Top Chef Junior is an American reality competition television series that serves as a spin-off of the popular Top Chef series. Ordered in 2008 for an eight-episode run on Bravo,[1][2] the show had never aired, nor is it known if any episodes were produced at that time. However, nine years later, Top Chef Junior was mentioned as the marquee program for Universal Kids, an NBCUniversal-owned children's channel launched on September 9, 2017.[3] Season 1 consisted of 14 episodes and feature 12 young chefs, aged 9–14. The winner receives $50,000 and the title of Top Chef Junior.[4] The show is hosted by actress Vanessa Lachey, with Top Chef Masters and Top Chef Duels host Curtis Stone serving as its head judge.[4]Top Chef Junior premiered on October 13, 2017.[5] In November 2017 Top Chef Junior was renewed for a 2nd season, which premiered on September 8, 2018. It consists of 12 finalist chefs aged 9–14.
^Note 1 : The chefs were divided into two teams, with the challenge winner coming from the winning team, and the losing chef from the losing team. ^Note 2 : For winning the quickfire challenge, Owen did not participate in the elimination challenge. ^Note 3 : No immunity was awarded for this quickfire challenge. ^Note 4 : The top 3 in the quickfire challenge won immunity and participated in a separate challenge. ^Note 5 : This quickfire was the last one to award immunity to the winner. ^Note 6 : Chef was hospitalized and withdrew for health reasons.
^Note 7 : Chef left
(WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef Junior".
(RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
(WIN) The chef had the best dish in the Quick Fire Challenge, Team Challenge, or Elimination Challenge.
(WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge
(HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, Quick Fire Challenge, or Team Challenge but did not Win.
(IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge and was safe.
(LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an elimination challenge, and advanced.
(IN) The cook was not selected as a top or bottom entry in a Team Challenge.
(IMM) The chef could not be sent home in the elimination challenge.
(HIGH) The cook had one of the top dishes in an elimination challenge but did not win.
(SAFE) Chef was eliminated but drew a safe card and was not eliminated.
(OUT) The Chef was eliminated from the cooking competition.
Episodes
Episode 1: Dishing Up Dreams
Original airdate: October 13, 2017
Quickfire Challenge: Transform your family favorite meal into a restaurant quality masterpiece
Winner: Milo
Elimination Challenge: Create a dish that showcases your food dream
^Note 1 : No immunity was awarded for this quickfire challenge.
^Note 2 : Before the quick-fire challenge a team challenge took place for advantages in the quick-fire. The best 5 dishes in the quickfire were awarded immunity while the worst 4 dishes were facing elimination in the next round. ^Note 3 : Two Chefs were eliminated in the elimination challenge.
(WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef Junior".
(RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
(WIN) The chef had the best dish in the Quick Fire Challenge, Team Challenge, or Elimination Challenge.
(WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge
(HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, Quick Fire Challenge, or Team Challenge but did not Win.
(IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge or Quick Fire Challenge and was safe.
(LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an Elimination challenge, Team challenge or Quick Fire and advanced.
(IN) The cook was not selected as a top or bottom entry in a Team Challenge.
(IMM) The chef could not be sent home in the elimination challenge .
(HIGH) The cook had one of the top dishes in an elimination challenge but did not win.
(SAFE) Chef was eliminated but drew a safe card and continued on in the competition.
(OUT) The Chef was Eliminated from the Competition.
Episodes
Episode 0: Making the Cut
Original airdate: August 4, 2018
At boot camp, 22 talented young chefs compete for their chance to make the cast of the second season of the series.
Episode 1: Stirring Up a Celebration
Original airdate: September 8, 2018
Quickfire Challenge: After making it through boot camp, the 12 junior chefs joined Vanessa and Curtis for a small celebration with a large spread of snacks and hors d'oeuvres. Following the celebration, the junior chefs were told that their first quickfire challenge was to create an amuse-bouche in 30 minutes using the leftover ingredients from the party. The winner received immunity from elimination.
Winner: Carson
Elimination Challenge: The junior chefs were challenged to create a signature winning dish for the first Top Chef Junior Food Festival.
Quickfire Challenge: The junior chefs were challenged to create a unique ramen dish in 20 minutes. The winner received immunity from elimination.
Winner: Kate
Elimination Challenge: The judges surprised the junior chefs early in the morning at their rooms with the challenge of creating a delicious brunch dish. The junior chefs had a limited pantry of the ingredients brought to them by the judges and were only able to use the equipment found in their rooms.
Winner: Ella
Eliminated: Sophie
Episode 3: Rolling In Dough
Original airdate: September 22, 2018
Quickfire Challenge: The junior chefs were challenged to create a unique pizza. However, the junior chefs had to play the arcade game Alley Roller in order to get tickets to buy additional ingredients (only simple dough, plain tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese were available by default). Additionally, tickets could be used to purchase kitchen equipment that the junior chefs could take home with them after the Top Chef Junior competition.
Winner: Simon
Elimination Challenge: The chefs were divided into two teams: the yellow team and the blue team. For their challenge, the junior chefs competed in a series of head-to-head battles where each pair of chefs (one from the yellow team and one from the blue team) had to create a kid-friendly dish highlighting a specific ingredient. In each battle, the panel of judges and kid tasters would vote for their favorite dish; the chef with the most votes scored a point for their team. The team that earned three points first won the overall challenge. The winners of each head-to-head battle are indicated below in bold.
Yellow Team: Rogers, Carson, Ella, Simon, Kate
Blue Team: Noah, Nikki, Olivia, Eric, Londyn
Round 1 (Olives): Kate vs Nikki
Round 2 (Broccoli): Rogers vs Eric
Round 3 (Brussels Sprouts): Ella vs Noah
Round 4 (Salmon): Simon vs Olivia
Round 5 (Beets): Carson vs Londyn
Winning Team: Blue Team
Winner: Londyn
Saved: Kate
Episode 4: Sweet Dreams Come True
Original Airdate: September 29, 2018
Quickfire Challenge: Prior to the competition, the junior chefs were all asked what dream ingredient they would love to work with. For this challenge, those dream ingredients were provided for them and each chef had to create a winning dish highlighting their choice. The winner received immunity from elimination.
Winner: Nikki
Elimination Challenge: The junior chefs were challenged to create a sweet dessert for an event raising awareness for the charity Adopt Together.
Guest Judge: Candace Nelson
Winner: Olivia
Eliminated: Kate
Episode 5: Field Day!
Original Airdate: October 6, 2018
Guest Judge: Reggie Bush
Chefs participate in teams in three rounds
Red Team: Eric, Ella, Noah
Yellow Team: Carson, Rogers, Nikki
Blue Team: Londyn, Olivia, Simon
Round 1: Obstacle Course: The team must wear foam ski's, walk together to three obstacles
Bobbing for Tomatoes, 3 tomatoes per chef per team
Spiralize 6 onions
Fruit Stand Ball Pit, one member at a time per team must find a watermelon, cantaloupe, grapefruit, green apple, lemon, and orange.
Dunk Tank: Throw a football to dunk Curtis Stone in the Dunk Tank.
The first two teams to finish win a significant advantage in the Gameday Quickfire Challenge.
Winners: Blue and Yellow Teams
Round 2: Quickfire Challenge: Create the perfect sandwich. Chefs have 25 minutes to cook. This is an individual challenge with the top 5 Chefs receiving immunity in the Elimination Challenge.
Blue team received an extra 10 minutes to cook and first choice of the limited pantry ingredients as their advantages
Yellow team received an extra 5 minutes to cook and second choice of pantry ingredients.
Winners: Rogers, Londyn, Olivia, Carson, and Nikki (overall winner, received a Football autographed by Reggie Bush)
Round 3: Elimination Challenge: Wings and Sausage Challenge
Top Team: Wings and a Dipping Sauce in 45 minutes
Winner: Nikki who received a Top Chef Jr. Football Helmet signed by Reggie Bush