Aarón: Come on, there you go, michael!
Daphne: You know, I don't think asher's duck
Was in the oven for very long. This is the problem.
When you miss one step and then you can't follow along with the rest,
It leaves you totally out in the weeds.
Duck is resting, sauce reducing, broccolini sautéing.
- Yes, chef! - It's a lot to keep track of.
Let's go. Give them a little toss. These pans are hot, guys.
Be careful. You don't want anything to burn.
- Yes, chef! - Exactly right.
On we go now for our third pan.
We're gonna start the endive.
Olive oil into the pan. Heard?
- Yes, chef! - Let's go! Sauté your endive!
- Speed up, let's go. - Yes, chef.
Well done, remy. Well done, michael.
Bryson, in, in, in! Let's go!
- Oh, my goodness. - Chef ramsay is going so fast.
Three pans, all working at the same time.
And it's really, really hard to manage three pans
In only a little bit of time.
So I feel a lot of pressure right now.
Daphne: Bryson's not remembering to shake any of his pans.
- Shake the pans. Shake the pans. - This-- this thing?
- This? - Pans. Endive, broccolini. And turn, and turn.
Let's go! There you go.
I feel like everybody is keeping up with chef gordon,
But I am falling behind right now, and I am very worried.
Oh, bryson's vegetables are up in smoke right now.
- Oh, no! - Bryson, turn down the flame a little bit.
- Oh, wait. - It's not going well for me.
- Oh, no. - Come on, bryson! Keep up with me.
- Let's go, guys. - Oh, no!
- Bryson, turn down the flame a little bit. - Oh, wait.
My veggies are burnt. Like, this is not good.
- Whoo! - Bryson!
- Turn! - Yes, chef!
But I need to hurry up. I gotta do this right.
- Nice, bryson. - Wow, bryson.
- Way you go! - Bryson, there you go!
We are on the home straight.
Remy's sauce, it looks like it's been reducing down.
- What the heck? - The shallots themselves look a little bit burnt.
- Tilly: Oh, no. - So we'll see what happens.
And now, the exciting part for the sauce.
Get your orange and zest into your sauce.
- Yes, chef! - Remember, it's a duck á l'orange.
- Perfect, okay. - Let's go. In, in, in.
Next, we're gonna get the orange, we're gonna top-and-tail it.
And we're gonna get the segments of that orange, yes?
- Yes, chef! - Well done.
Now from there, bend the knife around the orange.
Look at me, michael. Not like that. Round.
Where the pith ends, that's where you start.
I want six segments of orange on the plate.
- Yes, chef! - ( sighs )
Gordon: And just peel back the layers each and every time.
One, two, three, four, five.
The orange segments are gonna be for the final part of the sauce.
Okay, this is very hard.
And now we're gonna finish the sauce off.
Get your sieve, and then you strain your sauce through that sieve.
- Speed up, let's go. - Where's the strainer?
- Keep it going, yes? - Yes, chef!
What do you do with the shallots?
Throw them away. You've got the essence there.
Right, look at me. To finish the sauce,
The segments go into the sauce.
- Gordon, what did we put in the sauce? - Orange segments.
- Orange? - Duck á l'orange.
Now, taste your sauce.
Mmm. Correct the seasoning. Make sure it tastes of orange.
- Make sure it tastes of what? - Orange!
- I can't hear you! - Orange!
- What's the dish called? - Duck--
- Asher: Duck endive! - It sounds, like, very french.
Duck á l'orange. Chef gordon says it very good.
This is duck á l'orange, guys.
I don't even know how to say it. It's just, like, so fancy.
- What's the dish called? - Duck "or-lee-anh!"
I can't even pronounce it. I can say the "duck" part and the "orange" part,
But not whatever's in between those two things.
And, finally, we're gonna start plating.
- What's the dish called? - Duck á l'orange!
- Thank you, let's go!
First, make a beautiful clock face with your endive.
- 12:00. And then we go to 1:00. All the way round. - How many leaves do we add?
- 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 12. - Thank you, asher. Good boy.
And then from there, broccolini into the center.
Lift your duck up and sit that on top of your broccolini.
- Heard? Well done, asher. - Yes, chef!
- Take your... - Asher's made up a ton of time.
- I'm very impressed. - ...Orange segments around the outside,
And just drop the orange in between that endive.
- Bryson? - Yes, chef.
Start plating, young man.
Put the tray down and work with both hands.
Bryson doesn't have his vegetables off yet,
So he's not following along with the plating.
- Ah, dang it. - Sauce round the outside.
And then finally, take your aged balsamic vinegar and then drizzle round.
And there we have our beautiful duck á l'orange.
- Your 60 seconds starts now. - Yep.
- Let's go, guys. Quick. - Oh, goodness.
- Bryson, put it down and work two hands. - Yes, chef.
Tilly: Bryson's looking really flustered now. Is he gonna finish?
- I can't watch. - I know.
Let's go. 30 seconds to go.
Gordon, where do I put the sauce? Just around?
- Around! - Orange segments. Don't forget those.
Whew. Done.
- Asher, sauce? - Yeah.
- Aged balsamic vinegar, is it on? - Yep.
Gordon: 15 seconds to go. Let's go, bryson.
- Use the tongs! - Yes, chef!
Gordon: Keep it going, guys. Come on, bryson.
- This is not good. - Gordon: Let's go, michael.
- Balsamic vinegar. - Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- Yes, chef. - Ten...
- Oh, man. - Oh, my goodness.
- Perfect. - ...Seven, six, five,
Four, three, two, one!
Gordon: And stop! Hands in the air.
Well done, everyone. What a journey.
- Nice job. - It just looks terrible.
My plate looks like it just got thrown together.
It went through, like, a hurricane.
- ( sniffling ) - dude, you're good. You're good.
- You're good, dude. - ( crying )
Don't cry. Please don't cry, please don't cry. You're good.
- Yours looks great. - You're good, you're good.
- ( crying ) - you're good, you're good.
- Bryson, you did amazing. - Bryson, you're good.
- That duck looks amazing, bro. - Look at that.
- That duck looks amazing. - The rest of the plate looks terrible.
- You're good, dude. You're good. - No, it doesn't.
I don't want to let my family down.
I don't want to let my dad down.
And I am praying for a miracle right now.
Well done. All of you, give yourselves a round of applause, come on.
Your task tonight was to cook along with me
And make a dish that looks
And tastes exactly like mine.
Chef gordon's dish looks perfect.
Now it's time to see how yours measure up.
Right, first up, remy.
I'm really proud of myself.
I kept up with chef gordon.
But the duck is the star of the plate,
And if it's not medium rare like gordon likes it,
I'm going home.
First of all, how are you feeling?
Okay. It's not my best work,
But I feel like it's pretty good compared to you.
Gordon: Okay, visually, daphne, what do you think?
The fact that you got all the elements on the plate is impressive.
But I think your orange segments melted into your sauce,
Which is why we're not seeing them nice and present
And plump the way they are on chef gordon's plate.
But I think you have a lot going on here that is amazing.
Thank you.
Okay, now, temperature of the duck.
- What do you think it is? - Medium rare.
Medium rare? Let's have a look.
Aarón: Very nice.
- Beautiful, remy. - Thank you.
Right, remy, the duck's cooked beautifully.
But what I love more than anything is the skin is nice and crispy,
So you rendered that fat beautifully.
But it does need more orange sauce.
That's why it's called a duck á l'orange.
However, you've really nailed the duck. Well done.
- Thank you. - I also think you nailed the endive.
- It was delicious. - Caramelized beautifully, sweet, a little bit tangy.
The sauce is a little clunky,
But a lot to be proud of on this plate.
- Thank you. - Remy, I do think--
Maybe I just had a bigger bit of broccolini, but mine was quite crunchy.
I can see it's got good color. However, the stalk of it was a bit hard for me.
But I think you did a great job considering you had to work very quickly.
- Thank you. - Remy, you're in luck,
Because you know how to cook duck.
Let me tell you, the duck is the real star here,
And you treated it with a lot of love.
You paid attention to chef gordon,
And it really shows in the result there.
- Good job. - Thank you, chef.
Thank you, remy. Back to your station please, darling. Good job.
- Michael: Nice job, remy. - Good job, remy.
Thank you.
All right, michael,
Will you please bring us your dish?
My dish looks kind of similar,
Maybe a lot similar to gordon ramsay's dish.
I just hope that all the flavors are there and it's amazing.
Okay, what a ride. How are you feeling, more importantly?
- Uh, really good that I can keep up with you. - Yeah, highly commendable.
Right, aarón, visually, what do you think?
Aarón: Michael, there's so many good attributes to your dish.
It's the closest one that I've seen to chef gordon's,
- And that's a feat in itself. - Thank you.
Right, let's hope it tastes like mine.
Moment of truth.
- Mid-rare? - Yes, chef.
It is absolutely mid-rare.
How long did you let the duck rest for?
Michael: Like, five minutes.
Did it come out of the oven at the same time as mine?
Yes, chef.
Listen, young man, good news. It's delicious, right?
The duck is cooked beautifully. It's pink, it's crisp.
It's seasoned beautifully. I'm proud of you.
But just the concentration, it's exactly what chefs need.
Cook with the ears wide open, eyes watching left and right.
- Great job. - Thank you.
Man, michael, there's so much flavor in this.
You can't get away from how juicy that duck is.
I'm looking at it right now, and I need sunglasses
'cause it's still shining.
I'm so proud of you. Good job.
Michael, phenomenal work. The broccolini was nailed.
It's tender, but it has nice crispy bits there.
I would have liked a tiny bit more caramelization on the endives,
Just because everything else on this plate
Has such a rich balance of flavors, but really nice work.
- Thank you. - Thank you, michael.
- This guy is so dialed in. Come on. - He's so focused.
- So amazing. - Thank you.
- Good job, michael. - Thank you.
The next dish we'd like to taste is bryson, please.
- Bryson, how are you feeling? - I feel okay with it.
It doesn't look as good as yours.
Time at the end got away from me.
It just looks very sloppy.
- Remind me how old you are again. - 11.
- Do you know what I was doing at 11? - Hmm?
Kicking a soccer ball.
So just remember what you've done,
Even if it's the last time you cook in this kitchen tonight.
Whatever happens, you've got to hold your head up high.
Now, visually, you can see that it's a little bit out of control.
- Bryson: Mm-hmm. - But the duck looks beautiful.
- Bryson: Thank you. - And where's your sauce?
I didn't know you had to put it around the plate,
But it's on the duck right now.
Right, so whenever you get something really nice and crispy,
What you never do is then go and put a sauce on top. Why?
- Because then it gets not as crispy. - That's right. Shall we?
Nice.
- Okay, young man, the good news is the duck is beautiful. - Thank you.
Surprisingly, skin is crispy. Seasoned to perfection.
Now, for the bad news. The broccolini is hammered.
It is so crispy, it's charred.
But understand that no matter what happens tonight,
- You cooked the duck beautifully. - Thank you.
Your endive was really delicious.
It was nicely colored,
And you managed to get the bitterness out of it.
- Good job. - Daphne: Bryson, I think
There's a lot of newness on this plate, right?
You never cooked with duck. You never cooked with endive.
And yet, in 25 minutes,
You turned out a dish keeping up with chef gordon.
I think the star on this plate, and, thankfully,
It's the most important piece, is the duck.
And the duck is golden brown and crisp
And absolutely delicious. Well done.
- Bryson: Thank you. - Thank you, bryson.
Yeah, what a shame. I'd rather he didn't put the charred broccolini on the plate.
- Yeah. - You did so good.
The final dish that we'd like to taste is from asher.
This is probably the fanciest dish I've ever made,
And I'm super happy.
Young man, how would you describe those last 25 minutes?
- Fun and challenging. - Absolutely.
Right, visually, it looks good.
But it is missing the orange sauce around the plate
And the orange segments.
What's the name of the dish?
- Duck á l'orange. - That's right.
And so it can never be a duck á l'orange
Unless you got the orange on there.
And what made me a little bit nervous,
The fact that you were the first to finish.
You still had 15 seconds to go.
And you were standing there with hands in the air,
But there was no orange sauce on the plate. Why?
I didn't realize there was oranges on there.
It's such a shame you didn't hear me when I said put the oranges on, huh?
Now, the moment of truth.
What temperature have you gone for the duck?
I'm hoping it's a medium rare.
It looks like it may be a little tad under.
Right, asher, what temperature have you gone for the duck?
I'm hoping it's a medium rare.
Let's see.
Oh, man. It's a little bit under.
And what you can see here, there's a white line of fat
Which hasn't been rendered down.
So that means the duck hasn't sat long enough on the fat.
It's a shame, 'cause the top of the duck is crispy.
Now, you know the duck needed another two minutes, right?
What you have done right there is the amount of chili flakes
With your broccolini is absolutely spot-on.
But I'm missing the oranges and the orange sauce.
It's such a shame.
Asher, the only thing with the duck
Is when it's not rendered properly,
It can become quite chewy and quite difficult to eat.
But your endive is cooked very nicely.
- You did very, very well. - Thank you.
Your competitors were able to nail the duck, which is the star.
And that's a shame, because everything else,
I think, is rocking and rolling.
You know, just the duck is more visible
Because they cooked three great ducks behind you.
Thank you, asher.
( sighs )
- I did horrible. - Good job.
Come on. You did a good job.
- Horrible. - Good job. Good job. Very good, asher.
- All of you, well done. - Thank you.
You have given us a lot to discuss.
Please make your way round to the front,
And we'll be back shortly. Shall we?
Good job. Asher, you did really good. Good job.
Okay, so unfortunately there were two home cooks who really got flustered.
- It really got away from them. - Bryson.
- Daphne: Bryson and asher, both. - Aarón: I agree.
But, bryson, he nailed the hard part.
He managed to cook that duck perfectly.
And he did get the other ingredients on the plate,
And they did all taste very well.
It was just such a shame about that broccolini.
If you want to talk about one of the cooks
That had fundamental issues, I think it's asher.
Tilly: Right, two of the main components,
The duck and the á l'orange sauce, weren't what we wanted.
100%. And it wasn't even that he ran out of time.
Gordon: Right, but visually, asher's was very close.
Guys, only three of them are moving into the finale.
We gotta decide who's going home. It's a tough one.
Do we go with the dish that looked closest to mine
But undercooked the duck or the one with the messy plate
- But nailed the duck? - I'm scared.
- All agreed? Yeah. - Aarón: Yeah.
- Tough one. - Yeah.
First of all, that was an extraordinary cook.
No matter what happens with the results tonight,
Honestly, all four of us are incredibly proud of all four of you.
Now, we all thought that tonight
One dish in particular was a cut above the rest,
And they've catapulted themselves into the finale.
Congratulations goes to...
Michael.
Young man, the dish was flawless.
It looked and tasted closest to my dish.
But I think what we all were excited about
Is that if you can cook like this whilst following me,
What you can achieve in the finale
- Is gonna be incredible. - Thank you.
Now, head up to the balcony
And start thinking about your dishes for the finale.
- Yes, chef. - Well done.
- Thank you. - Nice job, michael.
Yes, I won!
I'm advancing to the finale
And have a one-third chance
Of being the next masterchef junior!
And I am so excited.
Gordon: Extraordinary.
The next talented young home cook
Joining michael in the finale,
Congratulations goes to...
- Remy. Well done. - Thank you.
- How are you feeling? - Really, really, really, really, really, really good.
Would you like to do that all over again?
- No. - No?
Congrats. Make your way up to the top.
- Well done. - Good job, remy.
Asher, bryson, two phenomenal young cooks.
This has been an incredibly close decision.
The final individual joining michael and remy into the finale,
Congratulations goes to...
Bryson.
Young man, the duck was exceptional.
The plating was a mess, but it was more than enough
To get yourself into the finale.
Please say good-bye to asher
And make your way up to the balcony.
- Good job. - Thanks, bryson.
I'm in the finale! I'm so excited!
I have a really huge chance of winning masterche--
The next-- uh-- okay.
I'm so excited, I can't even get my words out.
I have a really high chance of becoming the next--
America's next masterchef junior.
Gordon: Well done, bryson.
Oh, asher, young man,
Unfortunately the duck was undercooked
And there was no duck á l'orange sauce on the plate.
But you've got to keep your head up high.
Eight years of age and cooks like a pro.
Young man, we've had a blast. Have you had a blast?
Yeah. It has been amazing, fun,
Meeting all these amazing people.
Asher, you always bring so much energy
And excitement into the is kitchen.
You know, from day one you came in
With this delicious surf 'n' turf.
And then that campfire sundae? Whew.
Definitely keep cooking, and send us those recipes.
- Thank you. - Asher, the way you talk about food,
The passion you bring to food,
The fact that you were the first one to eat the ingredient
That was your "hate on the plate."
You were like, "yeah, let's go.
Let's eat some anchovies right out of the can."
It just shows a great amount of courage and fun
And the true love that you have of food,
Which is the thing that will carry you the furthest.
I'm so proud to see how far you've come.
And the fact you're only eight
And crushing it like you have is incredible.
Mate, come over here. Come on, give us a hug.
Oh, bud, I'm gonna miss you, my man.
I'm so proud of myself. When I first came into the masterchef kitchen,
I was a good cook.
The halibut's cooked beautifully.
It's one of the most difficult proteins tonight to cook,
So to slip that into the curry is genius.
But now I think I'm a gr-- amazing cook,
'cause all of the things I've learned
From gordon and the other judges.
It's vanilla and, uh, roasted marshmallow ice cream.
The ice cream is some of the best I've ever tasted.
Impressive stuff.
I'm never gonna stop cooking.
I'm gonna have cookbooks.
I'll even maybe have my own pop-up restaurant sometime.
Whew! Let's go!
My advice to the rest of the cooks here
Is to stay strong
And also to have fun.
High-five, man. Take care, my man. See you soon.
- Bye, asher! - Thank you, asher.
- Bye, asher! - Take care, bud.
- Wow! - Bye!
- Nice job, asher! - Take care, bud!
Bye!
And there we go. It is official.
Michael, remy, bryson,
You three have earned your spot in the grand finale.
- Yeah! - Whoo!
Well done, and the very best of luck.
Question is, which one of you
Is gonna become america's next masterchef junior?
We'll find out soon enough.
- We did it. - We made it.
Yeah, we made it. You know what's funny?
- The first challenge. - The first challenge, this is the same.
- First challenge. - Yeah, our fourth time up here together.
Gordon: Next time, the "masterchef junior" grand finale begins...
Tonight, we'll see which one of these talented kids will be returning home
As america's next masterchef junior.
...As the top three junior home cooks battle to win the title...
- Come on, michael! - ...The trophy...
- The competition has never been stiffer. - ...And $100,000.
All three of them are taking such big risks tonight.
So she's gotta be careful. She might burn herself.
Your flavors are powerful. This is summer on a plate.
What you have here is a beautiful expression of crab,
And finesse is just out of this world.