Junior MasterChef facts for kids

Junior MasterChef is a fun British TV cooking competition. In this show, young chefs from 9 to 12 years old compete. They want to win the title of "Junior MasterChef". It is a special version of the main UK MasterChef show.

The show first aired from 1994 to 1999. Loyd Grossman was the presenter back then. After a break, the show returned in 2010. It had a new look and new presenters. These were writer and actress Nadia Sawalha and professional chef John Torode. Nadia had won Celebrity MasterChef in 2007. John Torode also presents the main MasterChef show.

The new series was made by Shine Television. It was shown on CBBC and BBC One. More series were made in 2012 and 2014.

The First Junior MasterChef Show

The very first Junior MasterChef show was based on the regular MasterChef format. It even used the same TV set. This original show was for young cooks up to 16 years old.

It ran for five years, from 1994 to 1999. Loyd Grossman was the presenter for all these years.

Junior MasterChef Comes Back!

Junior MasterChef had a short return in 2008. This was for a special Children in Need episode. A young chef named Billy won this special show.

The first brand new series for kids aged 9 to 12 started on May 10, 2010. It was shown on CBBC. India Fisher was the voiceover artist. The judges were John Torode and Nadia Sawalha. Georgia, who turned 13 during the finals, won in 2010.

For the 2012 series, Irish cook Donal Skehan joined as a judge. He took Nadia Sawalha's place.

How Old Do You Need to Be to Compete?

The rules for applying to the CBBC series were clear. For the 2012 show, applicants had to be between 8 and 13 years old. This age limit was set for August 6 of that year. Filming for the first rounds also started on that date.

Junior MasterChef Winners

Here are the talented young chefs who won Junior MasterChef:

When Junior MasterChef Was On TV

This table shows when the different series of Junior MasterChef were broadcast. It includes the original and revived shows.

Junior MasterChef Around the World

Junior MasterChef is so popular that many other countries have made their own versions! Here's a list of some of them.

Key:      Still on TV        No longer on TV  

Country	Name	Host(s)	Judges	Network	Air dates
Albania	MasterChef Junior Albania	Redjan Mulla (narrator)	Sokol Prenga Xheraldina Vula Julian Zguro	RTSH	27 March 2018 – 12 June 2018 (season 1)
Australia	Junior MasterChef Australia	George Calombaris Gary Mehigan (Season 1-2) Andy Allen Melissa Leong Jock Zonfrillo	Gary Mehigan George Calombaris Matt Preston (Season 1) Anna Gare Matt Moran (Season 2) Andy Allen Melissa Leong Jock Zonfrillo	Network Ten	12 September 2010 – 15 November 2010 (Season 1) 25 September 2011 – 23 November 2011 (Season 2) 11 October 2020 (Season 3)
Belgium	Junior MasterChef Belgium	unknown	Wout Bru Fatima Marzouki	vtm	18 January 2012 – 2012
Brazil	MasterChef Junior	Ana Paula Padrão	Erick Jacquin Paola Carosella Henrique Fogaça	Band	20 October 2015 – 15 December 2015
Chile	'	Diana Bolocco	Christopher Carpentier Yann Yvin Ennio Carota	Canal 13	21 March 2016 – present
Finland	Junior MasterChef	Tomi Björck Meri-Tuuli Lindström		Nelonen	19 August 2012 – 7 October 2012
France	Junior MasterChef	Carole Rousseau	Frédéric Anton Yves Camdeborde Sebastian Demorand	TF1	22 December 2011; 5 July 2012; 27 December 2013
Greece  Cyprus	Junior MasterChef Greece	Maria Mpekatorou	Yiannis Loukakos Lefteris Lazarou Dimitris Skarmoutsos	Mega Channel	27 November 2011 – 5 February 2012
		Eleni Psyhouli Manolis Papoutsakis Magky Tabakaki		Star Channel	13 September 2018 - 24 December 2018
Hungary	MasterChef Junior Hungary	N/A	István Pesti Zsófia Mautner Bence Szendrei	Viasat 3	13 October 2018 – 15 December 2018
India	Junior Masterchef Swaad Ke Ustaad	N/A	Kunal Kapoor Vikas Khanna Surjan Singh Jolly	Star Plus	17 August 2013 – 2 November 2013
Indonesia	Junior MasterChef Indonesia	N/A	Arnold Poernomo Degan Septoadji (Season 1) Rinrin Marinka Bara Pattiradjawane (Season 2)	RCTI	6 April 2014 – 17 March 2015
Israel	Junior MasterChef Israel	unknown	Haim Cohen Eyal Shani Micahl Anski Yonatan Rochfeld	Channel 2 (Keshet)	22 April 2012 – present
Italy	Junior MasterChef Italia	Joe Bastianich Carlo Cracco	Bruno Barbieri Lidia Bastianich Alessandro Borghese	Sky Uno Cielo	13 March 2014 – present
Jordan	Junior MasterChef Jordan	Mahmoud Al-Omari	Soumia Khalifa Ahmed Saaed Firas Mamdouh	Amman TV	6 May 2019 − present
Morocco	ماستر شيف جونيور (MasterChef Junior Morocco)	Mariam el Kamil	Mariam Ettahri Moha Fdal Khadija Bensdira	2M	9 October 2018 – present
Mexico	Junior MasterChef México	Anette Michel	Adrián Herrera Díaz Benito Molina Dubost Betty Vázquez	Azteca Trece (Azteca)	3 April 2016 – 3 July 2016 5 March 2017 – present
Netherlands	Junior MasterChef	N/A	Alain Caron Peter Lute	Net 5	28 November 2011 – 24 December 2011
	Junior MasterChef	N/A	Alain Caron Ron Blaauw	SBS 6	12 October 2012 – present
Philippines	Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition	Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo	Fern Aracama Rolando Laudico JP Anglo	ABS-CBN	27 August 2011 – 18 February 2012
Poland	'	Michael Moran	Michael Moran Mateusz Gessler Anna Starmach	TVN	21 February 2016 – 24 April 2016 (Season 1) 19 February 2017 – 23 April 2017 (Season 2)
Portugal	Masterchef Júnior	Teresa Fernandes (narrator)	Manuel Luís Goucha Rui Paula Miguel Rocha Vieira	TVI	22 May 2016 – 31 July 2016 (Season 1) 2017 (Season 2)
Russia	MasterChef Deti	Alexandr Belkovich Andrey Shmakov Giuseppe D'Angelo		STS	7 November 2015 – 25 December 2016
Spain	MasterChef Junior	Eva González	Pepe Rodríguez Jordi Cruz Samantha Vallejo-Nágera	La 1	23 December 2013 – 6 January 2014 (Season 1) 30 December 2014 – 3 February 2015 (Season 2) 1 December 2015 – 5 January 2016 (Season 3) 20 December 2016 – 17 January 2017 (Season 4) 20 December 2017 – TBA 2018 (Season 5)
Sweden	Sveriges yngsta mästerkock	Tina Nordström Leif Mannerström Markus Aujalay		TV4	9 April 2014 – present
TaiwanChinese: {{{1}}}	Kid's Kitchen	William Hsieh Big Stomach LIZ SOAC		CTS	September 2015 – present
Thailand	Junior MasterChef Thailand	Patiparn Pataweekarn Ban Boribun Chatchaya Ruktakanit		Channel 3	3 February 2013 – 2 June 2013
	MasterChef Junior Thailand	Piyathida Mittiraroch [th]	M.L. Pasan Sawasdiwat [th] M.L. Kwanthip Dewakul Pongtawat Chalermkittichai	Channel 7	19 August 2018
Turkey	MasterChef Junior Turkey	Danilo Zanna Somer Sivrioğlu Mehmet Yalçınkaya		Exxen	2021
Ukraine	MasterChef Dity (Kids)	Hector Jimenez-Bravo (1-2) Tatiana Litvinova (1-2) Mykola Tischenko (1) Sergey Kalinin (2) Dmitriy Gorovenko (2)		STB	3 February 2016 – 25 May 2016 (Season 1) 31 January 2017 – 30 May 2017 (Season 2) January 2018 (Season 3)
	MasterChef Pidlitky (Teens)
United States	MasterChef Junior	Gordon Ramsay	Joe Bastianich (Seasons 1-3 & 6) Graham Elliot (Seasons 1-4) Christina Tosi (Season 4-) Aaron Sanchez (Season 7)	Fox	27 September 2013 – present
Vietnam	Junior MasterChef Vietnam	N/A	Jack Lee Phan Tôn Tịnh Hải Alain Nguyễn	VTV3	2 October 2016 – present

In the Taiwanese version, called Kid's Kitchen, the show is a bit different. There are no "mystery box" challenges. Also, contestants usually don't get eliminated. Sometimes, a contestant might leave if they are not feeling well.

After the first cooking challenge, there are team challenges. In these, the team captains cannot go into the pantry to get ingredients. The person who earns the most points wins. If you are a winning team captain, your points are doubled! The final winner receives home appliances as a prize.

See also

In Spanish: Junior MasterChef para niños