Season 5 - Episode Guide

Sixteen of the country's finest junior home cooks compete for eight of the Top 20 spots on this season's MASTERCHEF. After being split into four groups, each with a distinct signature dish, the kids get started. Only two contestants from each group will find out if they will succeed in moving on to the next round of challenges.

The remaining junior chefs compete for the final 12 spots in the Top 20. Making dishes ranging from cupcakes, to steak and lobster, the young chefs are tested to their limits and will find out if they will move on to the next round.

Celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez steps into the MASTERCHEF kitchen as a guest judge. The Top 20 young chefs will face their first mystery box challenge of the season, during which they will have to put their own spin on the most commonly eaten crop in the world – rice. Later in the kitchen, Chef Gordon Ramsay teaches the kids how to make his signature hand-roasted sea bass, which they must replicate.

The cooks split into two teams and compete to prepare corn dogs; the contestants must prepare a juicy burger; guest judge Mayim Bialik.

The Top 16 face off in their first team challenge, during which they cook lunch for first responders. Each team will have to create a dish featuring a delicious filet mignon and the guests will vote on which is better – the team with the most votes will win the challenge. Then, it's up to the judges to determine which two cooks from the losing team will head home

The Top 14 junior home cooks receive a mystery box challenge inspired by the White House garden from former First Lady Michelle Obama. The young cooks must come up with an original recipe that is both healthy and presidential worthy, and the winner will receive a special once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! For the next challenge, Julie Bowen ("Modern Family") steps into the MASTERCHEF kitchen to watch the kids make a dish in honor of their moms. Then, it's up to the judges to decide which contestant will go home

Guest judge Richard Blais enters the kitchen to see what the kids can cook up. In the first challenge, the Top 12 junior home cooks team up into groups of three and have 10 minutes to make as many pies as possible. The winning team will be safe from elimination and will get to give the judges a sweet surprise! For the next challenge, the young chefs must use a blow torch to make either an appetizer, entrée, or dessert using ingredients from the MASTERCHEF pantry. Then, it's up to the judges to decide who stays and who goes home.

The kids who got sent home take a shot at reentering the competition; the six cooks participate in two challenges that involve breaking apart a chicken and using the parts to make unique dishes; with guest judge Richard Blais.

The top 12 cooks are challenged to prepare a dish that includes a pork chop entrée and two sides and serve it to Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

The cooks are split into teams of two and must replicate a gingerbread house; chef Aarón Sánchez joins the kitchen as a guest judge, and the kids cook up a Gordon Ramsay holiday classic.

In the first mystery box challenge, the cooks must prepare a dish inspired by their families; the cooks team up in pairs to replicate a sushi platter; chef Edward Lee is a guest judge.

In this week's episode of MASTERCHEF, the Top Six split up into two teams, and have 75 minutes to create an entrée for VIP guests who range from firefighters to professional softball players, and construction workers to pilots. The guests will then vote on which dish they prefer and the winning team will receive a huge advantage later on in the competition. Next in the MASTERCHEF kitchen, the young cooks face an elimination challenge and welcome two surprise guests who will join in the fun – Miss Piggy and Swedish Chef! Then it's up to the judges to decide who will go home.

In this week's episode of MASTERCHEF, the remaining contestants face a high-pressure team challenge, during which they must cook for food critics, chefs and journalists at a pop-up restaurant on the beautiful California coast. The young cooks will have one hour to serve delicious scallop appetizers and another hour to dish out red snapper entrees to the guests. The winning team will go straight to the semifinals, but two young chefs from the losing team will have to leave the kitchen.

The top four cooks create a chocolate molten lava cake; contestants create a dish using one of the world's most popular meats.

Two cooks battle it out for the grand prize; Wolfgang Puck and Martha Stewart serve as guest-judges.

Kids rule the kitchen when multi-Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay hosts a one-hour special highlighting MASTERCHEF JUNIOR's greatest moments on the hit cooking competition's first-ever special. The one-hour retrospective will feature Ramsay dishing on some of his favorite meals from the show. He also will be visited by past winners and fan-favorite contestants, as he checks in to see how they've grown - not only as chefs, but as young adults. Additionally, the special will include never-before-seen bloopers.