MasterChef Junior Season 1 Episode 5 (US 2013)

Restaurant Takeover Challenge

The six contestants prepared a four-dish Italian lunch service at Drago Centro: burrata and salad, seared tuna with a risotto cake, short-rib ravioli, and pan-seared branzino.

The restaurant’s executive chef demonstrated the dishes. Contestants had 1 hour to prep and 75 minutes to serve a fully booked dining room.

Dishes and Demonstrated Methods

Burrata Appetizer

• Add a balsamic design to the plate, then cut the burrata into four equal pieces.
• Arrange it with olive crostini, artichokes, and cherry tomatoes.
• Serve with a dressed arugula salad.
• During the service tasting, the chef noted that the red team’s version was missing vinaigrette on the arugula.

Seared Tuna with Risotto Cake

• Fry the risotto cake for 3–4 minutes.
• Sear a block of yellowfin tuna on all sides, keeping the center rare.
• Place the cake in the center of the plate and add sautéed fennel and sunchoke.
• Slice the tuna into three pieces and arrange it on top.
• Finish with dressed salad.
• Keep the tuna plating consistent; one uneven plate was rejected during service. Feedback also highlighted seasoning and whether the cake was cooked through.

Short-Rib Ravioli

• Make the filling with short rib, onion, carrot, and celery, then pipe it into fresh egg-pasta dough.
• Press the dough into ravioli molds, filling only to the edge so the pasta can close.
• Brush the dough lightly with water to seal it.
• Shape the ravioli with a wooden dowel and remove them from the mold.
• Cook for about 3 minutes.
• Serve in sage sauce with carrots, spooning the sauce over the pasta.
• Fill each raviolo consistently and avoid overfilling. The red team’s ravioli was praised for its filling and sauce; the blue team’s needed more sauce.

Pan-Seared Branzino

• Place the fish in a pan skin-side down, lowering it away from you. In the demonstrated step, cook it only on the skin side.
• Serve it on top of its garnish.
• Evaluations emphasized crisp skin, proper cooking, and seasoning.

Equipment and Service Notes

The demonstration used a fryer, pans, ravioli molds, a wooden dowel, and a piping bag. Teams had to prepare multiple dishes at once and coordinate cooking and plating to match ticket orders.

Key lessons included communicating, delegating, keeping plates consistent, and sending each course together rather than letting one component wait in the window.

The red team won and advanced to the semifinals. The blue team’s service was praised for speed and agility, while the red team was commended for a strong finish.

Presenter and Source

The episode features Gordon Ramsay and the judges and aired on MasterChef Junior. The restaurant and culinary demonstration took place at Drago Centro with executive chef Ian Gracie, whose name is transcribed as heard in the subtitles. The video was posted by Rosie Jones.