Episode 8 Junior MasterChef

The competition to find the best young cook in the country is back.

From over 1,000 applications, only 32 cooks have made it to the heats.

Now top chef John Torode

and food blogger and TV cook Donal Skehan

have to decide which cook is good enough

to win the title of Junior Masterchef.

Junior Masterchef,

we have four cooks who are all passionate about cooking.

We want to see someone shine today.

Today they are going to face two very serious challenges.

First, a masterclass from me on how to make chicken liver pate

on melba toast with a watercress salad.

Keep an eye on them. They burn really quickly.

And then they seriously need to have their eye on the prize

because they're going to be cooking two of their most favourite dishes.

Competing today are Ed, Emma, Clara and Jamie.

I really want to win this to prove to my family

and friends that I can cook really well.

I think Junior Masterchef is going to be quite tricky.

When I see John Torode, I'll just be like...

I'm really looking forward to the competition.

Especially cooking my dishes for the judges.

Four cooks, one quarter-final place.

It's down to them.

G'day and welcome to Junior Masterchef.

Our masterclass today - chicken liver pate,

melba toast and watercress and walnut salad.

So first of all, we're going to give you a diced onion and then bacon.

Just watch your fingers with the scissors.

As the butter starts to melt, we put everything in.

And it's really important

that we cook these onions all the way through.

If they're not soft, the pate will have lots of lumps in it.

Now we add our livers.

Has anyone ever had chicken liver pate before?

-ALL:

-No, never.

-OK, so it's a new one for everyone?

-Yes.

With the chicken liver, they should be just coloured brown like this.

So it's really a case of not overcooking the livers, then.

Absolutely. Otherwise it really is dry and nasty. So there we are.

Livers have cooked. Into a food processor to make our pate.

Lid on...

OK. Little pot. We're going to fill the pot with pate.

So now I'm going to put that in the fridge to cool down and set

while we do other bits and pieces.

We're going to move on to the melba toast. Extra-thin toast.

This bit, we will help you with.

Now we need to cut the bread in half.

That's why we're going to help you.

And you rub...the bread on the board.

I'm aiming, and you'll be aiming,

for the thinnest piece of toast you've ever had.

Then place your toast back onto your tray, but toasted side down.

Keep an eye on them. They burn really quickly.

And these are our melba toast.

Finally, we're going to make a watercress salad. Watercress...

then add to that some walnuts.

Take the dressing.

We're ready to put everything on the plate.

And there you are - chicken liver pate,

melba toast and a watercress and walnut salad.

I really love the pate

and I think you can really taste the different flavours in it.

And the toast is really crispy.

You've now seen how it's done.

You've now tasted it. You're going to go to your benches.

You'll have 40 minutes to do this dish.

First things first - wash your hands. Let's cook!

All our cooks today will be working under pressure

and whilst in the Masterchef kitchen, they have us to call upon

but should they be doing this at home,

they would need a responsible adult with them.

10-year-old Clara is from London.

Her grandmother teaches her a new recipe every week.

In India, they cook a lot of curries. They make them really delicious.

And they use lots of spices.

Clara, what do you love about food and cooking?

When I get something right, it makes me feel really happy.

Even if I get it wrong, it means I can improve in cooking it again.

So, yeah.

And who's your inspiration in the kitchen?

It's probably my grandma. She's a really amazing cook.

She's my inspiration because she is really amazing.

A recipe you have never cooked before.

You've only just tasted it today.

-How are you feeling about doing this?

-Um...quite nervous.

But I'm looking forward to cooking it

and I'm going to give it my best shot.

-Good luck.

-Good luck.

Thank you.

Nine-year-old Emma is from Shropshire.

She used to attend a cooking club at her school

and her most adventurous dish is a meat terrine.

I am a creative cook.

I invent new stuff.

I'm normally the only one that likes it.

Emma, how old were you when you started to cook?

-I started helping my mum when I was two years old.

-Two?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

We used to make cakes and I liked eating the mixture,

but my main job was stirring the mixture.

Emma, how does it feel to be here in the Junior Masterchef kitchen?

It's really amazing.

Just watching it on telly

and then actually being here, it's incredible. It's amazing.

-Thanks very much. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

You're halfway, everybody. 20 minutes gone.

11-year-old Jamie is from Cheshire.

He started cooking when he was four years old

and he likes to grow his own vegetables in the garden.

My mum and my gran - that's probably where I got my inspiration from.

Nothing to do with my dad, although he said mention him,

because he does curries sometimes from a jar.

But he's not that good.

Jamie, why do you love cooking so much?

It's just the feeling you get when you cook something

and you're really proud of it. When your family taste it

and they say it's really good. It's really satisfying, yeah.

Chicken liver pate first. What do you think?

I think it's really good,

but I'm running out of time so I need to get on.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

12-year-old Ed is from Somerset.

He once cooked a dinner for 15 people and hopes to be a chef

when he grows up.

I'm cooking in my kitchen about four times a week.

Always on the weekend

and I sometimes help Mum with the roast dinner on Sunday.

Ed, how old were you when you first started cooking?

Probably about five.

I was quite young and I started with quite easy things

and I worked up to harder things.

We've asked you to cook a dish that we've taught you.

How do you feel about this?

I'm feeling quite confident

and I just want to see what you think of it.

-Ed, best of luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck, Ed.

Guys, you've got one minute left, please. Finish off these plates.

30 seconds.

Your time is now up. Stop cooking.

It's now judgement time.

Have the chicken livers been properly cooked?

Will the pate be nice and smooth,

and is the melba toast thin and crispy?

Clara, let's start with you.

I think your pate is very, very tasty.

Your chicken livers were probably a little bit

overcooked before you pureed them. They've gone a bit grainy.

But otherwise, it's very good

and it's a really, really lovely little thing.

-Well done, Clara.

-Thank you.

Clara, your melba toast is perfect. Presentation is lovely.

I know it's a little bit grainy but the flavours are still there.

-So well done, Clara.

-Thank you.

'I thought it was really, really cool'

and yeah, I'm definitely, definitely going to perfect that home.

Ed, you're up next, so let's have a look.

I like the crisp melba toast.

Some of them are really crispy, some of them are a little bit soggy.

Your pate has been seasoned really, really well.

Your liver's gone a little bit over but I am being critical here.

-Good job, Ed.

-Thank you.

Really nice plate, Ed. The melba toast is really nice and crispy.

Some of them are soggy but it's not the end of the world.

Thank you.

I'm feeling really happy with my dish and I think

I've done most of it quite well.

Emma.

There you have it, the perfect consistency of a pate.

Lovely and smooth, silky, rich, buttery.

It's really delicious.

Really delicious. The melba toast is lovely and crispy.

I'm really pleased because your pate is something to be proud of.

Thank you.

Fantastic chicken liver pate.

Your melba toast is nice and crisp,

-great flavours in here.

-Thank you.

I found it exciting and fun

because it was a new one and I hadn't done it before.

Jamie. Let's have a look at yours.

Your pate is absolutely perfect. It is light, fluffy.

The liver has cooked perfectly. I like your melba toast.

-It is a very, very good pate.

-Thank you.

A really nicely put together dish.

I'm feeling really, really happy now.

John's tasted it and he said it was really good.

Well done to all four of you. The first round is done. Off you go.

I think it went really well

and I think they both quite liked all of our dishes.

I am feeling quite nervous

but I really want to get in there and start cooking.

I wasn't expecting that. It was quite a challenge.

It's not clear-cut right now, four cooks, one quarter-final place.

It all comes down to cooking their own food.

Rules are fairly simple, your two favourite dishes, one hour.

By the end of this, we will have ourselves one quarter finalist.

I wish you all the very best of luck. Let's cook.

Our cooks are seriously under pressure in the kitchen today.

But they have us on hand if they run into any trouble.

If they were doing this at home,

they would need the help of a responsible adult.

Ed, what are your two dishes?

I'm making salmon with roasted red peppers on top

and for dessert, a shortbread stack

with strawberry coulis and vanilla cream.

What is it about these two dishes that are going to impress us?

I think the flavours with the salmon are really nice

and to try and get a salmon spot on cooked is hard.

-I'd like to show a skill.

-Good luck, Ed.

-Thank you.

-Basil?

-Basil.

-Ah, basil and strawberry with shortbread. Fancy!

For dessert, he is doing a strawberry stack with basil cream,

now that is a bit of a risk.

As long as he can get those flavours to work properly

and they are not too dangerous,

then we might be in for something quite exciting.

Emma, what are you cooking for us?

Chicken and bacon with tabouleh and a green salad.

So tabouleh, cracked wheat salad with lots of parsley,

mint all mixed together as a salad.

Yeah. Then, I am doing layered fruit and mascarpone dessert.

Cooking is one of your big interests,

what do you want to be when you grow up?

-Cross between a chef and an actress.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

For her dessert,

she has got wonderful layers of mixed berries and mascarpone cheese.

If the mascarpone cream doesn't set, the whole thing will fall apart.

We will have a plateful of liquid and fruit.

You've had 25 minutes already. 25 minutes gone.

-Clara, what are your two dishes?

-I'm going to cook prawn curry

with a pomegranate raita which is yoghurt and coconut rice.

For dessert, I'm cooking an Indian dessert called payasam.

It's a dairy, milky dessert

and they usually serve it at weddings in India.

-Can you pronounce the pudding for me again?

-Pudding.

-No, the name of it!

-Sorry! Payasam. Payasam.

I have to look that up. You have a lot of work to do,

have you given yourself enough time?

I'm going to be pushy but I think I can do it.

-Good luck, Clara.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

Clara is about to introduce me to something I've never had

in my life and that's called payasam.

One of the great things about Masterchef

is that you get to taste new things all the time.

See things you never seen, taste food you've never tasted.

How brilliant is that?

Jamie, what are you going to cook for us today?

Pan-fried duck with plum sauce, mashed potatoes and spinach

followed by sweet dumplings and then orange yogurt and raspberries.

-It's your recipe!

-My golden syrup dumpling recipe?

-Yes.

-I need to get it right!

-Brilliant, no pressure there then, Jamie!

-Good luck!

-Good luck!

Jamie is taking a real risk. He's decided to do my dumpling recipe.

He's a brave man. He has got to pull this one off

completely right in order to get in your good books.

Two more minutes left.

Time's up. Step away from your benches please.

Clara has made a main course of prawn curry

served with pomegranate raita and coconut rice.

You've learnt your first lesson.

You must leave yourself enough time to put it on the plate at the end

because your presentation is suffering because of that.

Your rice is great, you are going well with those sweet prawns

and the pomegranate raita, it's a great combination.

I think it's really tasty and I'm not going to fault you on it.

Fantastic flavours and I'm loving the deep heat

and spice you have going on in the prawns.

Clara's dessert is payasam,

an Indian condensed milk-based pudding with rice noodles,

pistachio nuts, raisins, the spice cardamom, served with mango.

Having never had payasam before,

I get creaminess from the condensed milk,

freshness from the mango, a smokiness of cardamom.

For me, the dessert is good, I like it.

This is really interesting

-and I would love to try it again.

-Thank you.

Overall, I think it went really well

but I would have liked to spent a bit more time on my presentation

so I could have got it a bit better.

Emma's main course is roast chicken wrapped in bacon

served with tabouleh with tomato and herbs and salad.

The chicken is cooked very well.

It's lovely wrapped in that bacon. The tabouleh knocks your socks off.

It's very strong, there's a lot of garlic in here.

I don't think I could go out on a date after this

because no-one would want to sit beside me.

Your tabouleh is punching with garlic.

The good thing is should a vampire arrive,

they're going to run 100 miles

because there is so much garlic in there.

But I like the combination of the chicken, bacon

and the tabouleh together.

Her dessert is layered mixed fruit

with mascarpone cream cheese and lemon.

You know you've got a little bit of an issue

because your mascarpone has split,

so the texture's a little bit strange,

but I really like the concept, the vibrancy of the lemon

with the fresh fruit and the sugary mascarpone is a nice thing.

Thank you.

Emma, I think you know your mistakes. It's a bit grainy.

But if you got that texture right,

I think you'd have had a really perfect dessert.

Thank you.

'I've enjoyed today very much,'

and I think I have shown what I can do.

Jamie's main course is roast duck served with buttered spinach,

mashed potato, plums and a plum sauce.

Wonderfully creamy potato, on top of it that beautifully cooked duck.

You've counteracted that richness of the duck with

the tart sweetness of the plums.

What I love most of all is the presentation.

It's a really pretty plate. It really works for me. I love it.

I find it very difficult to have sweet, sour plum

and the juice of the plum going into creamy mashed potato.

But I think it's flavoured very well, cooked very, very well

and it's presented beautifully.

-Good job.

-Thank you.

For dessert, Jamie has made John's recipe -

his grandmother's sweet dumplings cooked in golden syrup,

served with orange yoghurt, and raspberries.

I admire your bravery, Jamie, coming here, using one of my recipes

and cooking it for me.

Good job. I like them a lot, I'll eat all of them. They're great.

-They remind me of my granny.

-Thank you.

Well done with this. Really, really tasty and totally lip-smacking.

Cheers.

I'm most proud of John Torode saying my dumplings

reminded him of his gran.

Grans are very caring, so it must be quite good, yeah.

Ed's main course is salmon topped with red peppers and basil,

and served with roast potatoes.

Ed, I really like the way you cooked your salmon.

I think that's absolutely perfect.

But the whole thing's very sweet for me.

The combination clashes a little bit.

Ed, great presentation here.

Your salmon is beautifully cooked

and those potatoes are wonderfully cooked.

So well done.

Ed's dessert is a strawberry and shortbread stack

with a strawberry sauce and basil cream.

Beautiful dessert, really flavourful and I love your shortbread.

It's lovely and crumbly and the cream is lovely and creamy.

Really fantastic dessert here. I love it.

Your shortbread is wonderfully sweet and very buttery.

Soft, rich cream with a little tang of basil. I quite like it.

-I like your fresh strawberry sauce. Ed, really tasty.

-Thank you.

I am most proud of cooking the salmon perfectly

because that's quite tricky, so I just got it right today.

I'm really nervous. I want to go in and find out who'll go through.

Yeah, I want to go in and spy on them!

Interesting day in the Masterchef kitchen.

Four cooks, one quarter-final place to give.

After tasting their food, now it's a really open race.

Ed's flavours were fantastic. His potatoes were really well cooked.

He produced salmon which was beautifully cooked.

For me, it was all the sweet things - sweet peppers, sweet basil,

sweet salmon - that's my issue.

I liked Ed's shortbread, I really did. Fantastic!

Could have eaten that whole plate by myself!

I really want to stay in the competition

because I can carry on learning new skills to use in my cooking at home.

Emma cooked chicken wrapped in bacon with tabouleh.

For me, that tabouleh was heady with garlic.

Her dessert - the mascarpone had curdled.

Flavours were there and if she had got the consistency right,

it would have been a fantastic dessert.

I would love to stay in the competition because I can learn

lots more and then I can become a professional chef when I am older.

Clara's prawn curry, rich with tomato, really good.

The presentation - such a shame.

You're right. Presentation let her down.

Her dessert, payasam, never had it before. Really liked it.

I think it would be something I'd try again.

I'm really nervous and I really want to get through,

but the other children are really good as well.

Today, Jamie really impressed me.

Wonderful main course, fantastic duck,

really rich and flavourful, that plum sauce on the side.

For me, that plum sauce, mashed potato, it doesn't quite work.

Totally see what you're saying about the mashed potatoes

but they were nice and creamy,

so, in fairness, he did a good job with them.

Jamie took a risk and decided to take one of my recipes and cook it.

My grandmother's golden syrup dumplings.

-It was really, really tasty.

-I think he's got the flavouring perfect.

It's been one of the best days of my life

because it's just been really fun.

I would so love to get through and do more of it.

Have you made a decision then?

It's a really tough one.

Thank you very much for all your efforts.

Four very good cooks but you know the rules -

we only have one quarter final place.

Our quarter-finalist is...

Jamie!

Well done, Jamie!

A bit disappointed, but I really enjoyed my day.

I've had loads of fun in Junior Masterchef.

The judges have been really helpful and given me tips in cooking.

I think that Jamie will get to the final. I hope he will, anyway!

When I walked in, I was really nervous.

Now I've got through, I am just so happy.

Nothing compares to this, it's just really, really good.

Jamie will be back for the quarter-final, when he'll compete

with three other heat winners

for the title of Junior Masterchef.

If you'd like to make John's masterclass dish,

visit CBBC's Junior Masterchef page for the recipe.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd