they can whip up a mean liver pate
before they're even old enough to drive
but despite the tears the pan fires and
gordon ramsay's wrath these pint-sized
competitors aren't here to make friends
well actually they are i'm more here to
make friends than when actually
for masterchef junior contestants life
is about more than nailing that sizzling
main dish
and these hard-working contestants are
also required to keep up with their
schooling yep math science and all that
jazz
as executive producer robin ashbrook
told huffpost
classrooms are tucked away from the
cameras right next to the kitchen
apparently the day andrew learns that
oxygen makes a flame bigger in science
class he was snoring away at his desk
filming for the show takes place over
nine weeks during which contestants
relocate with their parents or guardians
to los angeles
while they may not get to blow off steam
during recess a private tutor makes sure
their newfound tv stardom doesn't affect
their grades this doesn't really
sound very elevatable hey i just coined
the town
season two's levi ehrenberg claims he
was surprised to find out he would have
to do three hours of school a day
as he admitted to gaber's block you
actually have to be in a classroom
setting to me that surprised me more
than the makeup
if you fidget anxiously on the sofa
every time a contestant botches a dish
just imagine how their parents feel
watching their kids face the heat
they're too salty talk to me let me help
you though fans only catch a glimpse of
the proud mamas and papas cheering for
their cubs in the finale robin ashbrook
told huffpost
there was always a chaperone and it was
almost always apparent they were at all
times able to see what was going on in
the kitchen all of the parents actually
sat together and watched what happened
they really bonded it certainly wasn't a
dance mom's atmosphere aviva mom of
season seven's kyle suzitski told
suburbs 101 being thrown in that
environment you really get to know each
other i guess it's a little bit what you
see in the military we were in the
trenches together we cried together for
our kids we laughed and we supported
each other but the parents also make
some serious sacrifices many of them
have to hit pause on all their
responsibilities including parenting
their other children to move to la in
the hopes of their number one chef
winning at all
watching a kid's little hands wrap
around a monstrous razor-sharp chef's
knife might seem a little unsettling and
host gordon ramsay doesn't do much to
reassure viewers once saying they're not
plastic knives they're the best japanese
knives in the world the equipment is
second to none
whether it's a sous-vide machine or the
best stove or hand blender it's the real
deal
it feels fun to cut with knives that are
bigger than my hand but his culinary
producer sandy birdsong told salon the
adult professionals who appear on
masterchef typically have more kitchen
accidents than the kiddos of masterchef
junior
still when it comes to the kids extra
precautions are put in place and a
larger team of medics stands at the
ready there's even a medic posted
alongside every kitchen station and of
course they've answered the call i was a
really good cook but that flame i think
it's gonna burn the kitchen down there
was the time kayla mitchell accidentally
cut two of her fingers with an
eight-inch knife
and the instance where zack carra burned
his hand while prepping his dish
zach even finished cooking his
pan-seared filet mignon and lobster tail
with just one hand the kids were fine
but the rest of us
near heart attacks
no matter what level of culinary
expertise they come in with all the kids
get safety training led by culinary
producer and former top chef contestant
sandy birdsong in a classroom that
emulates their kitchen stations the kids
are taught how to work the ovens and
food processor by a team of 26 trainers
they're also armed with a few tips and
tricks as sandy told buzzfeed we teach a
very basic application that works in our
environment and that's what they tend to
stay with and it's their choice if they
go off that mark during a challenge in
2011 a dad of a junior masterchef
australia contestant claimed that the
kids even knew about the challenges
beforehand and only acted surprised for
the cameras but as sandy tells it none
of that is revealed to the kids ahead of
time and those reactions are real
i beat out thousands of kids to get to
this moment it appears that some kids
prefer a ladle to a joystick and a
season six star ariana fagan's dad
claimed as many as ten thousand kids
showed up to the open casting call
ariana auditioned three times before
landing a spot among the 40 competitors
who were selected for the show recalling
to lake minnetonka magazine i got very
stressed out a lot of the kids had
agents but we discovered the casting
crew didn't want that just kids with big
personalities
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as for how they draw out those perfect
personalities it's a process as kappel
student media reported of season 3's
ryan kate brandenburg she had to do some
simple tasks like cook an egg cut celery
and measure water she was then shown a
series of flash cards with various
kitchen appliances tools and equipment
to identify and once she passed the
screen test she was asked to submit a
video clip featuring her home and family
clearly she made the cut
during the nine week long shoot for the
show the contestants share more than
just the kitchen they all stay in the
same hotel too as season one sarah lane
told huffpost what people don't know
about the show is the amount of downtime
that the kids get we'd go home around 4
or 5 p.m every day and then just hang
out at the hotel until the next morning
that's when they did typical kid stuff
like go to the mall or get a bite to eat
recounting that time together kyle's
mama viva told suburbs 101
since everybody stayed in the same hotel
the kids swam in the pool and had a
chance to bond sundays were dark days we
all hung out together on those days and
went on excursions to malibu santa
monica pier or an aquarium
besides turning child chefs into
pint-sized celebrities masterchef junior
helped foster real and lasting
friendships among the competitors as
season ones dara you explained to
reality wanted i would call it family i
have 12 new moms and 12 new sisters and
brothers they're just amazing and i talk
to them almost every day some of the
kids even supposedly have a group text
going to stay in touch and having flown
coast to coast for a fellow contestants
bat mitzvah mama viva sasitsky told
suburbs 101 there is a special bond that
they share with each other no matter how
much time goes by
she's going to make me cry too she
hasn't stopped it
come on just crying's contagious abby
pull it together
for many of its stars life is never the
same after masterchef junior for example
season two winner logan goleth got to
visit president obama and michelle at
the white house i've been doing a lot of
tv appearances i cooked at uh the oscars
that that was great and dara you
leveraged her runner-up status to land
spots in top restaurants as well as tv
gigs the show reportedly brings in
millions of viewers and effectively
transforms its kids into recognizable
public figures
as kyle cesitzki's mom explained to
suburbs 101 of her son a group of kids
at the movie theater recognized him and
approached him for pictures sometimes at
chipotle he'll be randomly recognized
but there's a downside to the glittering
limelight and much of the darker side
can stem from the internet as mama viva
explained we had a few issues with our
kids public instagram accounts there
were some overzealous fans wanting to
meet our children we had to block and
report what was happening even to law
enforcement in a few cases
season one's troy glass also had to
deactivate his twitter account he was
just 12 when the show was filmed and
said he didn't want fellow contestants
sarah lane on his team sarah later
recalled to huffpost they left that in i
don't think it was their intention but
troy ended up getting a lot of hate
because of that comment
the last few nerve-wracking seconds of
every challenge has viewers on the edge
of their seats and before you know it
the kids are already sweating bullets in
front of the judge's table 60 seconds to
go guys come on let's go guys you can do
it but while it seems like a frantic
race to the finish in reality the kids
and the judges take a timeout after each
challenge and they sometimes even take a
break for lunch according to buzzfeed
once one particular egg making challenge
was announced the judges took a break
while production had the kids shoot a
second take where they rushed off to
start cooking
what doesn't get a second take is the
actual challenge itself according to
entertainment weekly competitors cook
without a break for a whole hour as we
see on tv dhara yu told huffpost the
cooking that you see the kids do is 100
real the kids are cooking the actual
food nobody is cooking off camera and
bringing it it is for the most part in
real time something very big had to
happen for them to stop the timer on the
actual show i learned how to work under
time and under pressure
as loyal fans of the show we only get to
see about half of what actually happens
in the kitchen besides the judges and
the contestants the set is jam-packed
with camera crew and a team of
production assistants who sometimes
supply kitchen tools to the kids
off-camera sometimes even the judges
pitch in can you do me yeah what do you
need i can't reach the pictures this one
yeah
for my sauce there you go staffers also
observe the kids and try to tease out
story lines that will make for good tv
but thankfully the contestants don't
have to worry about anything other than
crushing their dishes as sarah lane told
huffpost they have a plan for how the
season is going to go so they leave
things that make their plan work because
that is how tv works
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