On MasterChef Junior Season 8, things are getting more competitive and more challenging every episode and in episode 3 it was all about the Ren Faire experience. From a spot of jousting to a team challenge that seemed chaotic at best, it is clear that Season 8 of MasterChef Junior has set itself up to be on par with some of the adult seasons of the franchise.
While it is clear that Aaron Sanchez, Daphne Oz, and Gordon Ramsay understand that these are young chefs in the kitchen that they are trying to inspire and help, this is also a competition and they want to bring the best out of these chefs. And at the Renaissance Festival, that led to a team competition where the judges picked the two captains.
For the Red Team that meant it was up to Maclain to lead the charge, while the Blue Team’s leader was Eva. And right from the start, we watched as things seemed to fall apart for both of our MasterChef Junior teams.
MasterChef Junior took on a Renaissance challenge
For Maclain, the biggest problem was his inability to actually be a leader. As someone who is clearly a more quiet and introverted chef (right now), being put in a leadership position was not something he wanted, even if he took on the role gracefully. And for Eva, being a leader seemed to be something she could handle at least at first. Because by the time we get to the crucial point of serving the meals, it is clear that while Eva can delegate, she wasn’t truly managing her team or making sure that things were coming together.
But it was ultimately Maclain’s decision to step back as leader and let someone else take over the team that led to salvation for the red team. See, they knew they weren’t going to win if they kept up their lack of communication (thank you Ramsay for making that clear) and that meant making a hard and even a bit heartbreaking decision to step down as leader and let A’Dan take on the role.
Here’s the thing though, no matter how our pro chef judges slice it, these are still kids and challenges like this are just that – a challenge. And while there was definitely a lot of chaos in the kitchen at this Renaissance Festival, it was also a chance to see how these kids handled themselves under pressure.
While the Red Team struggled, they found their rhythm over time and it was why they were the ultimate winners. And yes, we definitely have to thank A’Dan for being able to step up and take charge when his team needed him.
Ultimately, with the blue team’s loss, it meant someone had to go home from that team. And even though the team leader, Eva, was up for elimination, it was ultimately Jillian, who was in charge of the failed rice dish that ended up heading home.
We hate to see any of our young cheftestants leave, but that is the name of the game and now we move on to episode 4, “Donut Holes & Hold Your Nose.” And we can’t wait to see what that could mean for our chefs on their journey to being named the next MasterChef Junior champion.