‘Tis the season to get in the kitchen and cook as FOX serves up MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays. This two-night special sees Gordon Ramsay shell out his trademark tough love to nine young culinary contestants. They’re tasked with creating seasonal dishes themed around Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and more. But Ramsay is in for a shock before the contest even begins, as our exclusive clip shows.
Along with Ramsay, the judging panel includes familiar faces including his daughter Tilly Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, and Daphne Oz. The winner takes home the $25,000 grand prize, a Viking Kitchen package, and the coveted one-of-a-kind MasterChef snow globe. Fear not, the other participants won’t be going home empty-handed or with a lump of coal. Each junior chef will leave with a kitchen-related prize, including a Viking Kitchen package for the runner-up.
As seen in this exclusive clip below, Ramsay is in the Christmas spirit getting the MasterChef kitchen festive and ready for the young cooks with Sánchez. When the lights turn on, you see a celebration of the holidays on full display. Ramsay is even rocking a light-up penguin sweater! His goal is for the kids to be blown away when they see their competition space for the first time.
Sánchez says there are 25,000 Italian twinkle lights. After initially lighting up, sparks fly in what looked like a scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. “The sparks are supposed to be flying in the kitchen, not the tree you donut,” Ramsay says to his partner in crime. Sánchez finds the bright side is their sweaters still work. Perhaps, they should keep their day jobs.
The special is part of FOX’s themed programming including The Masked Singer Holiday Sing-Along, LEGO Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular, and the network’s Animation Domination lineup.
MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays, December 10 and 11, Fox (Next Day Hulu)