Since it starts tonight — at 7pm on U&W, which is on Freeview 25, so you have no excuse not to watch, other than you may have better things to do — I’ve taken an early peek. Would it, I wondered, be like our nearest equivalent, BBCThree’s Young MasterChef?
Since I’ve also never watched BBCThree’s Young MasterChef, mostly on account of it being on BBCThree, I thought it might be hard for me to answer that question with authority.
However, just by sitting through 41 minutes of this US version, I think I'd be safe in guessing the similarities are few.
Even with Gordon as host, MasterChef Junior USA feels very, very American. It’s very loud, very brash and, in a kid-friendly sense, very in-your-face, although maybe not in your own, as obviously what I'm doing here is killing off any remote possibility you'll watch this thing. I’m basically just telling you what you'll miss.
The kids, aged eight to 13, seem — how can I put this politely? — very sure of themselves.
And in case any of them aren’t, they’re told by a lady judge with voluminous hair: “You are the 12 best young home cooks in the country!” (According to its latest population figures, the USA has more than 10 million children in their age group, so well done to this lot for getting through what must have been an awful lot of qualifying rounds).
Also very American, considering this contest is for children, is the cash prize. Not just the fact that ...
Since I’ve also never watched BBCThree’s Young MasterChef, mostly on account of it being on BBCThree, I thought it might be hard for me to answer that question with authority.
However, just by sitting through 41 minutes of this US version, I think I'd be safe in guessing the similarities are few.
Even with Gordon as host, MasterChef Junior USA feels very, very American. It’s very loud, very brash and, in a kid-friendly sense, very in-your-face, although maybe not in your own, as obviously what I'm doing here is killing off any remote possibility you'll watch this thing. I’m basically just telling you what you'll miss.
The kids, aged eight to 13, seem — how can I put this politely? — very sure of themselves.
And in case any of them aren’t, they’re told by a lady judge with voluminous hair: “You are the 12 best young home cooks in the country!” (According to its latest population figures, the USA has more than 10 million children in their age group, so well done to this lot for getting through what must have been an awful lot of qualifying rounds).
Also very American, considering this contest is for children, is the cash prize. Not just the fact that ...
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Daily Express (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 17, 2025