MasterChef Jr is back on Fox and for Season 9, we have a new judge in the house. While Tilly Ramsay has certainly been part of the MasterChef family for a while now, in the newest season of the Fox reality series, we are finally getting a chance to really see her in action alongside of her father.
Leading up to the premiere on March 4, we were treated to a clip of Tilly and Gordon Ramsay as they checked in with one of their junior chefs, Miles. Miles is from Texas and he was born with a disability, as one of his arms did not fully form. However, he wants to show the world that he has what it takes to bring the heat and flavors to the kitchen no matter what.
Even from the first looks, it was clear that Tilly Ramsay was going to be a good fit for the series. MasterChef Jr. is meant to be a bit of a softer series, even as they still have a tendency to go hard on the young chefs competing. And Tilly seems to know how to approach her judging to be supportive and encouraging, while also being honest about any flaws she is finding.
The beauty of MasterChef Jr is that we are getting a chance to really see what the future of cooking could be. After all, these are some of the best young chefs in the country right now. And they want to show the world that they have what it takes to be the very best. But that doesn't mean that they are without their flaws as chefs. They are quite young still.
In the premiere of Season 9, Eating Emoji, our young chefs had the chance to channel something we all use - emojis! Now you may think that makes no sense when it comes to cooking, but there is something to be said for creating dishes based on inspiration outside of the kitchen. And that is exactly what the chefs did.
The first challenge was all about taking an emoji cookie and then creating a dish that represents the emoji they had on their cookie. It didn't have to be a sweet dish, but the junior chefs did have to represent those emojis on the plate in some way. It sounds challenging and it was.
This premiere was filled with both challenges and amazing cooking, exactly what we expect from the first episode of a new season of MasterChef Jr. We got to meet 12 amazing young chefs, learn more about some of them, and get to see just how talented they really are.
Obviously, this is only the beginning of the journey for these chefs, so it may take a bit before we have our favorites, but I admit that I really liked Miles and I hope he goes far, even if this first episode did not go his way in terms of producing a top dish. Honestly, I love all of the cheftestants on this season of MasterChef Jr., and can't wait to see how they do this season. And of course, I can't wait to see how Tilly does in her new role as a judge, as she has already shown that she can bring both sensitivity and humor to the role.