Masterchef Junior (US) - General Discussion

[cameron]

6 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Here's the thing about Ai'Dan IMO: yes, he's bossy, blunt to the point of being hurtful, and he doesn't have the skills himself to justify as much smack as he talks. But: he doesn't seem to be coming from a malicious place. His comments are meant to help for the most part. And most importantly, it seems to me like his comments are generally correct. One thing that will be interesting is if he is ever able to start off as team captain and can put his money where his mouth is. I also hope that when he and his parents see this, there's some real learning done. Anyway, the show probably wants to squeeze as much drama as they can from Ai'Dan, so I'd tend to think he's got at least another couple weeks as long as his food is at least mediocre as it has generally been.

As to Ciara: if there is one commandment for a Gordon Ramsay cooking show, it is Thou Shalt Do What GR Personally Tells You To Do. Gordon told her several times to taste her food, she acted as though she was going to follow his advice, and then she didn't. It would not have mattered if she somehow lucked into the best tasting crab cake ever. Ciara was going home. We see in the teaser for next week's episode that the team challenge is going to be girls vs. boys, so it would not surprise me if it was basically predetermined that a girl would go home this time so you could have unisex teams of four rather than mixed gender teams of four. There have been contestants who are allergic to shellfish/whatever or who are vegan or whatever on the various GR cooking shows. Sometimes those contestants have bitten the bullet and ate the item anyway, and sometimes they have relied on their fellow chefs to taste and give advice. In any case, not tasting food because you're allergic isn't the same as not tasting food because you just don't want to. 

A'Dan's comments aren't meant to help; they are just his boasting about how great he think he is.  Parents should be embarrassed about how he comes across on national tv, but then I see he is now wearing purple hair.  Guess he is still full of himself.

[CapeCodLuv]

Gordon and Daphne have now both reprimanded A'Dan for not being a team player. I thought Daphne did it beautifully last night, she seemed to come at it from a mothering standpoint. His fellow contestants have told hm to his face in different ways that he is hard to work with but he doesn't hear what they are saying. I was laughing when little 8 year old Cruz refused to high five him last night.

I hope like many that his parents point out where he went wrong as they view the show together but I'm guessing he behaves this way because it's allowed at home. I picture him as the bossy kid in the neighborhood, he chooses all the games to play. This works for a bit when kids are young but once his friends mature they will dump him if it continues.

I don't think him having purple hair currently indicates he is full of himself. Lots of kids in my town use the colored hair dyes, it just seems like a fun thing to do.

Ciara was the right one to go home. She said she had never tried crab but knew she wouldn't like it or taste. From what I gathered she didn't taste anything on her plate, not just the crab. She took the risk even after Gordon made sure she understood not tasting might send her home. After she was eliminated she admitted she should have tasted and accepted the result in a very mature fashion. She's a sweet girl and I'm sad to see her go.

[cameron]

31 minutes ago, CapeCodLuv said:

Gordon and Daphne have now both reprimanded A'Dan for not being a team player. I thought Daphne did it beautifully last night, she seemed to come at it from a mothering standpoint. His fellow contestants have told hm to his face in different ways that he is hard to work with but he doesn't hear what they are saying. I was laughing when little 8 year old Cruz refused to high five him last night.

I hope like many that his parents point out where he went wrong as they view the show together but I'm guessing he behaves this way because it's allowed at home. I picture him as the bossy kid in the neighborhood, he chooses all the games to play. This works for a bit when kids are young but once his friends mature they will dump him if it continues.

I don't think him having purple hair currently indicates he is full of himself. Lots of kids in my town use the colored hair dyes, it just seems like a fun thing to do.

Ciara was the right one to go home. She said she had never tried crab but knew she wouldn't like it or taste. From what I gathered she didn't taste anything on her plate, not just the crab. She took the risk even after Gordon made sure she understood not tasting might send her home. After she was eliminated she admitted she should have tasted and accepted the result in a very mature fashion. She's a sweet girl and I'm sad to see her go.

Still think that the dye job is a way to call attention to himself.  Certainly has exhibited this pattern numerous times in the show.

[Colorado David]

There are several brats in the competition, and I use that word as I rarely hear kids that are rude referred to as BRATS. Teaching kids respect for each other and adults is a lost parenting tool. JMO.

Funny how Top Chef is all big on the healthy push, while here on MJ we are teaching kids how to deep fry poppers. There's some good McDonalds training going on. (Sorry to be a bit snarky, just irritated at the kids' behavior.)

[NYGirl]

I've been waiting for Gordon and Co to notice how much of a punk A'Dan has been to the other kids.  After the first challenge he went to high 5 Cruz who he yelled at the whole time, and Cruz just stared at him.

I was hoping he'd be the one to go but I guess Ciera's was worse tasting.

That being said it's amazing how these kids come up with things to cook when I've been cooking 40 years and I just make what I'm used to making except for a couple of new things I make when I get a good recipe.

Edited May 6, 2022 by NYGirl

[mlp]

2 hours ago, NYGirl said:

That being said it's amazing how these kids come up with things to cook when I've been cooking 40 years and I just make what I'm used to making except for a couple of new things I make when I get a good recipe.

I don't think they do.  I think dishes are assigned and practiced and they probably get some off-screen assistance.  What are the odds that a bunch of little kids each come up with a sophisticated sounding dish plus sides and each is different?  What are the odds that a little girl who was just squealing at the sight of a live crab can almost immediately come up with a Vietnamese something or other?  Bah.

I do think the right kid went home but I am looking forward to A'Dan's departure.  I pity his teachers.  

[Colorado David]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I don't think they do.  I think dishes are assigned and practiced and they probably get some off-screen assistance.  What are the odds that a bunch of little kids each come up with a sophisticated sounding dish plus sides and each is different?  What are the odds that a little girl who was just squealing at the sight of a live crab can almost immediately come up with a Vietnamese something or other?  Bah.

 

abs this. rehearsed and practiced routines, and little person contrived drama for tv hype and tv drama. bah exactly. a chef scared of crab or anything with claws, really? nah. Bs.

[MyMaui]

If A'Dan had just stayed on his station instead of going at each of his team members they may have done better.  He constantly interjected himself. His team mates should have said shut up and stay where you are.  They didn't but he isn't a team player at all.  I really hope he is next to go.  As for the elimination, Ciara was the right one to go.  She didn't want to taste her dish no matter how many times she was asked and told you could go home.  She wasn't allergic to the crab.  She didn't want to taste it. If you don't like it still taste it to make sure the other components are ok.

[cameron]

A'Dan makes it to another week; even though he messed up on his brownie recipe and was a budinski again.  Good thing for him that those Linzer cookies were over baked.  But, he did have time to fluff up his hair on camera.

Edited May 13, 2022 by cameron

[Chicago Redshirt]

I couldn't stop laughing because A'Dan's bars literally did look like shit, and Cruz even highlighted that in his presentation of them. Like no attempt to polish the turds that they were.

But last night's episode was yet another example where A'Dan's points were spot on: it was unwise to try to make a fancy cookie with which Abir had no experience, and it was unwise to make a cookie that kids would not particularly care for even if it had been executed well rather than a cookie that they and the judges would love. 

The facts that A'Dan's own cooking is fraught with mistakes, that he should get his own house in order and that he doesn't express his criticisms in the most constructive way doesn't make his criticisms any less true.

[cameron]

2 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I couldn't stop laughing because A'Dan's bars literally did look like shit, and Cruz even highlighted that in his presentation of them. Like no attempt to polish the turds that they were.

But last night's episode was yet another example where A'Dan's points were spot on: it was unwise to try to make a fancy cookie with which Abir had no experience, and it was unwise to make a cookie that kids would not particularly care for even if it had been executed well rather than a cookie that they and the judges would love. 

The facts that A'Dan's own cooking is fraught with mistakes, that he should get his own house in order and that he doesn't express his criticisms in the most constructive way doesn't make his criticisms any less true.

But, he has a tendency to criticize everyone and everything, except himself. Gracious is certainly not his strong suit.

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

But, he has a tendency to criticize everyone and everything, except himself. Gracious is certainly not his strong suit.

No doubt that he's not been gracious and that his repeated failures should have him be a lot more humble.

But I think it's unfair to say that he doesn't criticize himself. In his talking heads, he admitted he messed up when he did. 

I also think it's unfair to say that he wasn't trying to help when he pointed out problems. Clearly, he was, just in a hard-to-take and thus somewhat counter-productive way.

[mlp]

I was hoping to see the last of A'Dan and his ridiculous name but I can understand why he wasn't sent home.  He did mess up his blondies but he recovered and served something the kids liked even though it didn't look good.  I've already forgotten the boy's name who made the linzer cookies but I liked him.  However, that choice was a poor judgment call and they didn't turn out well.  I can't argue with the decision.

I have never liked Daphne Oz.  Her attitudes and facial expressions this season have done nothing to change my mind.

[CoyoteBlue]

Man, this season is making me so petty: I'm oddly glad that A'Dan missed the Beef Council challenge. Like, F you and your "amazing grill skills", child.

[mlp]

A'Dan apparently does a lot better when he works alone rather than in a team.  His attitude was fine this episode and I had no problem with him winning.  I was sorry to see Cruz go instead of Molly.  I liked him and haven't liked her since the beginning.

When the kids ran off to the pantry to get their ingredients, the judges were left with chickens and so on and an ostrich in a pen.  When they returned to their stations, all the fowl were gone including the ostrich and pen.  MC set employees must be really speedy.  :)

[Koalagirl]

I wish Molly would have been sent home. Cruz was so much better (and such a champ handling that huge octopus in a prior episode).

[KeithJ]

I'm no where near a professional chef but Cruz' steak seemed to have a lot of pink in it for Joe to call it medium well.

[cameron]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:23 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

Man, this season is making me so petty: I'm oddly glad that A'Dan missed the Beef Council challenge. Like, F you and your "amazing grill skills", child.

I'm calling producer driver shenanigans on the egg challenge with A'Dan.  His potatoes in the closeup were clearly burned and he even didn't know how to open an oyster. Also a hang town fry doesn't have scrambled eggs.  Reminds me of a junior version of Subha from Master Chef a few years ago.  They kept him on to almost the bitter end.

[Diana Berry]

So ivy and bandana are on Adan’s team according to the preview.  Oh Mercy.

[iwantcookies]

I haven’t watched this season because I really don’t like kids. The Aidan kid sounds like I should watch because I will be entertained! 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

My wife and I just started watching MJ. We started with the first season, then moved straight to the current season. The biggest difference we've noticed between the two seasons (almost ten years apart) is that the kids on the first season just seemed happy to be there and learn: these new kids seem more interested in establishing personas for various social media platforms (Twitch or Instagram or whatever), with actual cooking taking a definite second place.

[mertensia]

Finally A'Dan is gone.

Restaurant takeovers are never fun, especially when it's the kids.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I know he wasn't the best chef and that he verged on being a bully (or even crossed over some times). 

But I did feel bad for A'Dan being reduced to tears. He had to know that there was like no chance of him not going home for some time.

I wonder if it was deliberate that they sent all the other kids upstairs before A'Dan was given the boot. Usually, all the remaining contestants are watching from the balcony and can say platitudes to the departing chef like "Good job, ________" and cheer them on the way out. Eva did a sort of half-hearted "You did a good job" but it's not the same thing. And usually Gordon's like, "You're a hell of a cook! Promise me you'll never stop cooking" But his goodbye to A'Dan was more like, "Tonight's not your night. We're going to miss you."

[cameron]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:03 AM, mertensia said:

Finally A'Dan is gone.

Restaurant takeovers are never fun, especially when it's the kids.

A'Dan was kept on the show for too long of time.  Glad to see that he finally was eliminated.  Maybe he'll learn some humility from this experience; but I kind of doubt it.

[Chicago Redshirt]

My unspoiled predictions:

Next on the chopping block: Molly or Ivy. I don't know if Molly has made anything particularly impressive, and I don't think MCJ is really going to crown someone as young as Ivy. 

I think of the three remaining chefs, it will probably be Grayson. He is the most confident of the remaining five. I don't really remember any of the five getting a ton of props, though. Maybe it's just the case that this season was mostly a blur for me.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Next on the chopping block: Molly or Ivy. I don't know if Molly has made anything particularly impressive, and I don't think MCJ is really going to crown someone as young as Ivy. 

I'm of the same mind.  I took an instant dislike to Molly during the first episode and nothing has changed my mind.  Ivy is a cute little thing but, as you say, she's really young.  I'm hoping that Grayson wins.

[cameron]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:55 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I know he wasn't the best chef and that he verged on being a bully (or even crossed over some times). 

But I did feel bad for A'Dan being reduced to tears. He had to know that there was like no chance of him not going home for some time.

I wonder if it was deliberate that they sent all the other kids upstairs before A'Dan was given the boot. Usually, all the remaining contestants are watching from the balcony and can say platitudes to the departing chef like "Good job, ________" and cheer them on the way out. Eva did a sort of half-hearted "You did a good job" but it's not the same thing. And usually Gordon's like, "You're a hell of a cook! Promise me you'll never stop cooking" But his goodbye to A'Dan was more like, "Tonight's not your night. We're going to miss you."

Why would the other kids miss him.   He wasn't a team player and thought he was a better cook than the other contestants.  Had to laugh when he boasted who needs Gordon Ramsay just before Gordon rescued him from the burning skillet and Aaron had to come in and help him cook.  Bully, through and through.

[Mr. Sparkle]

14 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

My unspoiled predictions:

Next on the chopping block: Molly or Ivy. I don't know if Molly has made anything particularly impressive, and I don't think MCJ is really going to crown someone as young as Ivy. 

I think of the three remaining chefs, it will probably be Grayson. He is the most confident of the remaining five. I don't really remember any of the five getting a ton of props, though. Maybe it's just the case that this season was mostly a blur for me.

I agree on Molly. I think she just lucked into staying this long because others were worse than her when she was on the chopping block, or her team won that week. I'll be surprised if she's not the next one eliminated. 

I think Ivy has a legitimate shot, although she's so young. She has impressive poise and skills for someone of her age. 

But if I were to put money on it, I would put it on Grayson. I had him pegged as a champ from early on. My prediction is for a Grayson-Ivy finale, with Grayson winning it. Either Eva or Liya will be the third finalist. 

I've been wrong before; I picked Cruz and Maclain to go way further than they did. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

Why would the other kids miss him.   He wasn't a team player and thought he was a better cook than the other contestants.  Had to laugh when he boasted who needs Gordon Ramsay just before Gordon rescued him from the burning skillet and Aaron had to come in and help him cook.  Bully, through and through.

Well first of all, I don't think he was always a bully or even mostly a  bully. For the most part, he was trying in his own way to help by telling the other team members what they were doing wrong. He did so in a blunt way that was hard for other kids to take, yes. But to be a bully, you have to have ill intentions. Your goal is to harm or intimidate others. I don't see that in pretty much any of what he said or did. He pretty much never was like, "You suck!" He was more like, "You're doing it wrong. You should do it this way." The one exception was when one kid was like, "I'm trying my best!" and A'Dan's response was along the lines of "Then your best isn't very good." Which was harsh, yes. But I don't think he said that to intimidate or harm. 

But regardless of whether he was a bully, part of the nature of this show is that people pretend to miss contestants even though they won't necessarily do so. 

And my main issue is if the producers deliberately engineered things so that the other children would not be around to say goodbye to A'Dan. Which it seems like they did. I've watched I think most if not all of MCJR, and I can't remember a time when a contestant was eliminated in this fashion.

To me it says likely one of two things, neither of them good. Either A'Dan's actions were so much worse than was shown to the point that the producers were concerned that they could not or would not get the other kids to participate in acting as though they were sorry to see him go and might act out at his departure. Or the producers deliberately froze out A'Dan and denied a young child the support of his peers at a time they know from past experience is a rough time for children.

[cameron]

22 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Well first of all, I don't think he was always a bully or even mostly a  bully. For the most part, he was trying in his own way to help by telling the other team members what they were doing wrong. He did so in a blunt way that was hard for other kids to take, yes. But to be a bully, you have to have ill intentions. Your goal is to harm or intimidate others. I don't see that in pretty much any of what he said or did. He pretty much never was like, "You suck!" He was more like, "You're doing it wrong. You should do it this way." The one exception was when one kid was like, "I'm trying my best!" and A'Dan's response was along the lines of "Then your best isn't very good." Which was harsh, yes. But I don't think he said that to intimidate or harm. 

But regardless of whether he was a bully, part of the nature of this show is that people pretend to miss contestants even though they won't necessarily do so. 

And my main issue is if the producers deliberately engineered things so that the other children would not be around to say goodbye to A'Dan. Which it seems like they did. I've watched I think most if not all of MCJR, and I can't remember a time when a contestant was eliminated in this fashion.

To me it says likely one of two things, neither of them good. Either A'Dan's actions were so much worse than was shown to the point that the producers were concerned that they could not or would not get the other kids to participate in acting as though they were sorry to see him go and might act out at his departure. Or the producers deliberately froze out A'Dan and denied a young child the support of his peers at a time they know from past experience is a rough time for children.

You might want to take into account that the remaining contestants didn't want  to be around to say goodbye to him.  Children tend to be very astute  judges of people's character.

Edited May 31, 2022 by cameron

[Colorado David]

Okay, IMO this brings up a good thing - not all kids are the same. Some we see as 'good', some as 'bad'. We have the luxury of seeing them thru adult eyes, and adult expectations of behavior. We need to be careful not to apply our own experiences on them.  Not all kids are taught the same things, expectations and behaviors. Different cultures have different rules - I'm thinking of eastern cultures which adhere more to teaching and learning over childhood enjoyment of entertainment. So...A'dan, while abrupt and direct, I agree in thinking he's not a bully, just used to being direct like he is. It would be interesting to see what he's like when he turns 20. I bet he's a completely different attitude.

Also, not sad to see him gone. He wasn't a great cook. I don't really have a favorite to be honest.

[mlp]

6 hours ago, Colorado David said:

So...A'dan, while abrupt and direct, I agree in thinking he's not a bully, just used to being direct like he is. It would be interesting to see what he's like when he turns 20. I bet he's a completely different attitude.

I saw a FB post in which the writer said that A'Dan was 10 during the show and 13 when he finally saw it and didn't like what he saw and resolved to be better.  I have no idea who the writer was or what relationship she might have to him but I hope that's true.

[cameron]

21 hours ago, mlp said:

I saw a FB post in which the writer said that A'Dan was 10 during the show and 13 when he finally saw it and didn't like what he saw and resolved to be better.  I have no idea who the writer was or what relationship she might have to him but I hope that's true.

You would think that his parents would have talked to him about his attitude when he was on the show.

[jackjill89]

I want either Liya or Grayson to win. Ivy is adorable and is a really good cook, but I don't think she has quite the sophistication with her meals that Grayson has or can quite match Liya's skills. 

I don't know how Molly hung on so long. Also -- they kept saying that Molly and A'dan were such grill whizzes. Was those self-proclaimed or did we ever really see them kick butt grilling things?

[mertensia]

Molly annoyed me from her first talking head. Won't miss her.

I hate the tag team. It's not fun. Screaming at other contestants or guests is a terrible thing.

[DougJones]

If I had a drink for every time Gordon says “amazing”…..

[Mr. Sparkle]

54 minutes ago, DougJones said:

If I had a drink for every time Gordon says “amazing”…..

Or "incredible." You'd be amazingly, incredibly drunk. 

[Chyromaniac]

These last two episodes turned out to be pretty enjoyable - I liked the focus and precision of both the salmon breakdown, and the egg yolk ravioli cook along.  With the actual salmon elimination challenge, it was a bit tough because nearly all the kids overreached on their dishes- but I think in both episodes, the results seemed fair.

Otherwise, I was amazed that after dozens of seasons of both series, they’ve finally seemed to crack the code for making the relay challenge fun to watch.  Usually it ends up being a big screamy mess- but this one just clicked together really well.  I think it first helped that the kids were clearly put in charge of leading their partners through the cooking.  I also think that- legit or not - presenting the wrestlers as “inexperienced helpers” put the kids in the right mindset: explain everything, be encouraging, and work step by step.  And for their part, the wrestlers kept up their end pretty well overall- of course, they should be good at thinking on their feet, moving quickly/decisively, and paying attention to timing.  Plus, they seemed to be pretty good at working with the kids - which I assume is also SOP for WWE performers.  Whatever one might think of it as a company, WWE has generally been really good about living up to kids’ expectations.  If they want to do this challenge like this permanently, I’m all for it.

[Diana Berry]

Catching up.  Eva was a sweet girl.  I wonder if they kept the boy because he was having such a meltdown.  

[Nilo]

I have to admit, Ivy bugged me a bit at the start of the season.  Also, I worried about her after that first or second episode when she was so upset. But man, she has really come into her own the last few weeks.  She makes me laugh more than any of the others. She’s got this really dry sense of humor that is just coming through and I am here for it.  She was killing me with the WWE challenge.  Also, if I got nailed in the forehead with a baking sheet by a wrestler 5x taller than me, I would have reacted way more dramatically than she did.  She just sort of blinked at him, laughed, and kept on rolling.  Liya might be more consistent, but man, I am loving Ivy lately.

[Such A Flirt]

Very sad about Eva; she was my favorite.

And Ivy really bugged me at first, but she has totally grown on me and  I now find her adorable. And so talented! She probably won't win, but at least she will have put on one hell of a show.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Anybody know why they're showing last week's episode tonight? 

[mlp]

11 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Anybody know why they're showing last week's episode tonight? 

I'm wondering the same thing.  The Guide says semi-final but last week's tag team show is playing.

[Jaded]

It's probably due to what's airing on ABC, CBS and NBC tonight. 

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

Anybody know why they're showing last week's episode tonight? 

All the other networks are airing something Fox is ignoring, but they don’t want to waste a new episode. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

16 minutes ago, Jaded said:

It's probably due to what's airing on ABC, CBS and NBC tonight. 

Makes sense. 

[jackjill89]

My Fox station had the hearing on it. I was shocked they were airing it. 

[mertensia]

Disliking seafood isn't that weird, Aaron. Shut up.

Liya and Greyson, eh? I'm guessing Greyson.

[jewel21]

My Fox station spoiled who would be in the finale by airing a promo during the commercial break right before Gordon announced who would move ahead. I was not amused. 

[Diana Berry]

I picked the winner from the beginning,