Every season of Masterchef Junior always gives us great moments.
Season five in particular with chock full of unforgettable tidbits.
From guest judges like Julie Bowen and Richard Blais, to Gordon dressed like an elf, season
five was definitely one for the record books.
Winter Wonderland
In almost every season of Masterchef Junior, the judges plan a surprise for the young chefs
to remind them that not everything is serious in this competition!
Shayne gets incredibly excited.
After frolicking in the snow, a special guest comes out of the gingerbread house.
But then, where’s Gordon?
The change to the Winter Wonderland leads to a winter wonderland inspired challenge.
This is all for the kids.
Gordon would not dress up in a silly elf costume for just anyone.
One thing that Masterchef Junior does really well is taking an entire theme and running
with it, allowing both the kids and the judges to have a great time with it.
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Cooking Tips
Learning a recipe from the master is something these young contestants could only dream of,
and to see them cook or explain a recipe in front of them must be absolutely surreal.
Whether it was Gordon’s steak frites or Christina’s macarons, these contestants
got the privilege of watching these masters cook and seeing just how things should be
done.
The cooking tips are commonly used as inspiration for challenges, such as Christina’s molten
lava cake.
For the corn dog challenge, they explain what they’re looking for in the perfect corn
dog.
One thing that stands out from these cooking tips is one of Gordon’s famous recipes.
Learning a recipe like that from the man who has it as a staple on one of his other shows,
has to be amazing.
These cooking tips not only set up challenges for the season, but give cooking tips to the
audience as well!
Contestant Struggles
On any cooking show, from Masterchef Junior to Masterchef to Hell’s Kitchen to Chopped,
it is both cringe-worthy and, depending on the contestant, can be a little satisfying.
That isn’t always the case with the small chefs on Masterchef Junior, mainly because
you know as an audience that these kids are trying their best and still learning.
These are the moments you see the most compassion from the judges as well.
In group challenges, the contestants can get a bit snippy with each other as the time ticks
down.
They remind each other to communicate, albeit with a little bit of urgency.
In these moments, audiences see glimpses of the adult equivalents of this show.
You can feel the stress, the tension, the issues between teams.
The tag team challenges are always hard for the cooks because they lose control for a
time.
With Peyton and Afnan, there’s is a clear breakdown of communication.
So much so, that Gordon even comes over to talk to Peyton.
These clips all show that while these kids can be incredibly impressive, they have slip
ups just like the adults, and can lose their cool just as quickly.
The Muppets
Season five was chock full of amazing guest stars.
From Julie Bowen to Mayim Bialik, from Richard Blais to Wolfgang Puck, there was no shortage
of guests to impress both the audience and the contestants.
However, there was one pair of contestants that seemed to be just a little bit more for
the contestants than for the audience.
The final six contestants must have been unable to predict who was going to show up next after
so many great guests.
When they see Miss Piggy and the Swedish Chef, they have the purest response that the audience
can’t help but love.
Not only are Miss Piggy and the Swedish Chef there to judge, but there to give the judges
a hard time, too.
Christina and Gordon ask Miss Piggy some rapid fire questions.
Shayne even gets to bring his dish to the Swedish Chef, who has a response a little
different than some other judges.
This entire appearance is full of Miss Piggy making jokes, calling Gordon by the wrong
name, and making the kids smile.
The Chefs Honor Their Moms
Family is important to everyone, but especially to these young contestants on Masterchef Junior.
In this particularly heartfelt challenge, the contestants were given the chance to honor
their mothers through a meal.
In a special guest appearance by Julie Bowen.
The chefs then get a special surprise in the drawers at their stations!
When Gordon asks young home cook Donovan about his mother...
Then, Gordon asks Donovan...
Many chefs honor their family through their food, so it is great for Masterchef Junior
to give them the opportunity to do that as well.
Messy Judges
Nothing makes the contestants on Masterchef Junior happier than to see the judges looking
an absolute mess.
And lucky for them, that happens a lot on Masterchef Junior!
The judges will stop at nothing to keep smiles on the contestants’ faces, even if it makes
a mess out of them!
Then they got Christina, and before long, it becomes a frosting fight.
The judges are great sports, even letting the kids countdown before they dump corn dog
batter on Gordon.
After he is covered in flour, comes the batter.
The kids and judges, can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous they end up looking every
time.
These moments are great for the audience to see the kids and judges enjoying themselves,
and making the competition a little less tense.
The judges’ willingness to get a little, or a lot, messy for the contestants, makes
Masterchef Junior that much more special.
Contestant’s Best Dishes
A highlight of any cooking show is seeing a chef do well.
Regardless of how you feel about the chef, it’s always great to see them get great
marks and high praise from the judges.
For Shayne, one of his great dishes came during the challenge with the Muppets, when the Swedish
chef tasted his dish.
For Jasmine, she does something not even many trained adult chefs can do -- she made a perfect
beef wellington!
Shayne gets even more praise during a vegan challenge with special guest judge Mayim Bialik.
Justise also continually received high praise from the judges, winning competition after
competition.
She also receives one of the highest compliments from judge Christina Tosi.
These chefs impress the judges time and time again with their creativity, attention to
detail, and level of skill.
Gonzalo’s Attitude
It is very rare on Masterchef Junior to see Gordon be anything like he is on his other
shows.
Masterchef Junior Gordon is usually kind, helpful, and more soft spoken than he is on
any other show.
That is, until Gordon sees how Gonzalo is treating his teammates in a group challenge.
When Gonzalo tries to justify his behavior, Christina has a necessary correction for what
he’s saying.
This feels like the stress of an adult cooking show.
When Gordon stops him and reminds him what he’s there for, Gonzalo seems to listen.
But within minutes, Gordon has to point it out to him again.
It’s very rare to see a chef have to be scolded by Gordon, but Gonzalo’s attitude
made him have to change his tactic.
It’s a moment like this that reminds you that the yelling has no place in Masterchef
Junior.
Michelle Obama
You can’t get much better than the First Lady, can you?
Not only did Michelle Obama show up to introduce the mystery box, but a healthy mystery box.
This mystery box is fit for a First Lady like Michelle Obama, who has made this her main
focus.
This challenge has a great moment between Shayne and Gordon.
One lucky chef even got to go to the White House and meet Michelle Obama.
The amazement on Justise’s face as she sees everything in the White House is another reminder
that for a young chef, this must be a dream!
The two sit together for a chat, both looking very regal.
This season of Masterchef Junior really raised the bar for guests because not only did Michelle
Obama help create a challenge, but the winner got to visit the White House.
The Finale
Finales of a competition show like this are always packed with energy, excitement and
ultimately, the moment you have been waiting all season for -- the moment someone is crowned
the winner!
In season five, the two finalists, Justise and Jasmine, truly earned their spots.
Justise was someone who was absolutely made for a competition like this, and it showed
in her every single week.
Not only did the finale show these two going up against each other, but there was another
surprise as well: These two famed chefs are huge for the season five finale.
Waiting to find out who was going to win that $100,000 dollar prize was an absolute nail-biter.
Ultimately, Jasmine, an 11 year old home cook from Georgia, was the winner.
She became the first winner in the show’s history to have been eliminated and come back.
Congratulations, Jasmine!
We hope you like the video!
Are there any other season five moments we missed?
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to check out our season six video as well.
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