Move over grown-ups! Kids take over the kitchen on the series premiere of culinary competition series MASTERCHEF JUNIOR airing Friday, Sept. 27 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The MASTERCHEF judging panel – host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot – welcomes the series’ first-ever batch of kids to the kitchen, where they will prove their passion for cooking in the auditions round.
24 of the best junior home cooks in the country between the ages of eight and 13 will compete in the first audition round and present their dishes to the judges. The kids will split up into three groups of eight and, as a group, create their best seafood, pasta or dessert dishes. Those who impress the judges will earn a white MASTERCHEF JUNIOR apron and advance to the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR Top 12. Then, the following week, on Friday, Oct. 4 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the Top 12 finalists will compete in the first challenge to prove they have what it takes to be a junior MASTERCHEF.
This season, the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR finalists will compete in a series of delicious challenges and cook-offs, including a cupcake challenge, a tag-team Beef Wellington challenge and the always difficult restaurant takeover, during which the kids will prepare a three-course menu at a celebrated fine dining restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Along the way, the judges will coach and encourage the budding cooks until one talented kid is named America’s first-ever MASTERCHEF JUNIOR and win $100,000.
Below are the names, ages and hometowns of the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR Top 24 contestants:
| NAME, AGE, HOMETOWN | NAME, AGE, HOMETOWN |
| Alexander, 13, New York, NY | Lishai, 11, Los Angeles, CA |
| Amanda, 12, Franklin Square, NY | Mina, 11, Pomona, CA |
| Daniel, 11, Hawthorne, NY | Molly, 12, Pasadena, CA |
| Dara, 12, Culver City, CA | Nathan, 8, Woodland Hills, CA |
| Ethan, 11, Riverside, CA | Noah, 12, San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| Franco, 11, Massapequa, NY | Roen, 12, Brooklyn, NY |
| Gavin, 10, San Francisco, CA | Sage, 13, Rossmoor, CA |
| Hana, 10, Claremont, CA | Sara, 12, Studio City, CA |
| Jack, 10, East Rockaway, NY | Sarah, 9, Culver City, CA |
| Jewels, 12, Manalapan, NJ | Sofia, 12, Brooklyn, NY |
| Justin, 11, Neptune, NJ | Tommy, 11, Palos Verdes Estates, CA |
| Kaylen, 11, Culver City, CA | Troy, 12, Thousand Oaks, CA |
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