Masterchef Junior (US) - General Discussion

[KLovestoShop]

So happy Liya was the winner.  I think Grayson’s dessert was his downfall.  To me, it looked like a jumbled mess.

What was with the outfit Ivy was wearing?  I don’t know if they were going for a Jackie Kennedy look or Dr Joyce Brothers (in an episode of The Nanny, she wore that exact same look), I just don’t think it’s appropriate to dress an 8 year old like an adult.  Today’s kids already grow up too fast, so she really shouldn’t dress like someone’s doll.  I wonder, does she dress like that in school?  If so, I can’t imagine she’s not made fun of or bullied. 

[jackjill89]

Yeah Liya! I really liked her. I thought Grayson would win, and I'd be good with that because he is very talented, but I thought Liya had such a sweet personality along with her outstanding cooking skills.

From what little I saw, Grayson's dad seemed a bit much. 

[cameron]

2 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

So happy Liya was the winner.  I think Grayson’s dessert was his downfall.  To me, it looked like a jumbled mess.

What was with the outfit Ivy was wearing?  I don’t know if they were going for a Jackie Kennedy look or Dr Joyce Brothers (in an episode of The Nanny, she wore that exact same look), I just don’t think it’s appropriate to dress an 8 year old like an adult.  Today’s kids already grow up too fast, so she really shouldn’t dress like someone’s doll.  I wonder, does she dress like that in school?  If so, I can’t imagine she’s not made fun of or bullied. 

It looked like they had the outfit made specifically for her.  A little "over the top" for me. 

Also liked when Cruz put A'Dan in his place over the split the money with me remark.

[milkyaqua]

I was happy Liya won and agree that Grayson's dessert was his downfall.

A'Don was still obnoxious but yes, glad someone called him out on it.  And yes, Ivy and her pillbox hat/Jackie O look were too much but I wasn't surprised.

[mertensia]

Yay Liya!

But I root for anyone who makes a scallion pancake. Love the things.

[jewel21]

There's going to be a 2 Night Masterchef Jr event taking place next weekend. 

Home for the Holidays

Quote

Gordon Ramsay welcomes nine young culinary contestants to cook up seasonal delights themed to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year and more.

Airdate: 12/10/2023

Quote

Judges Gordon Ramsay, his daughter Tilly Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez and Daphne Oz will crown a winner, who takes home the ultimate holiday gift: a $25,000 grand prize, a Viking Kitchen package and one-of-a-kind MasterChef snow globe trophy.

Airdate: 12/11/2023

[KeithJ]

On 12/3/2023 at 8:17 AM, jewel21 said:

There's going to be a 2 Night Masterchef Jr event taking place next weekend. 

Home for the Holidays

Airdate: 12/10/2023

Airdate: 12/11/2023

I just started watching this and they could have just skipped the snowman punching part.  Each kid just happened to get the protein they cook every year for the holidays?

[jcbrown]

I am no fan of Daphne Oz but she is good with the kids. There, I said something nice about her.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

I am no fan of Daphne Oz but she is good with the kids. There, I said something nice about her.

LOL  I was thinking exactly the same thing.

I will never understand why Gordon encourages disrespectful behavior.  He's old enough to be a grandfather but he allows the kids to scream and yell and call him by his first name instead of Chef and stages stunts like letting them smash pies in his face.  On the main show, he dumps food on their heads.  So funny.  Not.  It's probably not real food but it looks like food waste.  I just cringe.  Last night on HK, he started and participated in a food fight in the kitchen area.  Not amusing.

I thought that expecting the kids to add a cookie twist with 30 minutes to go was unreasonable at first.  However, after watching them, I'm pretty sure they were all given basic cookie dough already prepared and all they had to do was jazz it up and bake - sort of like the girl in the finale who made deviled eggs with eggs that were already cooked and peeled.  :)  

I didn't care for the personalities of either of the girls in the finale so I was rooting for Elijah.  All the final dishes were underwhelming.

[jewel21]

I mostly listened to the first part while coloring on my phone. I haven't had time yet to watch the second half. I'll get around to it eventually. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I thought it was an ok mini-season. I'd actually prefer a shorter season, because the later weeks always get tedious. 

Anyway, a full season begins in March! 

[GHScorpiosRule]

My dislike of Tilly remains and actually has increased after watching this. I don’t care that it’s scripted-I loathe her obnoxiousness. I hope she isn’t a permanent addition. I want Graham back!

But I loved all the Christmas decorations inside the kitchen!

[Mr. Sparkle]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I hope she isn’t a permanent addition. I want Graham back!

I'm afraid she'll be on the next season. I don't dislike her, but I agree that the scripted jabs at Dad were annoying. It only needs to be done once or twice a season; it was was too often in this 4-hour special. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I'm afraid she'll be on the next season

[jcbrown]

I didn't mind Tilly but that is because I was comparing her to the charisma-sink that is Hunter Fieri. I prefer this nepotism to that.

[CoyoteBlue]

S9E1

Ugh, all the 10-year-old girls trying to be "sassy"... Looking at you, Remy. Stop with the hands and faces and <waves hand at Remy> all this. Lilo and Bre, you're on the edge. Pull it back.

Asher Joel Osment. "I've been cooking since I was 2!" Yeah, calm down there, kiddo, but I like your style.

Why does Lydia always look like she's expecting a beating?

Cheese Curd does indeed look like the Mini Me of a Wisconsin Cheesehead. Nice dish! That steak made me hungry.

Pageant Girl Jordyn worried me for a moment with the backstory, but seems down-to-earth.

Miles was adorable with the assistive devices, was well-spoken and not wired, so plus. But dude, he TOLD you not to make it an actual smiley face. He TOLD YOU. A really nice mash with some roasted balsamic brussels sprouts plated like a normal dish would have has you safe for sure. Sneezing paprika all over the plate didn't help.

Jason - who the fuck thinks gummy bears in a savory entree are a good idea? Also, Lilo, just cook good food - no one needs the illusion work this early in when you can't produce well-cooked steak chunks.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Wow, I completely missed it. I hope it's streaming somewhere. 

[mlp]

2 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

Looking at you, Remy. Stop with the hands and faces and <waves hand at Remy> all this. Lilo and Bre, you're on the edge.

I had those three plus pageant girl on my dislike list,  I was on the fence about Bryson after his intro but he was fine and respectful during judging so I'm OK with him so far.  

The boy with the missing hand must have good parents.  He was comfortable talking about it and showing his assistive device and he seemed to be managing quite nicely.  I was sure they weren't going to eliminate him first.

I have never liked Daphne Oz but, if I had never seen her before, I wouldn't have had any problem with her tonight.

[cameron]

Some of those contestants really think they are so cool.  They need a reality check.  Bryson (mini cheese curd) was so respectful of his elders.  Big shoutout to his parents for instilling this.

[GHScorpiosRule]

UGH. Tilly as the new addition? I can stand her or the scripted shots at Gordon. I have never, never, NEVER heard him call any of the kids a “donut” or “idiot sandwich” before.  I wish Graham would come back.

[GHScorpiosRule]

13 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

Ugh, all the 10-year-old girls trying to be "sassy"... Looking at you, Remy. Stop with the hands and faces and <waves hand at Remy> all this. Lilo and Bre, you're on the edge. Pull it back.

Actually I didn’t think Remy was that bad. It was Bre and Jordan (pageant queen🙄) who were the WORST. Bre with hand on hips, claiming to be the queen of burgers, only to muck up and get her precocious self booted. Jordan is the one in the preview and trailers who is s giving attitude to Gordon, so she can leave next.

I really like Miles, Bryson, Michael, and Jason. Wow, why is it I’m only liking the boys? There was one girl, whose name we didn’t get (don’t recall) with long auburn hair.

[cameron]

21 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Actually I didn’t think Remy was that bad. It was Bre and Jordan (pageant queen🙄) who were the WORST. Bre with hand on hips, claiming to be the queen of burgers, only to muck up and get her precocious self booted. Jordan is the one in the preview and trailers who is s giving attitude to Gordon, so she can leave next.

I really like Miles, Bryson, Michael, and Jason. Wow, why is it I’m only liking the boys? There was one girl, whose name we didn’t get (don’t recall) with long auburn hair.

I would cringe if they were my daughters.  Attitude was awful.

[KeithJ]

Maybe it’s because I like all of my food separated but I never understood plating meat on top of mashed potatoes (or anything else).

[Mr. Sparkle]

I didn't mind seeing the Queen of Burgers go home. #notmyqueen 

I found Remy the most annoying, but it looks like she can cook. 

Tilly didn't bother me as much as she did on the two night special last year. She gave the most helpful comments out of all the judges. I just hope they keep the dumb dad comments to 1 per episode. 

[Tango64]

On 3/4/2024 at 9:32 PM, CoyoteBlue said:

Ugh, all the 10-year-old girls trying to be "sassy"... Looking at you, Remy. Stop with the hands and faces and <waves hand at Remy> all this. Lilo and Bre, you're on the edge. Pull it back.

Whew, glad somebody said it. Very off putting. 

[cameron]

Another night with Remy and her attitude.  Wish she would just get eliminated and leave.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I got a little misty at that pouty kid when he was eliminated, but his food really looked dull. 

Spaghetti girl just needed to time it better. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, cameron said:

Another night with Remy and her attitude.

I'm just not seeing any kind of attitude with Remy. What am I missing?

[cameron]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'm just not seeing any kind of attitude with Remy. What am I missing?

The hands on the hip, supposedly cute mispronunciation of cooking items, faces, etc.

[Mr. Sparkle]

She was more annoying last week, but that Worcestershire thing was generally dumb. I wonder how much is producer driven. I'm sure the kids are told to make noise and act surprised. 

[mertensia]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

She was more annoying last week, but that Worcestershire thing was generally dumb. I wonder how much is producer driven. I'm sure the kids are told to make noise and act surprised. 

It was so cringy.

[KeithJ]

Bryson won last week so this week he says:

"Now I got a target on my back, everyone is coming for me."

There are no alliances on this show, there are no vote outs, there are no sabotages.  How exactly are the other contestants coming for you?

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 3/12/2024 at 11:14 AM, cameron said:

The hands on the hip, supposedly cute mispronunciation of cooking items, faces, etc.

I didn't notice any hands on the hip (I did see that with Bre last week; you know, the Queen of the Burgers), but the Worcestershire bit didn't really bother me. They're kids. At least there was no smart alecky smack going on.

Or maybe it didn't really bother me because I was only half paying attention.

But I've noticed, as with the adult shows, even here now, whenever a kid says they "cook this ALL.THE.TIME" they muck it up in the challenge. Just as Lilo did with the octopus.

And so not looking forward to next week with the dreaded team challenge. There will be a lot of yelling and screeching.

[CoyoteBlue]

Did Gordon just set Kristell up to fail? She'd been laboring away at that coleslaw and Gordon dumps the task that everyone ignored on her after it was probably too late to fix it. So not fair. Lydia did suck as a captain, so yeah.

[mertensia]

1 hour ago, CoyoteBlue said:

Did Gordon just set Kristell up to fail? She'd been laboring away at that coleslaw and Gordon dumps the task that everyone ignored on her after it was probably too late to fix it. So not fair. Lydia did suck as a captain, so yeah.

Probably.  This is not what I would call a fair competition.

[KeithJ]

Team challenges on Masterchef are stupid.  They are even worse on Masterchef Jr.  Having a nine year old lead a team of children and then basically saying they failed as a leader is asinine.

[Colorado David]

I love how Tilly sounds so much like her dad when she talks.  I wonder if she is following in her dad's footsteps to be a chef someday?

[Tango64]

Oh wow, that coleslaw. She was laboring hard on that mandoline the whole time. Making the slaw, boss! And then no dressing, just plain cabbage on the plate.

[mlp]

4 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Oh wow, that coleslaw. She was laboring hard on that mandoline the whole time. Making the slaw, boss! And then no dressing, just plain cabbage on the plate.

She was my first choice to go home.  She didn't seem to do anything except shred enough cabbage for nine plates.  That can't possily take an hour.  They didn't really show what else she was or wasn't doing.  I won't miss either of those girls although I do think making a small 9 y/o the team leader may have been a deliberate way to eliminate her.

I get a kick out of the blond boy with glasses.  Alfred?

 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Tonight's episode hit Hulu a day early. I won't spoil the ending, but the right person (i.e. the weakest chef on the losing team) went home. Also, this is one of the few times on MCJ that I've seen Ramsay legit lose his patience. Normally, he treats the kids with kid gloves (no pun intended), but the gloves kinda came off when a few of the chefs weren't treating the service seriously enough.

Oh, and nothing in this episode tempted me to set foot in a Magic Castle.

[mertensia]

Goddamn am I sick of team events. It's not entertaining. The kids stress out. And the food choices are always boring.

[CoyoteBlue]

These kids are going to leave the show with PTSD at this point. Even the adult teams always screw up something on this challenge; it's a lot to expect of the kids.

And Remy? STOP IT, girl. Just stop. Your "sassy" bullshit is distracting me from your ass-kicking.

[Tango64]

They shouldn’t do these team events with the kids, especially not this kind where they’re cooking outside for a restaurant full of adults. It’s too much for them, and holding a young captain responsible for the team is unfair.

i have admired how Ramsay tones down for these kid contestants and is almost all encouraging, but this time I genuinely felt bad for these kids being berated by their hero over something beyond their abilities. He was too serious and harsh.

When Ramsay was chastising the blue team kid for running out of pork chops, I was hoping the kid would say, “Well, you threw one of them against the wall.”

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I was sorry to see Miles go, he has a good attitude and I pegged him to go much further in the competition. Alfred and Lilo both seemed lost. 

[AZChristian]

Remy comes across as a kid whose parents have told her too often that she's adorable.  

[Colorado David]

GR was really laying into the kids - tho to be fair they were screwing up.  I wonder if Miles brought out 8 (or 11?) filets because he was trying to get ahead of the game? And to be fair I think he could've just popped them back in the oven to keep warm.

Poor Grayson taking it to heart on failing the team. Its fine to accept blame but man he seemed on the verge of tears. I was kinda proud of him using a meat thermometer - he probably doesnt have experience with touching the meat to see if its done.

Agreed Remy has to be SO dramatic. She has been coached how to act for the camera. Overact.

They really overlooked Layla this episode except when GR was admonishing her for running around.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

10 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

I was sorry to see Miles go, he has a good attitude and I pegged him to go much further in the competition. Alfred and Lilo both seemed lost. 

The lack of a second hand will seriously hamper Miles in any kind of competition. To put it bluntly, there are things he simply cannot do physically that a competing chef can.

Edited March 26 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[mlp]

On 3/26/2024 at 7:28 AM, Tango64 said:

They shouldn’t do these team events with the kids, especially not this kind where they’re cooking outside for a restaurant full of adults. It’s too much for them, and holding a young captain responsible for the team is unfair.

Totally agree.  Even the older kids are too young for that kind of responsibility and pressure.  

When I was looking at Bryson all dressed up while sitting in the theater, I could see exactly what he's going to look like when he's 40 or 50.  He is taking everything seriously and he's probably the best one there.  I won't be a bit surprised if he wins.  

I was glad the red team lost but disappointed that Remy didn't get sent home.  She's really annoying.  The small girl on the blue team needs to go too.  Miles was probably the right choice but I felt a bit sorry for him because he was coping with everything with one hand and not whining about being disadvantaged.  I liked him.  I also like Alfred but he isn't going to last much longer.

The Magic Castle looks like a gloomy tourist trap.

 

[Chyromaniac]

I wouldn’t call the magic castle a tourist trap, mainly because they don’t really cater to tourists.  It’s not like a museum that you can just show up to and visit - it’s essentially a club, and to get inside you generally have to be a member or know someone who is.  I’d like to check it out someday - it seems like something that needs to be experienced in person to fully appreciate.

On 3/13/2024 at 10:32 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Or maybe it didn't really bother me because I was only half paying attention.

I make a concerted effort to not care about anything on this show that doesn’t directly relate to the actual competition.  I find it’s pretty simple to not get annoyed by the contestants or judges, if I simply ff past practically everything that isn’t cooking or judging, and ignore as much of the commentary as possible.

[jcbrown]

Is this show on hiatus? I don't see any upcoming episodes, which seems odd.