Gordon: Previously on "masterchef junior"...
- Oh, my gosh. - This is amazing.
'tis I, sir yells a lot.
Today, we'll test your ability to make food
for a crowd of royalty.
- Does everyone know what they're doing? - All: Yes.
A'dan: Team captain, what do we need to do?
Do you want me to be team captain?
I can get everybody organized.
I need someone that'll bring this team to a victory.
- Who's the captain now? - Do we have any more rice?
- Jillian: No, not yet. - We've run out of rice?
- I'm still cooking it. - Oh, boy.
You gotta recover from this.
One of you is leaving the competition this evening.
Jillian.
Bye.
Tonight, a special guest joins the kitchen...
Please welcome my daughter tilly!
I'm here to introduce
one of our favorite things to eat together-- donuts.
...For a sweet immunity challenge.
- That's a lot of donuts. - What do you think of american boys?
You're here to cook, not flirt.
- Do you smell that? - And it's a mystery box elimination challenge...
- Whew! - ...That really stinks.
One, two, three!
- ( screams ) - this is so awesome.
You need to cook as if it's the last time you cook in this kitchen.
- Tonight is extra special. - Oh, yes.
- Indeed. - Yes.
Welcome back, guys. Let's go!
I'm one of the top 13 junior home cooks in america.
That feels really, really good.
If I were back home in darien, connecticut, right now,
I'd be probably at school. This is much better.
Don't tell my teacher.
You are the top 13 most talented
young home cooks across all america!
In our kitchen, we treat you like
we would literally treat our own kids.
Trust me, you'll become much better chefs
and people because of it.
If you don't believe me,
tonight we have a very, very special guest
who's got a few things to say about my parenting skills.
Please welcome my daughter tilly!
( cheering )
- welcome back. - Thank you.
Good to see you.
I can't believe tilly ramsay's
actually in the masterchef kitchen.
She has a cook show and cookbooks. So cool.
Now, who's excited to see tilly?
All: Me!
Oh, hello, everyone. It's so good to be here.
I'm here to introduce one of our favorite things to eat together.
- Ooh. - Hmm?
- What is it? - What is it?
- Donuts. - ( gasps )
- wow! - Oh, my--
- can we eat one? - Gordon: Oh, man!
Daphne: This is my kind of day.
Everyone, please run up here and grab a donut. Let's go!
- ( screaming ) - any one.
- I want-- - can we eat 'em?
Gordon: They are delicious, man.
- They're delicious. - Now, question, who likes donuts?
All: Me!
Tilly: Guys, donuts are great.
- Mm. - Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
But they always feel incomplete to me,
like they're missing the best part.
What's missing from a donut? They're practically perfect.
- The holes. - Oh. Oh, wait.
- That's right. - Put it in the middle.
- Put a donut hole in the middle. - Those holes are small,
but they're mighty, just like all of you.
So for today's challenge, you'll be making
a "hole" lot of donut holes.
- Ooh. - Whoo!
Now, we want you to make at least 50 donut holes.
And all of you will have to make two unique flavors.
The dough needs to be made absolutely perfectly, right?
And then you'll need to stack all 50 of your donut holes onto a beautiful tower.
And, guys, please don't forget about the decorating.
These donut holes have to taste delicious and look beautiful, too.
If this challenge gets the best of you, and it just might,
then you'll be facing elimination.
Tonight, you'll have just 60 minutes.
So, be smart, get creative.
The top three young home cooks that impress us the most
will earn immunity from elimination.
- Right, everybody ready? - All: Yes, chef!
Tilly, will you do the honors, please?
- Your time starts now! - Gordon: Let's go.
- Aarón: Yeah! - Daphne: No sugar crashes.
Move it. I don't have time for slow people.
- Move, move, move. - ( muttering )
lemon. A lot of lemons.
I'm going to make vanilla and coffee donut holes
with a lemon glaze because I love vanilla
and my family really likes coffee,
and when I cook, I like to represent my family.
Ugh! Why do they make these things so heavy?
I'm going to do raspberry donuts and cinnamon sugar donuts.
I'm feeling pretty nervous right now
because I'm not much of a baker,
so this is something new to me.
Gordon: Now, flavors-- tills, what would you go for?
I'd probably go lemon and vanilla.
- I love lemon. - Mmm, nice.
- Nice and fresh. - Traditional.
I think the most challenging part is sometimes I forget
to add things in, and when baking,
you really want to make sure
that you add everything that you need.
I think the hardest part is getting the really
round shape for the donut hole.
That is absolutely important.
I am making lemon donuts
with matcha glaze and hibiscus glaze.
Hibiscus, it goes well with citrus,
and matcha goes well with citrus.
Is the flavor more about, for you,
in the dough or in the frosting?
For me, it's in the frosting.
In the dough, you can stick vanilla extract
or fresh vanilla in there as well
and make that a little bit more fragrant.
But it's all in the frosting tonight,
how they actually finish these donut holes.
Aarón: The real challenge lies with the actual dough,
not just the frosting. Anyone can do that.
Daphne: Wow.
Now, starla is ten years old. She's from alabama.
- Yes. - Wow. So do you like to bake, starla?
I'm not really a baker.
- But you enjoy it, right? - I enjoy it, I do.
Good. Now tell us about the flavors. What flavors are you doing?
Today I'm gonna be doing nutmeg and sugar donut holes.
And I'm also going to be doing coconut.
- Wow. Why the coconut? - Because I love the beach.
Tilly's a big lover of the beach as well.
What kinds of things do you do on the beach, tills?
I love to surf. I love to just paddle.
I actually want to surf one day, but I haven't tried it yet.
Do you? It's difficult, but it's very fun.
You're not very good at surfing.
- I am no-- I am-- - he can't stand up.
Why you gotta do your dad like that? Come on.
- I'm just being honest. - Okay, I guess being honest is good, though.
Yes, you know that's important, right? Being honest.
- That is very important. - I have to get frying.
Maclain, the most stylish guy in the kitchen.
- Thank you. - What's shaking, buddy?
Talk to us a little bit about your flavored donuts.
So one flavor is going to be mayan chocolate.
- Ooh. - And the other flavor will be hazelnut
with crunchy hazelnut on top.
Yum. Finally some texture. That's what I'm talking about.
I like a little bit of a roll in the crushed nuts.
- That sounds delicious. - Thank you.
Are you leaving the cake vanilla flavored?
Yes, it's one batter.
So it's all gonna be about the toppings.
- Yes. Thank you. - Got it. Lots of luck.
So, today I am making coconut donuts
and maple with cinnamon sugar donuts.
I make breakfast at home a lot,
and I use a lot of stuff with maple in my breakfast,
so this really reminds me of home.
Freddy is 12 years of age from philadelphia.
- Ooh. - Freddy seems to have more cake batter on him
than in the mix. How does this happen, freddy?
- I don't know. - What are you doing?
You giving it a little trim and a haircut, yes?
- They have to be uniform. - They have to be uniform, you're absolutely right.
Now tell me about the flavor. What are you doing?
I'm gonna do chocolate and vanilla 'cause, like,
if you don't like one, you like the other one.
I'll do these while those ones cook away.
- Okay. Yes, chef. - Yes.
Now you got a question for tilly?
What do you think of american boys?
Well, I think they're very nice, freddy.
What's philadelphia like at this time of year?
Would you like to come over? I can show you.
Give you a-- give you a nice tour.
Freddy, I'm gonna talk to your father.
You're here to cook, not flirt.
- Focus, yes? - All right, freddy, good luck.
- Gordon: Good luck, young man. - Thanks.
- Can somebody help me? - What do you need? A whisk?
A whisk.
Thank you so much, a'dan.
I'll be making a vanilla glaze
and cinnamon sugar donut holes.
Well, making 50 donuts, that's really crazy.
I've never done anything like that before.
I mean, like, I've baked before, but not like this.
- Eva, you good? - Yes.
From sag harbor, new york. 11 years of age.
Amazing. What flavors are you going for today?
Today I'm making a rosewater and a lemon poppyseed.
- I love that. - Now, remind tilly of the food dream.
- What do you want to do when you grow up? - Well, I want to open
a three-star michelin restaurant just like you.
- Amazing. - I was thinking of calling it the little lemon.
- The little lemon? Like that name. - Ooh, I like that.
- I like that name. - Because I love lemons.
- Do you have a boyfriend? - No.
- Tilly does. - That's okay.
- Is she allowed? - Well, yeah, she's old enough.
- Tilly: Of course. - 17? No, 21, right?
How old were you when you had your first girlfriend?
- 35. Your mum. - No, you were not.
- I've only had one. Your mum. - That is not true.
- It is. - No, it's not.
Gordon: We've come to halfway.
- It's time to start glazing. - I gotta get these guys out.
Gordon: We are just over 30 minutes to go.
- Let's go! Speed up! - Oh, no.
Okay.
Gordon: Freddy is running behind, okay?
Way, way behind. He's still cooking.
At this stage, everything should be cooked.
Everything should be dusted and decorated.
He's not gonna have enough time to finish.
All right, freddy, come on.
Gordon: Start decorating those things, guys.
50 donuts minimum.
- I need to go fast. I need to go fast. - Let's go! Speed up!
This is ivy, our youngest in the competition.
Tell us about these glamorous donut holes.
Because they look expensive, girl.
You've got pearls all over them.
- I'm doing orange and strawberry. - Wow.
Amazing. You need to start assembling that.
Where's your tower? In the pantry?
You got to put that together.
- Let's go. Good luck. - Good luck.
Thank you!
Gordon: Guys, we're down to the last ten minutes, please, yes?
- This is the one. - Keep going, guys.
- All: Yes, chef! - Gordon: They're looking fantastic, right?
There are a few of them running behind.
If you're running behind, don't worry about the frosting.
- Dust them with sugar or cocoa powder. - Yes, exactly.
- Toss 'em in something. - Be smart.
Come on, freddy.
Guys, we're down to five minutes to go.
Got to start decorating now.
Daphne: If you're on the tower, let's get it all the way up.
Gordon: Spin the tower around so you get it nice and even.
And make sure you don't leave any space in between.
And make sure you don't eat anymore, freddy!
- Daphne: As fast as you can, you guys. - Aarón: Let's go, guys.
You can do it. Vas-y, vas-y, ándale!
- Come on, let's go! Ten! - Come on, come on, come on.
- Gosh. - Judges: Nine, eight, seven, six, five...
I need longer. I don't have time.
... Four, three, two, one.
- Gordon: And stop. - Aarón: Let's see hands in the air.
Gordon: Hands in the air.
I'm feeling not too good. I didn't finish the tower, but it looks tasty.
I'm feeling that this tower is messy,
but I think that the flavors
and the flavor combinations will get me through.
That was a tough task. Now it's time for all of us
to take a much closer look at those beautiful towers.
- So, you happy with that? - Yes, chef.
You are? Thank you.
So are you happy with the way they turned out?
I think the presentation could have gone a little bit better,
but overall, I think it went really well.
- Thank you. - Daphne: Hi, molly.
What flavors did you bake?
I actually had to do three.
Some cinnamon sugar, maple cinnamon sugar, and I have coconut.
Okay, a triple threat. So we know you're the grill master.
Now we're gonna find out if you're the fry master also.
- I hope I am. - Tilly: Hello, liya.
- Hi. - So what did you make?
A matcha green tea with green sugar sprinkles.
I kind of made this because I feel like it kind of shows my culture.
'cause, like, hazelnut and sugar is usually on asian dish,
so I feel like it just brings my culture out.
Gordon: Okay.
Andrew, what are these little bits
in the middle here? What have you done?
Those are dried hibiscus. Those are just for garnish.
- Why did you put them in there? - To cover up a few holes I had.
Got you. Now a tower needs to be a pointed sort of shape at the end.
- Yours has gotten a little bit bulbous. - Yeah.
There.
And then stick that one on top so you got a tower on there, yes?
- Yeah, got one more-- - yummy.
Holy guacamole. The big question is
- where are they? - They're there.
No. Yummy, yummy, I've got donut holes in my tummy.
- Where are they? - Man, come on. I ate one.
- You did not eat one. - Whoa, wait.
Gordon: Let's just get one thing clear.
It leaves something to be desired, yes?
- Yes, chef. - Okay. You got a little bit of donut here.
- Right there. There you go. Thank you. - Thanks.
Right, well done, all of you. That was a tough challenge.
But unfortunately, there are only three spots up on that balcony
for immunity this evening.
Now, some of the towers tonight unfortunately did miss their mark.
But there were also a lot of good towers this evening.
And we want to take a closer look at those.
Please step forward...
Eva.
All: Good job, eva.
Eva: Today I have made for you
one lemon poppyseed donut
and one rosewater donut.
The donuts look beautiful and I do like that you made
one a little bit more of a clear glaze
and one a little bit more of an opaque white glaze.
Gordon: Shall we?
The frosting on these donuts is a total winner
because it's nice and light and it's fresh.
You put lemon zest in that frosting as well?
- I did. - Really excellent effort here.
I really like the rosewater ones. I think what you did really well
is you didn't put too much rose in 'cause it can be very overpowering.
- Did the perfect amount. - Thank you.
You're on the back of the team challenge.
It's so good to see you bounce back.
- Good job. Well done, young lady. - Thank you.
All: Good job, eva.
- Starla. - Whoo!
Gordon: I love the lightness. The coconut worked beautifully.
- Thank you, chef. - One of the most attractive towers this evening.
And it's the kind of thing I'd see is a pastry shop in paris for christmas.
- Oh! - Maclain.
Daphne: The donut dough itself is a little bit tight,
but the glaze more than makes up for that.
You might have found a winner.
Grayson.
Aarón: Black sesame, blackberry, and thyme. I just love it.
- So great job. - Gordon: Good job, young man.
- Thank you. - Good job, grayson.
- Ivy. - All: Whoo!
- Good job, ivy. - Be careful. Be careful.
- It weighs more than you. - Don't drop it.
Be careful, ivy.
Ease this way. Good girl. Well done.
Describe your tower, please.
I made strawberry and orange donuts
with a bunch of sprinkles on top.
Gordon: It looks beautiful, yeah. It's glamorous.
I think that's one of the most glamorous ones we've seen this evening.
The only thing I would change on there
is I'd get the colors popping a little bit more differently,
so we can identify the flavors instantly before guessing them.
Shall we? And mr. Sanchez can pick one.
There you go. Always the biggest.
- He's crazy. - You should have took the one at the top.
That's the orange one. It's really big.
You want me to take the one at the top, honey?
- Okay, sure. - Yeah, 'cause it's really big.
It's really big? Great.
That's what I need. Thank you, honey.
I appreciate it. You're so generous.
See that?
Mmm. You chopped strawberries up in the batter?
Strawberry chopped up and then, like, you kinda, like, blend it in.
Wow. Never seen chopped strawberries in the batter like that before.
I actually like the flavor of the strawberry in there.
And I think tonight, you're the only one so far
that's got the actual batter so aerated it is incredibly light.
The lightest donut we've had tonight.
I agree. I really liked how light they were as well.
And I think the strawberry was really good.
Something I loved, you let the dough cook long enough
that there's a real caramel texture on the top of it.
Really great cook on these. It's really good.
Thank you.
All: Good job, ivy.
Wow, what an incredible tasting. Well done.
All of you, please, give us a moment.
We got some very serious deliberation to take place.
Excuse us, please.
Uh, amazing. I mean, some great combinations first off, yeah.
- Oh, wow. - Indeed.
Gordon: Also I think it comes down to the way
- they executed the dough. - Mm-hmm.
And the combinations of flavors as well.
- Did they work together? - We have three outstanding ones, you happy?
- I am happy. - Yeah. Indeed.
- Let's go. - Ladies, gents.
Trust me, tonight we experienced many good towers out there, let me tell you that.
But the four of us thought that there were three
in particular that really stood out.
So when I call your name, please make your way up
to the safety of the balcony.
Congratulations goes to...
Eva,
- ivy... - Whoo!
- ...Starla. - Good job, starla.
Well done.
I can't believe that I'm one of the ones
who are immune for the next elimination.
Top three for me!
Now, somebody right now has to fly back to England.
I'd like you all to join me in saying a big thank you
and a good-bye to tilly ramsay.
All: Bye!
- Thank you, guys. - Thank you.
- Good luck, everyone. - All: Bye!
- Good-bye, tilly. - Call me.
Right, as the rest of you get your heads up
and come back even stronger.
Right now I'd like all of you to head into the library
and put on those black aprons.
It's time for your elimination challenge. Let's go.
I'm a little bummed 'cause this is my first elimination challenge.
I hoped I'd never have to wear one of these.
Right, guys, come on in, please.
It's time for your mystery box challenge. This is a big one.
I've never, ever seen a mystery box this big before.
I don't want to face an elimination challenge. Nobody does.
Gordon: It's time for your mystery box challenge.
( inhales )
phew, man.
Boy, it stinks. What is it? Aarón?
Oh, gee. Can you smell that? What is that?
I can't see what's in this box, but whew.
I can smell. Oh!
- Ugh! - ( coughing )
today might not be such an easy challenge.
- What is that? - Ew!
- It's disgusting! - Oh, my god!
Well, there's only one way to say this, guys.
- This stinks. - Yes.
You didn't win immunity in the last challenge.
And tonight you're all facing elimination, so listen carefully.
At least one of you, sadly, will be going home.
And that will be determined by how well you handle
whatever is under that mystery box in front of you right now.
Gordon: On the count of three,
lift those boxes.
One, two, three.
( screaming )
- what the heck is that? - Cool.
- What? - What is this?
( wretching )
there in that box you have a giant monkfish,
durian, sweet breads,
which are a veal's thymus gland,
octopus, epoisses cheese,
crickets, and frog's legs.
( all groaning )
grayson: They look like miniature human legs.
I know that these ingredients in front of you
are slightly weird, scary, ugly, smelly,
but they can be transformed into something...
Delicious.
Now it's your turn to take those ugly, stinky ingredients
and turn them into something stunning.
Daphne: You will have one hour to make us a dish
highlighting at least one of those ugly, stinky ingredients.
And along with those stinky ingredients,
you will have access to a limited pantry
to help turn your dishes, I hope,
into fragrant works of art.
Right. Are you talented individuals ready?
- All: Yes, chef! - Let's have 60 minutes - on the clock, please.
And remember somebody has to leave at the end of this.
- Make sure it's not you. - All: Yes, chef!
Your 60 minutes start...
- Now. - ( grunting )
daphne: Good luck.
- You got this, guys. - Come on, guys.
- Where's the ginger? - Garlic. In the fridge.
So I have 60 minutes to prepare a perfect dish
with using a mystery ingredient...
I need chicken stock.
...So I decide to do a garlic thyme-roasted seared monkfish.
I've never cooked monkfish before,
and I've never eaten monkfish before.
Is there any asparagus?
But on the inside, it kind of looks like tilapia,
so I think I can really take this monkfish to the next level.
Unfortunately, one person has to leave.
- And I want to make sure that's not gonna be me. - Is this garlic?
I'm gonna do something most people don't know about.
Can you pass me the cilantro?
Like something called sweet bread.
You might think it's bread, but it's actually meat.
It's definitely not sweet, and it's definitely not bread.
And it looks like a liver. I have to think outside the box.
Outside of this smelly, icky box.
Okay, what am I supposed to do with this board?
An intimidating box, but there are some magical ingredients over there.
Can I tell you what's so crazy about this for me?
Looking at the kids' faces, they are more excited,
more confident, more passionate about this challenge
than any we've seen so far.
Their understanding of some of the ingredients, not all of them,
I think it's what's gonna push them to do something truly--
- sure. - Truly inventive and, I think, delicious as well.
I want to see things like the frog's legs, the octopus, the monkfish.
You know, the idea of the monkfish being also dubbed as "poor man's lobster,"
use that and then kind of maybe pair it with some sweet breads
and do a little bit of a surf and turf.
- Yeah. - Smart, really smart.
There are some options there for sure.
Frog's legs, for instance, you know I lived in paris
for three years and it's a staple there.
- Mm-hmm. - They are so delicious.
And kids at the age of eight, you know, can eat them
and cook with them easily. Taste some of those frog's legs. Yeah?
- Bleh! - Gordon: Taste a little bit of monkfish.
Use those ingredients to get educated, yes?
Liya, you're doing really well!
So I'm making roasted purple and orange cauliflower,
and I'm pureeing white cauliflower,
and then I'm frying sweet bread.
I'm excited to taste the sweet bread because I feel like
it's gonna taste like chicken like how frog's legs taste.
Or are they gonna taste like pork, so I'm excited to try them out.
Pressure cooker, pressure cooker, pressure cooker.
Good job, everyone.
Today I'm going to be making monkfish with fettuccine.
The ingredients are really gross,
and I've never tasted or eaten or cooked any of them.
I really want to challenge myself because this is an elimination challenge,
so it's go big or go home.
Ugh. Disgusting.
It's actually kinda, like, fun, like you--
I feel like we're watching, like, the real "masterchef," like on tv.
We are.
- Medic! - You okay, abir?
- ( gasps ) - gordon: Medic!
- Abir got cut. - Uh-oh.
- Medic! - Gordon: You okay, abir?
- ( gasps ) - gordon: Medic!
- Uh-oh. - Girl: Abir got cut.
Abir's kinda like paying close attention to the clock right now.
He doesn't want to lose any time.
Oh, god.
No, this cannot be happening right now.
I cannot afford to lose any more time.
- Poor abir. - Abir: So I'm gonna make sure
that this does not bother me for the rest of the cook.
- Need. - Gordon: Right, grayson.
Tough challenge tonight. First of all,
what ingredient are you using on that board?
The crickets are very earthy, so I'm gonna grind them.
- Gordon: Wow. - And then the octopus, I'm gonna braise them.
Natural combination. You've got that nicely.
We call it a terre and the mer.
So the terre, as in terroir, would be the soil.
And the mer being the sea, okay?
So you're not intimidated by the octopus.
- No, chef. - Now, don't forget.
Some seasoning, yes? Taste them as well, okay?
- Okay. Thank you. - Good luck, grayson, yes.
Eva: Your food's looking really good.
Oh, it smells amazing.
- Molly? - Yes.
What is happening with you today?
I decided to do monkey fish.
Monkfish, monkfish. But I like monkey fish. That's good, too.
Cool, so what are you gonna do with it?
I'm gonna pan sear it and then I'm going to do
a lemon aioli, and I also have a slaw.
So what are you using this pastry dough for?
I'm making muffins with it, so it's gonna kinda be like a burger.
Oh, interesting. Where is this inspiration coming from?
For breakfast, I like to make biscuits and gravy. It's delicious.
Oh, nice. So this is your signature biscuit dough?
- Oh, yeah. - Cool.
So now you know this is an elimination challenge.
- I do. - Is that why you're making bread from scratch trying to--
- oh, yeah. Impress you guys. - Show us what you--
- yes! Keep cooking, okay, honey? - Okay, I like it.
- All right, thank you. - Daphne: Okay, good stuff.
Speed up, a'dan. Let's go. Maclain, how are you feeling?
- Feeling good. - Tell me about the dish. What are you doing?
I'm making grilled octopus with baked sunchoke,
grilled tomatoes, and braised carrots.
Okay, so I'm not too sure that all those ingredients work.
Make sure you taste everything before you put it on a plate together.
- Mm-hmm. Okay. - Okay? Good luck.
It's hard to tell if anybody's going home.
- Hello. - Andrew, what's shaking, compadre?
I'm doing grilled octopus with a fresh herb salad
and a lime aioli with scallion pancakes.
- Scallion pancakes? - Oh, wow. This sounds cool.
I am korean. Scallion pancakes are an asian street food.
- And they're delicious. - I love scallion pancakes.
I am definitely kind of worried because I've tried to make a scallion pancake before,
- and it failed. - Andrew, I like that you're confronting your fears,
something that didn't necessarily go right.
You're gonna make it right. Make sure you chop that nice and thin, okay, buddy?
- Good luck, my man. - Thank you, chef.
- Eva: Half an hour left, guys. - Come on, come on, come on.
Come on, guys!
- Good job! - So I'll be making a monkfish
because it's something that's sort of-- I'm familiar with.
And you know, fish is easy to cook.
Well, I've never been in an elimination challenge before,
and I think I'm pretty prepared for this
because I'm gonna show the judges that I can use my skills
to cook all these amazing foods.
Come on, guys! You got this.
What are you making today, freddy?
I'm gonna make octopus. It's basically some fancy french salad.
I forgot the name of it though.
( sputters ) okay.
But I've seen it before and it looked and tasted good.
- Could it be nicoise? - Yeah.
- Nicoise. - Nicoise.
Nicoise. So you're gonna do a version of nicoise.
Instead of tuna, you're gonna substitute that with octopus, correct?
- Yeah, yes. - So you had this salad on a trip to France?
Is that it? Or somewhere here in the states?
- Somewhere in the states. - Got you.
I forgot the restaurant though. It was in philly.
- Well, yeah, everything's from philly. - Of course.
All good things come from philly.
You got a lot of mustard there. It could be very strong.
- Just be mindful, okay, buddy? - Get some out of here.
- You can always add more. - All right, good luck, freddy.
Gordon: 24 minutes remaining.
I love the hum of those pressure cookers.
It's quite soothing.
Well, let me tell you. They are not intimidated with these ingredients.
- No. - And they may be slightly startled to begin with,
but they are super excited.
So there are kids in here taking real risks, but doing it with real confidence.
- Gordon: Yeah. - Aarón: Ciara's making her pasta.
- Gordon: Yes. - Aarón: She's turning it right now.
- How cool is that. I love the confidence there. - Beautiful.
I'm glad to see her pushing herself like that.
- Yeah. - That's awesome.
The one I am concerned about, okay, maclain.
He's cooking tomatoes and he's doing sunchoke artichokes.
The artichokes don't go well with roasted tomatoes.
I think he's just putting a bunch of ingredients together and hope for the best.
- Yeah, exactly that. - That's not how you approach your box like this.
- No. - I haven't seen liya tasting as she goes.
The sweet breads are difficult to get right.
- Daphne: Yeah. - I think the sweetbreads can be
a big, big point of contention.
Gordon: Ten minutes to go! Let's go!
- Freddy, to blow your mind... - Please.
...He's making basically a traditional salad nicoise,
but instead of tuna, he's swapping out some braised octopus.
I think his lack of knowledge there with the salad nicoise can hurt him.
Oh, gosh. That bun's not gonna work.
I gotta tell you. I'm really proud of abir for powering through.
It is-- it's a bad cut, actually.
Knowing it's an elimination challenge, he has absolutely muscled through,
- not letting it get to him. - Gordon: No.
He's basically working one-handed at this point.
But I love his fight, his resiliency.
- His grit. - ( exhales deeply )
two minutes to go, guys. Come on, let's go.
Please start plating. Last two minutes.
- Aarón: Start plating, a'dan. - Right behind, right behind, right behind.
- It looks really bad. - Aarón: Let's go, ciara.
Daphne: Final minute. Freddy, I got to see you hustle back there.
Move, freddy.
- Looks really good, maclaine. - Thank you.
Gordon: Remember, somebody's leaving. Make sure it's not you.
- Come on! - Daphne: Stinky and smelly
transformed into something beautiful, delicious.
Gordon: 30 seconds to go! Move, freddy.
Cruz, make it nice. Let's go!
- Ten. - Judges: Nine, eight, seven...
- Come on, man. - Judges: ...Six, five, four,
- three, two, one. - Aarón: Hands in the air.
- Gordon: Well done. - Daphne: Bravo.
- Oh, my god. Oh, my god. - Gordon: Oh, boy.
Oh, no, I forgot to cut it.
Gordon: Well done, all of you.
I'm feeling really great about my dish, but I know it looks a little sloppy
because there's little bits of mint and dressing and stuff everywhere.
But all my flavors are there. I even got something extra on the plate.
- Fried jalapeno. - The plating looks like a mess,
but the color is good at least.
And I can just hope for the best now.
As you guys know, someone is going home tonight.
And there are some dishes we need to taste
to decide just who that person will be.
First up...
Please make your way down...
Freddy, let's go.
My presentation is honestly garbage.
The only thing that looks good on this plate is the octopus.
That's about it.
Right, describe the dish, please, young man.
I made a nicoise salad, but instead of tuna,
which is traditionally, I put in octopus.
And I didn't have enough time to get the fried egg in.
Uh, visually, it doesn't look that good, does it?
- No, chef. - No, and, um,
I know sometimes I watch you cook and it's so exciting to see you energized,
but then when things aren't going your way,
you see to be a little bit petulant in a way that you give up.
Do you really want to be in this competition?
- Yes, chef. - I was expecting you to put food on a plate
way better than that.
Young man, you need to cook as if it's the last time
you cook in this kitchen to stay in it because everybody behind you
is starting to overtake you, so...
When you're under pressure, come back.
Don't sulk and give up.
Shall we?
The cook on the octopus is delicious.
It's soft, and you grilled it the end,
so you got that nice barbecue flavor there.
That octopus is delicious. It's tender, it has a really nice flavor to it.
That sort of mustard aioli type of sauce that you made
really tangy, delicious, adds a lot of flavor to the salad.
Freddy, you're clever, and you know how to cook.
But I can tell by the way you put this plate in front of us,
by the way you're standing in front of us,
that this is not a dish that's making you proud tonight.
You're onto something very delicious there.
I just think you're kinda teasing us 'cause there's a lot of good things here.
It's just poorly put together. See what I'm saying?
- Yes, chef. - Here's the ironic thing with you, young man.
You can cook, let's get that absolutely clear.
But what you're missing is discipline.
If you put more discipline on that plate,
you could go a long way. No discipline?
Good night, freddy.
Stand back, please.
Freddy: It doesn't get lower than this.
I definitely need to redeem myself. This is horrible.
Next up, please step forward...
Molly.
I did a pretty good job with flavors,
but this really doesn't look like my best work,
so I'm a little concerned.
All right, molly, what did you make for us tonight?
I made monkfish with homemade biscuits.
And I also did a lemon aioli and a slaw
with a red wine vinaigrette.
We need to see a meal that feels restaurant quality.
- Okay. - And I don't think the presentation
of this nails that, even if the food does taste good.
- Okay. - Molly, you got me excited earlier
when you started making biscuits,
- but unfortunately, this dish is very ugly. - I understand.
You can't just clump monkfish in between a biscuit like that.
So sometimes you have to focus on elevating these dishes
and coming out of your comfort zone.
Let's give it a taste.
Gordon: Oh, dear.
So, molly, I think there are some real wins on this plate.
The biscuit clearly is a forte of yours.
But it was the wrong choice for this particular challenge.
- I understand. - Two good elements for me,
the actual seasoning on the fish is right there.
And I think that the vinaigrette is really well done and executed properly.
- Thank you. - But I'm missing the real core essence of the dish.
- You know what I mean? - Yeah, I feel you.
Molly, unfortunately I think this is your worst dish
you've cooked in the competition so far.
- Yeah. Yeah. - You know that, I know that.
So, I need more. I need to see more flair,
but the saving grace is the biscuit tastes great.
The monkfish are cooked beautifully.
It's just really badly put together.
- Okay. - Thank you.
You're welcome. I'm in the bottom, and there's a pretty high chance
of me going home right now. I know the judges thought my plating was bad,
but everybody has their mess-ups, and I will definitely not make that mistake again.
I need to stay in this competition.
All right, next up...
Please step forward...
Maclain.
Maclain: I'm disappointed that my dish is being called up
because I know that I have the right flavors.
But I could have made this dish smarter,
and it's just really frustrating me
that this is not the best that I could do.
- Describe the dish, please, young man. - I've made for you
grilled octopus with spicy israeli couscous,
spicy chimichurri, baked sunchokes, and braised carrots.
So this dish is way out of proportion.
- Way too much couscous. - Yes, chef.
- What's the hero on this dish? - The octopus, chef.
The octopus, that's right. And I can barely see it.
It's sunk in amongst all that couscous.
- So less is more, right? - Yes, chef.
But you got all the colors. They're popping vibrantly.
My big concern about this dish is that the octopus looks undercooked.
- Shall we? - Mm-hmm.
Maclain, there's a lot of poor cooking on this dish.
Your couscous is overcooked.
It's lacking salt. The sunchokes are very oily.
And you compound that with the oil content in the chimichurri,
it's just-- it's like a oil slick.
And it's actually marring the good flavor of the actual octopus
which came out tender, surprisingly enough.
Yeah, I agree. I was shocked because of the way it looked on the plate,
but the octopus is tender.
The problem is it gets lost because there are so much couscous
next to grease bombs in the sunchoke pieces.
Yeah, so my octopus was undercooked at the top,
and the couscous was overcooked.
Here's the thing. There are too many elements that aren't working together
that it's all bland, yeah. All bland.
- Yes, chef. - So, not your best effort.
- Yes, chef. - Thank you, maclain.
- Good job, maclain. - Good job, maclain.
All right, the last dish we wanted to take a much closer look at...
Step down here, please.
The last dish we wanted to take a much closer look at...
Step down here, please...
Andrew.
To be in the bottom four feels really scary
'cause you know you're really close to going home.
And it's freaking me out.
Young man, describe the dish, please.
Today I have made for you grilled octopus
with glazed baby carrots, lime aioli,
scallion pancake, roasted jalapenos with chopped crickets.
So officially it looks like it's sort of been thrown together,
dropped on the floor, dumped back in the bowl.
I've seen you plate food in this competition beautifully.
This looks a mess.
Why have you stuck it all in this tiny, little symmetrical circle?
When you have something as gorgeous-looking as that octopus,
show it off. Don't slice it and hide it
because we've got no idea what that dish stands for visually.
- Yes, chef. - Shall we? Oh.
- Pancake is at the bottom, right? - Yes, chef.
And then you've got the-- oh, here's the octopus here.
I'm disappointed for you because so much is done right
in the bite of this plate. The octopus is delicious.
The tons of fresh herbs are such a nice hit here.
And the carrots bring this wonderful sweetness that I loved.
There is some real culinary technique on this plate,
and you cut yourself off at the knees
by not letting us see everything that you put together.
- Yes, chef. - You know, andrew, there's so many great things here,
and it's just not realized the proper way.
The octopus shows great cooking, but this is a frustrating dish
'cause it's leaving me wanting more.
- Yes, chef. - What you have got right is the heat and the acidity.
The balance is there. It's just-- it's badly executed, andrew.
It's badly put together.
What a shame. Thank you.
- Good job, andrew. - Good job, andrew.
- Good job, andrew, good job. - Thank you.
Right, let's make this clear. All four of you tonight struggled in this challenge.
The sad news is that one of you is leaving shortly.
Give us a moment to discuss this very, very important decision.
- I'm, uh, I'm surprised at andrew. - Yeah.
Andrew's got a bowl this size and whole carrots that size.
Yeah. Freddy had a great dressing.
You know, and his octopus was cooked well.
He just wasn't ambitious in this comp-- I don't know why.
No. And maclain, how many times have we said
don't put food on a plate that's bland.
- Molly's monkfish was cooked beautifully. - And her biscuit was excellent.
- A biscuit. - He execution of what she wanted to make was great.
- But her concept wasn't great. - Gordon: No, that's right.
- This is-- yeah. - Very, very tough decision.
Yeah.
- All agreed? - Yeah.
Oh, dear. Oh, dear, oh, dear.
Freddy, your dish lacked finesse.
The octopus was actually cooked beautifully.
It just needs more love.
Molly, delicious biscuit. Perfectly cooked monkfish.
But so badly executed. You can't just lift up a big clump
of monkfish like that and bite into it.
- Yes, chef. - Maclain, all the elements on that dish
should have sparked. The colors were there.
Unfortunately, the flavor profile was not there.
The octopus needed more cooking.
Andrew, you made us navigate
around your tiny bowl to eat.
Our job is not to dig deep. Our job is to be wowed from what you put on a plate.
This is really tough.
The person leaving "masterchef junior" tonight...
Is...
Maclain.
Young man, I'm so sorry.
Can you three say good-bye to maclain, please,
and head back to your stations, thank you.
- You did good, man. - You did really good, maclain.
Maclain, unfortunately, you know, that dish should have sparked.
That dish should have given us a wow factor tonight.
But the main components of this challenge
- were badly executed. - Yes, chef.
You've been amazing in this competition, okay?
- Yes, chef. - Think what you've done. Think what you've achieved.
Promise that you're gonna continue cooking.
- Yes, chef. - Love that.
Maclain, keep all the passion that you have for food and for cooking alive.
And we can't wait to see what comes next for you.
- Yes, chef. - Maclain, you made a fan out of me.
Please continue to be humble and understand
that this is just the beginning of a beautiful future
in the culinary world for you. It's gonna be bright.
Come and say good-bye, bud. We're gonna miss you.
And keep those cool hats on, okay?
Good to see you, my man. Well done.
I don't want to be leaving the competition right now,
but I just learned from a michelin star chef
and just otherwise amazing people,
so walking out, I feel like someone
that's had experience of many years in a kitchen.
And this experience is really one of a lifetime.
All: Bye, maclain.
We need to bring our a game.
There's only a dozen of you left.
All know by now you have to be really tough to survive in this kitchen, yes?
- All: Yes, chef! - Get some rest.
Don't forget to brush your teeth.
And study hard. Let's be honest.
- This is no place for babies. - ( rattling )
- ( gasping ) - good night.
All: Good night, chef
- gordon: Next time... - It's a unicorn!
- ...On "masterchef junior"... - We're having a baby shower.
- ...It's boys versus girls... - Ooh!
...In a team challenge that's the bumpy ride....
Word of warning, guys, cooking for pregnant ladies is no joke.
- Uh-oh. - Dude, we gotta make sure
that we communicate with each other.
- They're not bad. - No, a'dan, what are you doing?
- Get another cup in there quick! - Oh, my lord.
- ...And ends with one home cook... - Oh, gosh.
- ...Leaving the kitchen. - That is disgusting.
- I don't have an attitude! - Yes, you do!
We will shut this kitchen down.