"Previously on MasterChef Junior... chef." "A daunting team challenge put the kids in charge of the kitchen at a high-class L.A. restaurant... speed up." "let's go." "I'm trying to do what you messed up." "That is embarrassing." "Get rid of it." "chef." "chef." "And the results were mind-blowing." "Would you like to meet the chefs that cooked your amazing lunch?" "MasterChef Junior contestants." "come on." "...the semifinal will answer the age-old question... the chicken or the egg?" "I'm freaking out." "The final four compete for a shot in the finale." "Jack is praying to the egg god right now." "Only two can move forward..." "Everybody else is done." "000..." "This is make-it-or-break-it time." "...and the title of America's first" "MasterChef Junior." "Nervous?" "it's amazing." "I've gotten from beef Wellington and I can't even believe that I've made it this far." "I feel like I've grown so much in this competition." "It feels amazing to be in the semifinals." "This is my passion." "This is what I was meant to do." "I can almost see the finish line now." "not too far away." "I made top four." "I'm very proud." "And I just cannot wait to see what's next." "my god." "Good to see you all." "I see the judges and then a haystack and then chickens and then a sign saying even though it's right there." "Jack?" "Um..." "Nothing." "chef." " Nervous?" " A little bit." "I'm freaking out." "Do we have to capture our own chicken and kill it and defeather it?" "Or what do we have to do? we have some extra company today." "These chickens are here to help us answer a very difficult question." "Which two of you four young home cooks will be moving on to the MasterChef Junior finale?" "So which came first:" "The chicken or the egg?" "it's the egg." "The chicken part of this challenge will come later." "Uh-oh." "We're definitely doing something with an egg and definitely doing something with a chicken." "we want one perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg." "Exactly like this." "Soft-boiled eggs are something that I grew up with." "What you've got there firm egg white. and..." "Beautiful." "Mmm. and you see that wonderful burst of yolk." "Ahh." "Mmm." "That is delicious." "timing is everything." "We don't want a hard-boiled egg." "There's no skill in that." "And we don't want a raw egg. cooked to perfection." "I've hard-boiled eggs many times." "I've never soft-boiled an egg in my life." "Do you think you can do that?" "chef." " Good." "head to your stations. just like the one that Gordon prepared and showed you. you will bring it up here to be judged." "The person with the best soft-boiled egg will get a huge advantage in the upcoming elimination challenge." "You have everything you need to make us that perfect soft-boiled egg: a timer." "Do you all have everything that Joe's just listed?" " No." " What are you missing?" "The timer." "That's right." "come on." " I've removed the timers." "What? and you want me to leave you with a timer?" "We're not gonna make it that easy." "That's right." "and our clock isn't working." "how are you supposed to make a soft-boiled egg without a timer?" "Is everybody ready?" "chef." "Let's go. but we don't even have a timer." "That's crazy." "Soft-boiled egg." "Do not underestimate this." "I try to teach the egg to swim" " and get a nice pot of cold water." " What?" "get 'em covered by about an inch. about seven minutes in that water." " Soft-boiled?" " Soft-boiled." " I grew up on these." " Okay." "A soft-boiled egg is cooked to perfection... four minutes." "But doesn't that cook the outside" " and not the inside?" " Trust me." "seriously." "six minutes." "How do you do it without a timer?" "Count in your head." "I'm feeling very confident." "I've made them a bunch of times." "I think I can definitely pull this off." "Dara's in." "is timing." "I'm just trying to count in my head for about 3 1/2 minutes. because I could be going slow or too fast." "It's not an easy thing to do." "I thought maybe for about three minutes." "I have no technique for the soft-boiled egg." "I've never cooked one." "I know what it looks like." "I know what it tastes like." "So I'm gonna try for four minutes." "Jack is praying to the egg god right now." "looks like he's trying to focus eggy god." "I don't really get that stressed out when I'm cooking." "000 bucks that I wanna win." "And I was just calm and seriously focused on what I was doing." "Troy's taking his egg out." "I'm the first person done. and walk it up to the front." "Everybody else is behind me." "they're not even out of the pot." "So hopefully it's good." "Dara's taking hers out." "Alexander's taking his out as well." "Say a prayer." "Jack is not panicking." "He is cool as a cucumber." "He's taking his time." "And he's gonna really make the difference." "My money's on Jack." "good." "Well done." "Let's start off with Jack. and that it was just a perfect soft-boil." "000 egg." "You feel lucky?" "do ya?" "Yes." "Let's see how it separates from the shell." "It feels a little firm." "I hope that's not an indication that it's gonna be over inside." "this is what they call the moment of truth." "no." "I would say that that is... over." "This is the moment of truth." "No." "That is over." "Look at that." "I wanted to win and get that advantage because I just wanted to send another message that I'm a strong competitor." "next up..." "Dara." "Dara?" "I was going for 3 1/2 minutes." "Do you think yours is overcooked?" "I don't think it's spot-on perfect." "Let's see." "We're hoping for some yolk." "Did you ever think that so much could be on the line for one boiled egg?" "No." "Hard-boiled." "obviously." "Okay." "Alexander." "I have no idea what's in that egg. if I undercooked it." "I basically just went with my gut." "And my gut is telling me I nailed it." "How long did you cook it for?" "For about 3 1/2 minutes." " So you counted for 3 1/2 minutes?" " I-I did." "what am I expecting to find inside your soft-boiled egg? and a runny egg yolk." "Here we go. what's underneath there?" "no." "is a hard-boiled egg." "my god." "Thank you." "There goes that advantage." "I cook soft-boiled eggs at home all the time." "And I can't believe I just performed like that. from the Wellingtons to the layered cakes I thought this one would've been a walk in the park." "So Alexander's egg is hard-boiled." "Jack's is hard-boiled. but it's halfway. so maybe I am good." "How long did you cook this for?" "I was aiming for a four-minute cook." "Egg white..." "nice and firm." "Inside? it is definitely the closest to a soft-boiled egg." "Good job." " Thank you." " Well done." "chef. and stand in front of your eggs." "Well done." "Tough challenge." "Troy." "Great job." "Thank you." "I finally won a challenge that I needed to." "And any little advantage you can possibly get at this point is far beyond imagination." "right now." "you are about to receive a game-changing advantage... ever given out before." "Ooh." "I'm shaking in my shoes and he's gonna throw darts at me like everybody else." "I definitely know that I'm in big trouble right now." "will Jack's time one hour..." " What have you forgotten?" " I need sun-dried tomatoes and demi." "...and find out which two will move on to the MasterChef Junior finale." "Congratulations." "you are about to receive a game-changing advantage going into this elimination challenge." "Under these cloches are four different cuts of chicken... restaurant-quality chicken dish." "you will get to choose which cut of chicken you want to use in your semifinal dish." "You also have a second advantage." "You get to choose which part of the chicken each of your fellow competitors are going to have to cook with." "All right." "My advantage is huge at this point." "the stakes are so high." "I am ready to go to the finale." "I got my game face on." "Right." "The first part of the chicken is something that I'm sure all of you have had..." "The chicken breast." "and it can be the star of any five-star dish." "I'm hoping that I get the chicken breast." "I think it's the easiest thing to work with." "And I have a lot of ideas of what I could do with it in my head." "The next part of the chicken is a dark meat..." "The chicken thigh." "What's under here is something many people love to eat." "It's the chicken wing." "But we don't want greasy bar food." "we want something that could be served at a restaurant as good as the ones that we own. it's something that probably few of you have ever cooked with." "It is a delicious chicken liver." "I'm scared." "I do not know how to cook with chicken liver." "Who likes chicken livers?" "Nobody?" "chef." "Look at that baby." "Definitely one of the most difficult parts of the chicken to cook to perfection. but it is absolutely delicious. four competitors standing here." "Only two of you will move to the finale of Junior MasterChef." "It all comes down to this." "please collect the part of the chicken that you want to cook with tonight." "Wow." "you picked the thigh?" "It's not the easiest." "It's certainly not the hardest." "I could go through to the finale. and hand it to the competitor who will have to cook that part of the chicken." "Think about strategy here." "Think about knocking out your strongest competition." "So the livers." "I think this is the hardest." "a little voice in my head he'll give me something good." "You're good friends." "I'm gonna give the chicken livers... to Alexander." "Wow." "we're not good friends apparently." "man." "what's going through your mind? and I haven't tasted it." "So I'm a little bit nervous to use it." "behind you..." "young Jack and Dara." "In front of you..." "the chicken breast and the chicken wing." "'cause you're picking for both." "The wing." " Here you go." " Thank you." " You're welcome." " Wow. because it's probably the easiest one." "I can beat him." " Excellent." " Good job." "I know that Troy thinks of me but he's definitely not correct." "and I'm here to win. your MasterChef destiny." "the two people with the best dishes will be moving on to the finale. please take your chicken parts to your stations." "Your one hour of cook time starts..." "Now." "It's top four of MasterChef." "was a big mistake." "Because I'm pretty sure that this dish is gonna get me into the finals." "Green onions." "shallots and garlic." " Um..." "Does anybody know where the asparagus is?" "Mushrooms?" "I need sun-dried tomatoes and demi." "Interesting ingredients." "you okay?" "Want some help?" "No." "One dish away from the first ever" "MasterChef Junior finale." "It's incredible." "So Troy has an interesting strategy." "Obviously he wants Alexander out of the way." "We know that chicken livers can be turned phenomenal. and then do a wonderful chicken liver salad." "I'd try to make a quick chicken liver mousse... - a little bit of cream." " Delicious." "I think that we are going to see some amazing dishes tonight." "these four young home cooks The creme de la creme of what America has to offer young chefs." "it's extraordinary." "I'm gonna make a pan-fried chicken thigh with a romesco sauce and a squash salad." "I'm gonna be make a soy-ginger glazed wing and carrots." "I've cooked wings a lot." "I'm really confident in this dish." "What I'm making is a goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto with grilled asparagus and oven-roasted potatoes." "I feel for you tonight." "Because you're one of the most talented 'cause everyone wants you out." "So you get dealt that dysfunctional card." "the one that nobody wants..." "The bitter liver that overcooks in seconds." "You've never cooked with livers before?" "I have not." "Can you turn this into a winning dish to get you into the finale?" "Um... hold on." "I'm sorry." "I'm just trying to think of something to do with these chicken livers." "This is my ticket into the finals." "And I only get one shot at this." "Don't you worry." "Listen." "I'll let you catch your breath." " Good luck." " Thank you." "I'm kinda getting ready to pack my bags." "make-it-or-break-it time." "And I think that I'm breaking it right now." "sadly only two of you can make it to the finale." "That means two of you will be heading home after this." "the final four young home cooks must prepare a restaurant-quality dish using chicken parts given to them by Troy." "So Alexander had the target on his back." "How's he looking with the livers? so he is feeling vulnerable. but I've gotta think of something restaurant quality." "So I think of making a chicken liver pate over a garlic crostini." "I'm definitely going to the finals." "I'm going home." "right?" "easy." "What have you forgotten? just I might need some heavy cream for the sauce." "Some heavy cream." "Is this dish evolving?" "are you?" "no..." " You haven't got this dish down yet?" "I-I've got this dish down." "for sure." "one more thing... flour." " One more?" "why didn't you say it when you went back in there?" " I forgot." " Jack." "What's the flour for?" " To thicken it up?" " Yeah." "no." "All-purpose flour." "Jack." "chef." "cooking with you is like running a marathon." "come on." "Man." "Jack?" "chef..." " Holy mackerel." " Surprisingly." "25 minutes gone." "Dara..." "Good girl." "I wonder where you got those glasses from." "35 minutes to go." "the man. seriously?" " Yeah." " Have you been drinking?" " No." " Nothing?" "water." " Water?" "That's complicated." "Even the best of chefs can't do a chicken roulade." "great sear." "okay." "it'll cook the back of it as well." "Are you confident this dish is good enough chef." " Where are you going?" " I'll be right back." "the bathroom?" "honestly?" "Troy?" " What's the plan?" "Nothing much." "What are you making?" "What are you making?" "A pan-fried chicken thigh with a romesco sauce." "You have another thigh." "Don't you wanna just in case?" "no." " Like an insurance policy?" "I'm pretty confident in this." "You're confident just to cook one. it is the semifinal." "Gotta give yourself every chance." "You're gonna put it in the oven now?" "I will." "How much time do you think it has to cook for?" "man." "Thank you very much." "we have 15 minutes to go." "Aah." "Dara." " Yeah?" " How you feeling?" "good." "We can get chicken wings anywhere." "How do you know your wings are gonna be as good as a dish to get you into the finale?" "my wings aren't any spicy or barbecue wings a wing stand." "These are gonna be gourmet asian wings that you get at more gourmet restaurants." " More market restaurants?" " Yes." "Dara." " Thank you." "Let's go." "guys." "Start thinking about plating up." "that smells incredible." "it really does." "so many great things going on... different styles." "So Jack pulled out his chicken roulade." "It looks crispy." "is it cooked?" "because there's so much filling." "But the outside is crispy." "The chicken seems cooked." "a ten-year-old pounding out a chicken breast Joe." "The young guy's still in elementary school." "That's the magic of the junior MasterChef competition." "come on." "Dara is meticulously putting her plate together." "I haven't heard a word from her today." "So composed." "Extraordinary." "like a laser." "And she had that smirk on her face she knew. he thought it was a dysfunctional card." "it was one foot in the finale." "20 seconds to go." "Hot." "Ask yourself:" "is that good enough to get me into the finale? one." "Stop." "Hands in the air." "Well done." "Incredible." "They smell delicious." "They look so appetizing." "Great job." "Let's start off with the man who had the competition in his hands." "please." "Wow." "what is that?" "A pan-fried chicken thigh with romesco sauce and spaghetti squash and zucchini salad." "it looks beautiful." "I was slightly concerned it was all gonna look but you've got that" " vibrance from the sauce." " Thank you." "What's around the outside here? and a little cilantro in there." "Wow." " That sauce is so fresh." " Yes." "got that vibrancy." "It's got that richness to it." "And how long did you cook the chicken for?" "I cooked it about four minutes and then I put it in the oven and baked it for about seven minutes." "slice that through." "What?" "damn." "How long did you cook the chicken for?" "I cooked it about four minutes and then I put it in the oven and baked it for about seven minutes." "slice that through." "dear." " What?" "Damn." "Ooh." "it's raw." "Damn." "I know." "I'm so disappointed." " Me too." "A thigh takes a minimum of 20 to 25 minutes in the oven." "A breast is so much easier to cook." "You've done so well in this competition." "I did not expect you to serve me an undercooked chicken." "What a shame." "Damn." " Your romesco's delicious." " Thank you. and it's as good as the romesco fabulous." " Thank you." "And I love the idea of the dish." "I know." "man." "I asked you if you needed to put another one in." " You should've." " I should've. but..." " I could've." "Troy." "I am so disappointed in myself." "I've done great in this competition. and I've worked a restaurant." "But they couldn't even taste my chicken because it was raw." "Dara." "walk me through what we have exactly." "Soy-ginger glazed wings and carrot." "It's beautiful." "you cleaned the wings down so that they look like little lollipops." "They're gorgeous." "I'll try some pickle action." "The pickle is actually a family recipe." "now I'm gonna try one of these." "Look at that color." "That could be the best thing that I've had this entire show." "rich." "Amazing." "Great job." "Thank you." "Wow." "amazing flavors." "Great balance between sweetness and acidity. my friend." "Dara." " Good job." " Thank you." "please." "please." "Chicken liver pate over garlic crostini with reduced cherry marmalade and a balsamic glaze topped with a bit of bacon. tonight." "not the plate?" "I think that the board really complements" "The rustic feel of the crostini." "It tastes... delicious." "You just opened up a completely different door." "Don't cut yourself off from learning." "Did you taste that?" "I did." "and I really like it." "there you go." "You now like liver." "I'm impressed." "I really am impressed." "Do you want a job tomorrow?" "I would love that." "and you take over as the junior sous chef of the Savoy Grill." " Got it?" " Absolutely." "You're in." "Great job." " Thank you." " Amazing." "This dish is remarkable. it's rustic." "truly a masterpiece." "okay?" "chefs." "big Jack." "buddy. so I really wanted my dish to impress the judges a lot." "I definitely wanna go all the way and make it to the finale and try to win." "Long island Jack." "young man." "Look at that beauty." "what is that? wrapped in prosciutto with grilled asparagus and roasted potatoes." "it looks beautiful." "how old you are." "I'm ten years old." "Wow. one of the most difficult things to accomplish..." "Why are you being so adventurous?" "I like being very ambitious and unique." "and I like blowing people away with my food." "young man." "chef." " I'm lost for words." "The dish is delicious." "The prosciutto is crispy." "The chicken is moist. so technical. god help our industry when you're 20." "chef." "Well done." "So most kids your age let alone cook it in a challenge." " That's awesome." " Thank you." "It's moist." "It's seasoned." "Because of the acidity of the goat cheese that all works." "I think you nailed it." "This is probably the best thing that you've created so far." "chef." "Ahh." "You have just elevated the standard of the first ever junior MasterChef into areas that we never expected." "This is going to be one of the most difficult decisions we've ever had to make." "give us a moment." " How do you separate..." " It's almost..." "How do you separate four talented... too close to call." " You did great." " God." "You did great." "How good was that roulade? hand-chopped." "another class." " You did great." " It's okay." "You did amazing." "The most technical dish..." "roulade." " Absolutely." " Really good." "The most visual dish..." "Dara." "Visually." "cleaning those chicken wings." "Incredible." "Dara..." "I think it's you and Jack." "Could you four please join us in the front? accomplished home cooks standing in front of us." "But only two of you can move on to the junior MasterChef finale. but I think that he failed at that." "The judges loved that I was so ambitious with the roulade." "I want to win." "I feel like all three of us equally did amazing." "and it's so close." "Do you know any MasterChef Juniors?" "We are in for a treat. accomplished home cooks standing in front of us." "But only two of you can move on to the junior MasterChef finale." "I really wanna get into those finals so badly." "It's just another humongous step right to that trophy." "The first person to go through to the junior MasterChef finale..." "Congratulations..." "Alexander." "Well done." "Going from thousands of applying And getting all the way to the top 2?" "I can't believe that I'm in the final." "You cook like a chef." "You sound like a chef." "You look like Julia Child's lost grandson." "And you have the most amazing connection to food." "And you're just 13." "young man." "Please head on up to the gallery." "man." " Thank you." " Great job." " Good job." "guys." "High five." "Good luck." "Phenomenal." "man." "Good luck. what you've done in this competition has been extraordinary. because you've achieved so much." "all three of you." "Only one of you can go up and join Alexander in the finale of the first ever MasterChef Junior." "It's a really tight one between me and Jack. the same." "I think that I might've topped Dara a little bit." "I'm definitely thinking that I'm going to make it into the finale." "I'm not ready to stop here." "The person moving forward into the grand finale..." "Congratulations..." "Dara." "my god." "That dish was phenomenal." "Good job." "It oozed finesse. but it had restraint beyond belief." "and I'm so excited." "I'm so happy." "I've worked for this." "I deserve this." " Well done." " Thank you." "Head up to the gallery and join Alexander." "you two have been phenomenal." "You're wonderful in the kitchen." "And you both have an amazing future in this industry." "Come and say good-bye." "okay?" "well done." "bud." "Hey." "You did an amazing job." "okay?" "one high five." "buddy." "I'm really proud about what I accomplished throughout this competition." "Wow." "It's gorgeous." " Thank you." " It's very smart." "It's rich." "It's creamy." "Mind-blowing." "Great job." "Pasta's great." "I love the vegetables." " It's pretty darn awesome." " Thank you very much." "Good job. you have to focus... chef." "Thank you." "Keep it going." "chef." " Let's go." "And you have to fight to the end." "that's awesome." "You have not seen the last of me." "My food dream is not gone." " What a phenomenal journey." " Thank you." "guys." " Good night." "Jack." "guys." "I'm very proud of myself." "I still feel like a winner." "I'm telling you." "You put food on a plate with finesse." "A small young man that packs a very powerful punch." "I definitely had an amazing time here." "I've learned so much about cooking." "One burrata!" "stunning." " Thank you." "I've become way less shy." "Jack." "my god!" "And I've made a lot of great friends." "Yay!" "but you're gonna see me cooking some more amazing things." "there were two." "Well done." "The two of you now face the biggest culinary fight of your lives." "One of you is gonna become America's first ever" "Junior MasterChef." "Good night." "Great job." "Yeah!" "Next week on MasterChef Junior..." "It's the unmissable finale..." "It's time for the main event." "As the final two go head-to-head..." "I'm not going home without that trophy." "I'm here to take the title." "...in a television first." "There are chefs right now shivering down their spine." "Only one will walk away 000... my god." "...and the title of America's first" "MasterChef Junior." "The winner is..."