This week on “MasterChef Junior,” 14 young home cooks remain. The contestants face a simple challenge involving a popular American refreshment that's raised to "MasterChef" level. In the elimination challenge, the judges admit their age by introducing dishes from the decade they were born.

Two teams are formed out of the 14 remaining contestants on “MasterChef Junior” Season 4. They are divided into two teams using the classic short straw or long straw draw. Those that take a long straw are in the Blue Team, while the ones who take a short straw will be in the Red Team.

Blue Team: Tae-Ho, Zac, Addison, Amaya, Mia, Kaitlyn, Avery, Corey.

Red Team: Jesse, Kaya, Kamilly, Jan, Sam, JJ, Ian.

The teams are then told that they need to produce their best version of a simple raspberry mint lemonade. Judge Christina Tosi will do a blind taste test to determine which lemonade is better.

The Blue Team has most of the older kids and appear to have an advantage. However, the Red Team, with the younger kids, are able to be more organised. They manage to work well together, and Christina’s taste buds notice the difference.

The Red Team wins, and everyone in the team is happily saved from having to go through the elimination challenge. Tae-Ho, Zac, Addison, Amaya, Mia, Kaitlyn, Avery and Corey await the challenge that will be presented to them. All the contestants also get drenched in lemonade from giant water balloons.

Judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Christina Tosi all come into the kitchen wearing outfits reminiscent of the decade they were born. Gordon is from the 60.s, Graham from the 70’s and Christina from the 80’s.

Each judge also presents a dish that was very popular in each respective decade. However, for the elimination challenge, Christina’s 1980’s “surf ‘n’ turf” outshines Gordon’s duck l’orange and Graham’s Chicken Kiev.

The contestants are given top quality lobster tails and cuts of beef fillet and New York strip. A pantry full of spices and various vegetables is also made available, to help the contestants make their own unique version of the 80's “surf ‘n’ turf.”

Tae-Ho encounters an early snag, when Gordon sees that he didn’t season the water for his lobster. Zac faces a bigger hurdle, when he accidentally burns his hand after touching a piping hot pan. On the other hand, Addison impresses the judges with her flambé skills.

Kaitlyn wins the elimnation challenge with a dish composed of lobster cooked in ver blanc sauce and a fillet mignon drizzled with balsamic reduction and accompanied by parmesan roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Addison’s Steak Diane with grilled asparagus and stuffed lobster shell is enough to keep her safe once again. Zac also manages to excel and impress the judges, despite his injured hand. He serves an ambitious dish of boiled and basted lobster with parsnip puree and potato fondant. His pan-seared fillet mignon is cooked and seasoned to perfection.

Amaya is also safe even though her secret garlic sauce is a bit too strong for Graham’s taste. Her steak is a little undercooked but her lobster and green rice are amazing.

Corey, Tae-Ho and Mia end up in the bottom three. Both Tae-Ho and Corey are confident as they serve up their dishes, but they come crashing back to reality once the judges taste their food. Luckily for Corey, he is saved despite serving a very salty lobster tail and an overcooked New York strip.

Tae-Ho ends up going home after he makes the mistake of drenching his dish in store-bought sriracha sauce. His fillet mignon is also overcooked and his cauliflower puree is ruined by the addition of spinach.

Mia knew that she was in trouble, right from the moment that she learned about the challenge. Being a vegetarian, she is not familiar with cooking either lobster or steak. Her weakness shows, when she serves up an undercooked lobster and steak. Her butter sauce also split, and the dish is a complete disaster.

Tae-Ho and Mia head home, leaving only 12 contestants in the competition. “MasterChef Junior” continues next Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or leave a comment below:

RELATED STORIES