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MasterChef Junior kicked off with a Season 8 premiere on March 17, 2022. The cooking competition series saw ameteur chefs from the ages of 8 to 13 battle it out in a series of culinary challenges to win the famous title. With expert guidance from judges Gordon Ramsay, Daphne Oz, and Aarón Sanchez, the contestants will test their skills in the competition.
Not only will the winner win the luxurious MasterChef Junior title, they will also win a cash prize of $100K as well as the season's biggest prize: a brand-new complete Vikings kitchen, countertop appliances, a full set of kitchen tools, and a trip to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to dine in one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants.
Fans were impressed with the talent the contestants had to offer. One fan tweeted:
The show premiered in 2013 as both a spinoff of its sister series MasterChef and of Junior MasterChef, the British series. Ramsay judges both the American series as well as other television cooking projects for Fox.
Fans react to the contestants' dishes on MasterChef Junior
Fans of the show were really impressed with the contestants' dishes and took to social media to express their feelings.
MasterChef Junior judges test the contestants' skills with surprise ingredients
The premiere episode had surprises in store for the contestants. The judges asked the young competitors to choose ingredients from behind a mystery wall.
They had to punch through a paper screen and feel around the ingredients before pulling out their choice for others to see. For some, the ingredients were spiky or slimy, and for others they were living creatures like crawfish and octopus.
The contestants had an hour to cook the best possible dish with the ingredients of their choice. It was a tough challenge, considering one out of 16 contestants was going to be eliminated. The kids made some interesting dishes, a few that the judges were really fascinated by, and others that they felt lacked finesse and adequate knowledge.
The three top contestants for the episode were the ones that the judges felt really came out of their comfort zone to create a stunning plate of food. Liya, Grayson, and A'Dan beat the other contestants to become the top three for the premiere of Season 8 MasterChef Junior.
However, three dishes did not quite make the mark. Blake was the first contestant to get eliminated, as his crawfish was overcooked and was not the "hero" of the dish.
Fans have eagerly awaited a season of MasterChef Junior and with the show being taped in 2019, there was a lot of excitement to see the contestants and their growth on the show. The next episode promises a team challenge to make pizza and an interesting Mystery Box challenge.
MasterChef Junior airs every Thursday at 8.00 pm ET on Fox.
