MasterChef Junior (U.S. season 4)

MasterChef Junior (U.S. season 4)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	12
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	November 6, 2015 – January 29, 2016
Season chronology

Season 4 of the American competitive reality television series MasterChef Junior premiered on Fox on November 6, 2015.

The winner was Addison Osta Smith, a 9-year-old from River Forest, Illinois, with Avery Kyle from Baton Rouge, Louisiana being the runner-up. This is the first time a female has won MasterChef Junior and that two girls have gone against each other in the finale.

Top 24

Contestant	Age	Hometown	Status	Winnings
Addison Osta Smith	9	River Forest, Illinois	Winner January 29	7
Avery Kyle	9	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Runner-Up January 29	4
Zac Kara	12	Orlando, Florida	Eliminated January 22	6
Amaya Baéz	10	Bergenfield, New Jersey		5
JJ O'Day	12	Santa Fe, Texas	Eliminated January 15	3
Kya Lau	8	San Marino, California		4
Sam Sy	10	Charleston, South Carolina	Eliminated January 8	4
Kamilly Serrano	10	Santa Ana, California		4
Kaitlyn Tomeny	11	Yorktown Heights, New York		4
Corey Gifft	12	Surprise, Arizona		1
Jesse Gunn	11	New York, New York	Eliminated December 18	3
Ian Marcel Sanders	8	Beverly Shores, Indiana		2
Tae-Ho Ahn	12	Chula Vista, California	Eliminated December 11	2
Mia Wistwostika	11	Leander, Texas		2
Nate Murwaski	10	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Eliminated December 4	2
Derek Quinn	11	Yardley, Pennsylvania		0
Adam Queens	11	Brooklyn, New York	Eliminated November 27	0
Jaeclyn Clark	9	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		0
Kyndall Latson	9	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Eliminated November 20	0
Vivian Stich	11	Avondale, Arizona		0
Chad Gibbs	9	Poughkeepsie, New York	Eliminated November 13	0
Annabelle Nolan	10	Cookeville, Tennessee		0
Alexander Cochran	10	Phoenix, Arizona	Eliminated November 6	0
Kade Dugas	9	Morgan City, Louisiana		0

Elimination Table

Place	Contestant	Episode
		1		2		3		4		5	6		7		8		9		10	11		12
1	Addison	IN	WIN	IN	IN	HIGH	IMM	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	LOW	HIGH	WIN	LOW	WIN	IN	WINNER
2	Avery	HIGH	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	PT	WIN	IMM	IN	LOW	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	RUNNER-UP
3	Zac	HIGH	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	WIN	LOW	WIN	IN	ELIM
4	Amaya	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	LOW	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	ELIM
5	JJ	IN	IN	IMM	IN	HIGH	IN	WIN	IMM	PT	WIN	IMM	IN	WIN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	ELIM
6	Kya	WIN	IMM	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	WIN	LOW	IN	IN	IN	LOW	ELIM
7	Sam	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	WPT	WIN	IMM	IN	LOW	IMM	IN	HIGH	ELIM
8	Kamilly	IN	IN	IMM	LOW	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	IN	ELIM
9	Corey	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	LOW	WIN	IN	LOW	HIGH	LOW	IMM	ELIM
10	Kaitlyn	IN	IN	IMM	IN	WIN	IMM	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	HIGH	WIN	IMM	ELIM
11	Ian	IN	LOW	IMM	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	LOW	WIN	IMM	HIGH	ELIM
12	Jesse	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	PT	WIN	IMM	IN	ELIM
13	Tae-Ho	IN	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	ELIM
14	Mia	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	WIN	IN	ELIM
15	Derek	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	ELIM
16	Nate	IN	IN	IMM	HIGH	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	ELIM
17	Adam	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	IN	IN	ELIM
18	Jaeclyn	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	LOW	IN	ELIM
19	Kyndall	IN	IN	IMM	IN	IN	ELIM
20	Vivian	IN	IMM	IMM	LOW	IN	ELIM
21	Chad	IN	IN	IMM	ELIM
22	Annabelle	IN	IN	IMM	ELIM
23	Alexander	IN	ELIM
24	Kade	IN	ELIM

     (WINNER) This cook won the competition.

     (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place.

     (WIN) The cook won the individual challenge (Mystery Box or Elimination Test).

     (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.

    (WPT) The cook won the Pressure Test.

     (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in an individual challenge, but did not win.

     (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.

     (IN) The cook was not selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge.

     (IN) The cook was not selected as a top or bottom entry in a Team Challenge.

     (IMM) The cook did not have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination.

     (IMM) The cook was selected by the Mystery Box Challenge winner and did not have to compete in the Elimination Test.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, and was the last person to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in a Team Challenge, and their team was last to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, and the only person from their team to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries but was not the last person to advance.

     (ELIM) The cook was eliminated.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date	U.S. viewers(millions)
23	1	"New Kids on the Chopping Block"	November 6, 2015	4.16[1]
Mystery Box Challenge: For the mystery box challenge, the contestants must cook their signature burger. The top three dishes were Avery's, Zac's, and Kya's. Kya wins the first Mystery Box challenge. Challenge Winner/Immune: Kya Lau Elimination Challenge: Kya is safe from elimination and gets to enjoy a cake made by Christina. Kya can also select a second contestant to be immune from elimination. She picks Vivian. The cooks learn marshmallows will be the star ingredient in their next dishes. The judges call up Addison, Ian, Kade, Sam, Jesse, and Alexander. Sam, Jesse, and Addison are deemed to have the best dishes of the night, leaving Alexander, Kade, and Ian as the bottom three. Immune: Vivian Stich Winners: Addison Osta Smith, Jesse Gunn & Sam Sy Bottom three: Alexander Cochran, Ian Marcel Sanders & Kade Dugas Ian is sent to safety, eliminating both Alexander and Kade. Eliminated: Alexander Cochran & Kade Dugas
24	2	"A Sweet Surprise"	November 13, 2015	3.85[2]
Individual Challenge: Sam, Jesse, and Addison compete against one another in a cupcake-frosting race. They have ten minutes to frost as many cupcakes as perfectly as Christina demonstrates. The winner will get immunity from elimination and the losers will have to press a giant button that unleashes a large amount of frosting on whichever judge the kid is paired with. Addison gets Gordon, Sam is with Graham, and Jesse is with Christina. The judges invite MasterChef Junior season 2 winner Logan Guleff to officiate this round. Sam and his twenty-nine perfectly frosted cupcakes beat Jesse's eleven cupcakes and Addison's ten which means Sam wins immunity and Graham will get no frosting on him. Gordon and Christina get their frosting shower, then the contestants have a frosting food fight. Challenge Winner/Immune: Sam Sy Elimination Challenge: The kids have one hour to come up with a scallop dish, but the contestants will have to shuck the scallops themselves. Gordon gives a quick shucking lesson and then sends the kids off to create a dish. Tae-Ho is declared the winner of this elimination test. Kamilly, Chad, Annabelle, and Vivian are announced as the bottom four. Winner: Tae-Ho Ahn Bottom four: Annabelle Nolan, Chad Gibbs, Kamilly Serrano & Vivian Stich Kamilly and Vivian are sent to safety, thus eliminating Chad and Annabelle. Eliminated: Annabelle Nolan & Chad Gibbs
25	3	"One Small Step"	November 20, 2015	3.81[3]
Mystery Box Challenge: For the mystery box challenge, the contestants are required to create a dish using various types of cheese. The top three dishes were Addison's, Kaitlyn's, and JJ's. Kaitlyn was announced as the winner of the Mystery Box. Challenge Winner/Immune: Kaitlyn Tomeny Elimination Challenge: Kaitlyn is safe from elimination. The rest of the contestants are required to create a delicious fish dish using various types of fish. After shown how to filet a giant moonfish by Graham, the cooks have to pick which fish to be used for their dishes. Kaitlyn can also select a second contestant to be immune from elimination. She picks Addison. Among the contestants, Avery picked halibut, Jesse picked mackerel, Nate picked yellowtail, while Vivian, Jaeclyn and Sam all picked Thai snapper, and lastly Kya picked salmon. The best fish dish of the night belonged to Nate. Vivian, Kyndall and Jaeclyn, were called down to the front for having the worst three fish dishes of the night. Immune: Addison Osta Smith Winner: Nate Murwaski Bottom three: Jaeclyn Clark, Kyndall Latson & Vivian Stich Jaeclyn was sent to safety, resulting in the elimination Vivian and Kyndall. Eliminated: Kyndall Latson & Vivian Stich
26	4	"The Good, the Bad and the Smelly"	November 27, 2015	3.20[4]
Team Challenge: The home cooks were split into three teams and they must compete to see which team can create a seven layer dip in a relay challenge, with the winning team getting to dunk that judge's head in the dip. Ian's team has Zac, Amaya, JJ, Jesse, and Mia. Avery's team has Kaitlyn, Tae-Ho, Derek, Adam,and Jaeclyn, while Kya's team has Addison, Sam, Kamilly, Corey, and Nate. Ian's team wins. Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Amaya Baéz, Ian Marcel Sanders, Jesse Gunn, JJ O'Day, Mia Wistwostika & Zac Kara Elimination Challenge: Ian, Amaya, Jesse, JJ, Mia and Zac are immune from elimination. They also get to select which selection of ingredients they remaining contestants must cook in the upcoming challenge. The team selected Graham's "smelly" ingredients. Addison had the best dish, followed by Nate. The worst three dishes belonged to Corey, Jaeclyn and Adam. Winners: Addison Osta Smith & Nate Murwaski Bottom three: Adam Queens, Corey Gifft & Jaeclyn Clark Adam and Jaeclyn were eliminated from the competition. Eliminated: Adam Queens & Jaeclyn Clark
27	5	"Happy Birthday"	December 4, 2015	3.51[5]
Team Challenge: The junior home cooks will be split into two teams where they will be serving party food consisting of fish tacos, chicken wings and burgers to a large group of young kids in a birthday lunch party. Addison and Nate will be team captains for this upcoming team challenge with Addison getting the first pick. For her Blue Team, Addison picked Kya, Mia, Kaitlyn, Corey, Zac, Kamilly and Tae-Ho, while for his Red Team, Nate picked Derek, Sam, JJ, Amaya, Jesse, Avery, and was left with Ian. Addison's Blue Team won the challenge, sending Nate's Red team into the MasterChef Junior pressure test. Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Addison Osta Smith, Corey Gifft, Kaitlyn Tomeny, Kamilly Serrano, Kya Lau, Mia Wistwostika, Tae-Ho Ahn & Zac Kara Pressure Test: Addison, Zac, Kya, Kamilly, Kaitlyn, Corey, Mia and Tae-Ho are immune, while Nate, Avery, Amaya, JJ, Sam, Jesse, Ian, and Derek will have to create a stunning croquembouche. Sam was the first to be sent safety. Avery, Jesse and JJ were also judged to have done well enough to be sent to safety. Amaya, Derek, Ian and Nate were left to have the worst croquembouches of the challenge. Bottom four: Amaya Baéz, Derek Quinn, Ian Marcel Sanders & Nate Murwaski Amaya and Ian were judged to have just done enough to be sent to safety, eliminating Nate and Derek. Eliminated: Derek Quinn & Nate Murwaski
28	6	"When Life Gives You Lemons"	December 11, 2015	3.79[6]
Team Challenge: The fourteen remaining chefs draw straws and are split into two teams; the Red Team consists of Avery, Kya, JJ, Sam, Kamilly, Jesse, and Ian while the Blue Team has Addison, Zac, Amaya, Kaitlyn, Corey, Mia, and Tae-Ho. Each team has seven minutes to make a glass of raspberry mint lemonade and serve it to Christina for a blind tasting. Christina declared the Red team as the winner of the challenge, granting them immunity from the upcoming elimination challenge. Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Avery Kyle, Ian Marcel Sanders, Jesse Gunn, JJ O'Day, Kamilly Serrano, Kya Lau & Sam Sy Elimination Test: The remaining cooks are tasked to make a lobster and steak dish in 60 minutes. Kaitlyn was declared as the winner of the elimination test and was the first to be sent to safety. Amaya, Addison and Zac were all judged to have perform well enough to be sent to safety. The worst three dishes of the night belonged to Tae-Ho, Mia and Corey. Winner: Kaitlyn Tomeny Bottm three: Corey Gifft, Mia Wistwostika & Tae-Ho Ahn Corey's dish was deemed the best of the worst and he was sent to safety, eliminating Tae-Ho and Mia. Eliminated: Mia Wistwostika & Tae-Ho Ahn
29	7	"Blind Ambition"	December 18, 2015	3.97[7]
Mystery Box Challenge: In this Mystery Box challenge, the young home cooks discovered they will be tasting a dish made by Gordon Ramsay while blindfolded, and then tasked to replicate it in one hour. Kya is winner of the Mystery Box, followed by Kaitlyn, and both would receive advantages in the upcoming elimination challenge. Challenge Winners: Kaitlyn Tomeny & Kya Lau Elimination Test: For this elimination test, the judges revealed this will be a team challenge, where the home cooks need to serve 31 MasterChef-quality dishes using ingredients from New England or New Mexico in 90 minutes. Kya and Kaitlyn will be team captains for this challenge, with Kya getting the first choice of either selecting the ingredients or her team first. Kya chose to select the ingredients first and chose the crate from New England. For the teams, Kaitlyn picked Addison, Zac, Kamilly, JJ and Amaya, forming the Blue Team, while Kya chose Avery, Sam, Corey, Jesse and was left with Ian, forming the Red Team. The two home cooks from the losing team that performed the worst will be eliminated. The Blue Team was the winner. Team Challenge Winners: Addison Osta Smith, Amaya Baéz, JJ O'Day, Kaitlyn Tomeny, Kamilly Serrano & Zac Kara The judges send Sam and Avery to safety. This leaves Kya, Corey, Jesse, and Ian to face elimination. Bottom four: Corey Gifft, Avery Kyle, Ian Marcel Sanders & Jesse Gunn The judges send Ian and Jesse home. Eliminated: Ian Marcel Sanders & Jesse Gunn
30	8	"Hatching a Plan"	January 8, 2016	4.49[8]
Team Challenge: Graham enters in a chicken suit. The kids guess that their first challenge of the night will be egg related. Only four kids will get to compete for immunity in the Elimination Test. To decide who gets a spot, each contestant grabs an egg and cracks it over Graham's head – if the yolk is red or blue, they move on to compete. Zac and Kamilly form the red team, while Kya and Amaya form the blue team. Meanwhile, Addison, Avery, JJ, Sam, Corey and Kaitlyn sit out from the challenge. The two teams will make the most correctly cooked deviled eggs in twelve minutes, and the winning them will be safe from the upcoming elimination challenge. Gordon Ramsay and Graham Elliot are the yellow team, and if Gordon and Graham win the challenge, all home cooks will have to compete in the upcoming elimination challenge. To keep things fair, the yellow team will only have six minutes. Zac and Kamilly are the winners with 10 deviled eggs and are immune from elimination. Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Kamilly Serrano & Zac Kara Elimination Test: The contestants were asked to do one signature recipe. Avery and Amaya have the best dishes of the night. Kya, JJ and Sam also did well enough to keep themselves in the competition.The bottom three were Corey, Addison, and Kaitlyn. Winners: Amaya Baéz & Avery Kyle Bottom three: Addison Osta Smith, Corey Gifft & Kaitlyn Tomeny Addison was sent to safety, leading to the elimination of Corey and Kaitlyn. Eliminated: Corey Gifft & Kaitlyn Tomeny
31	9	"Tag Team Time"	January 8, 2016	4.49[8]
Mystery Box Challenge: There is a special guest, Christina's mother, Greta Tosi. The kidswill have 60 minutes to make any dish they want using the Mystery Box ingredients. The best three dishes were Addison's, Zac's, and Sam's. Zac was declared as the winner of the Mystery Box. Challenge Winner: Zac Kara Elimination Test: The kids will be put into four teams of two, and only one of them can cook at a time. Every ten minutes, the judges will call for a switch, and the other teammate will pick up where the first left off. The teams will have to cook five different types of street food from around the world. Zac gets to select his teammate and pair up the other contestants. He picks Kya as his teammate, and pairs Sam and Kamilly, Addison and Amaya, and JJ and Avery. Amaya and Addison were declared as the winners of the challenge. JJ and Avery also did enough to move on to the next round. Zac, Kya, Sam, and Kamilly are at the bottom. Team Challenge Winners: Addison Osta Smith & Amaya Baéz Bottom four: Kamilly Serrano, Kya Lau, Sam Sy & Zac Kara Sam and Kamilly are eliminated. Eliminated: Kamilly Serrano & Sam Sy
32	10	"A Gordon Ramsay Dinner Party"	January 15, 2016	4.56[9]
Team Challenge: The contestants will be split into two teams, chosen by Addison and Amaya, and are responsible for feeding twenty of Gordon's friends. Addison picks Kya and JJ for her Blue Team, while Amaya picks Zac and Avery for her Red Team. Each team is responsible for 13 plates, all to be served at the same time. The next day, back at the MasterChef kitchen, the judges reveal that two members of the losing team will be going home tonight. The Red Team wins. Team Challenge Winners: Amaya Baéz, Avery Kyle & Zac Kara Bottom three: Addison Osta Smith, JJ O'Day & Kya Lau The judges send Addison to safety, thus eliminating JJ and Kya. Eliminated: JJ O'Day & Kya Lau
33	11	"Head of the Class"	January 22, 2016	4.87[10]
Mystery Box Challenge: Addison, Avery, Amaya, and Zac reunite with their parents. The judges then lay out four boxes, which each parent must pick randomly for their child. They must create a soufflé for the final Mystery Box Challenge with their ingredient. The judges pick Addison's soufflé. Challenge Winner: Addison Osta Smith Elimination Test: Addison gets to decide who gets which cut of various pork products. Zac gets pig's ears, Addison wants the ribs for herself, and Avery gets the pork belly, which leaves Amaya with the loin. Avery has the best dish and is a finalist. Winner: Avery Kyle Bottom three: Addison Osta Smith, Amaya Baéz & Zac Kara The judges then announce Addison as the second finalist, eliminating Amaya and Zac. Eliminated: Amaya Baéz & Zac Kara
34	12	"The Finale"	January 29, 2016	4.75[11]
Season Finale: The judges want the finalists to prepare and present a three-course meal – appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Appetizer: Addison makes a sake marinated shrimp with seaweed and sea bean salad, sour plums, and puffed rice salad. Avery makes a cream of asparagus soup with smoked oysters, crème fraiche, and creole crouton Entrée: Addison makes a miso black cod with bok choy, shittake mushrooms, and coconut ginger broth. Avery makes a seafood étouffée with crispy okra and white rice. Dessert: Addison makes a green tea panna cotta with cookie crumbles and brûléed plums. Avery makes strawberry shortcake with rhubarb and orange chantilly cream. Final Two: Addison Osta Smith & Avery Kyle Winner Announced: Addison is announced as the fourth MasterChef Junior winner, taking home the trophy and the $100,000 prize. In addition, Addison became the first female winner, and also the youngest overall winner, while Avery became the second female runner-up. MasterChef Junior Winner: Addison Osta Smith

References

1. Porter, Rick (November 9, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Blue Bloods' adjusts up, everything else holds". TV by the Numbers.
2. Porter, Rick (November 16, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Reign' keeps season high, 'World's Funniest' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers.
3. Porter, Rick (November 23, 2015). "Friday final ratings: No adjustments on a quiet night". TV by the Numbers.
4. Porter, Rick (December 1, 2015). "Friday final ratings: No changes as 'Santa Claus' stays on top". TV by the Numbers.
5. Porter, Rick (December 7, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Top Model' finale and everything else holds". TV by the Numbers.
6. Porter, Rick (December 14, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Amazing Race' finale and all others hold". TV by the Numbers.
7. Porter, Rick (December 21, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Shark Tank' and 'Grandma Got Run Over' repeats adjust down". TV by the Numbers.
8. Porter, Rick (January 11, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Hawaii Five-0' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
9. Porter, Rick (January 19, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Reign' and 'Dr. Ken' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
10. Porter, Rick (January 25, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Blue Bloods,' 'Reign' and 'Masterchef Junior' hold at season highs". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
11. Porter, Rick (February 1, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Originals' and everything else unchanged". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 1, 2016.