Let’s be real. Watching eight-year-olds cook beef Wellington better than you ever will is a humbling experience. It’s also addictive. When MasterChef Junior Season 5 first aired on Fox back in early 2017, the reality TV landscape was getting a bit crowded with "prodigy" shows. But something about this specific group of kids—and the weirdly wholesome dynamic between the judges—just clicked. It wasn't just about the food. It was about seeing Gordon Ramsay, a man famous for screaming at adults until they cry, actually act like a human being.
Most people remember the winner. Some remember the weird challenges involving giant vats of corn or maple syrup. But looking back years later, MasterChef Junior Season 5 stands out because it felt less like a scripted competition and more like a high-stakes culinary summer camp. These kids weren't just "good for their age." They were technically proficient in ways that would make a line cook at a Michelin-star restaurant sweat.
Who Actually Won MasterChef Junior Season 5?
If you're trying to recall the name, it was Jasmine Stewart. She was nine at the time. Honestly, her win was a bit of a rollercoaster. She actually got eliminated halfway through the season. Yeah, she was gone. But then the judges brought back a few contestants for a "redemption" challenge, and she cooked her way back in. That rarely happens in the adult version without it feeling like a cheap ratings ploy, but with Jasmine, it felt earned.
She beat out Justice Akpan in the finale. The final menu she produced was legitimate fine dining: scallop appetizer, jerk lobster tail, and a sticky rum cake. It wasn't "kid food." It was a sophisticated nod to her Jamaican heritage that showed a level of restraint most amateur adult cooks don't have.
The Roster of Tiny Culinary Giants
It wasn't just Jasmine and Justice, though. This season gave us some of the most memorable personalities in the show's history.
- Shayne Wells: The "Shayne the Mane" kid from Texas. He brought that big BBQ energy and stayed true to his roots the whole time.
- Adam Wadhwani: A kid who basically lived and breathed cookbooks. He was one of those contestants who seemed like they had a 40-year-old soul trapped in a child’s body.
- Cydney Sherman: She had such a refined palate for an 11-year-old. Her precision was actually scary.
You've gotta wonder where these kids are now. Most of them are in their late teens or early twenties in 2026. Some stayed in the food world, others went off to college to study things completely unrelated to pan-searing scallops. It’s the natural cycle of child stardom, but at least they left with a killer skillset.
Why Gordon Ramsay is Better with Kids
The "Mean Gordon" trope is tired. We’ve seen him call people "donkeys" for two decades. In MasterChef Junior Season 5, we got the mentor version. He, Christina Tosi, and Graham Elliot (who was replaced by a rotating door of guest judges this season like Martha Stewart and Wolfgang Puck) had to balance being honest critics with not destroying a child's self-esteem.
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It’s a tough line to walk.
If the food is raw, you can't serve it. But if you tell a ten-year-old their dream is dead because they undercooked a rack of lamb, you're a monster. Ramsay’s ability to crouch down to eye level and explain why a sauce broke is probably his most underrated skill. It’s why this season, despite the intense pressure, felt so positive. The guest judges added a weird flavor too. Having Martha Stewart show up to judge a challenge about "comfort food" felt like a final boss encounter in a video game.
The Challenges That Still Feel Absurd
Reality TV loves a gimmick. MasterChef Junior Season 5 was no exception. Remember the "Cream Pie" challenge? The judges basically volunteered to get blasted with whipped cream if the kids hit certain milestones. It’s silly. It’s messy. But it breaks the tension.
Then you have the "Team Challenges." This is where the cracks usually show. Putting a bunch of pre-teens in charge of a professional kitchen at a place like a luxury hotel or a beach resort is a recipe for chaos. There’s always one kid who tries to take charge and three others who just want to plate the microgreens. The communication breakdowns are legendary.
Technical Skills Most Adults Lack
If you go back and re-watch the "Scraps" challenge or the one where they had to break down whole fish, it’s mind-blowing. Most adults buy pre-cut fillets. These kids were handling shears and deboning knives with more confidence than I have with a toaster.
They weren't just following recipes. They were understanding the chemistry. They knew about acidity, fat content, and rest times for protein. That’s the real legacy of this season—it proved that cooking is a language you can learn fluently if you're exposed to it early enough.
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The "Scripted" Allegations and Reality TV Magic
There's always that one person in the comments section saying, "The producers cooked the food!" or "They give them recipes beforehand!"
While it’s true that the kids receive culinary training behind the scenes—legal and safety requirements for kids handling knives and fire are intense—the actual cooking we see on the clock is real. They have "culinary producers" who teach them basic techniques on off-days, but when that clock starts, it's on the kids.
The drama? Sure, that’s edited. They’ll loop a soundbite of a kid crying to make a minor mistake look like a tragedy. But the talent? You can't fake a perfect soufflé. MasterChef Junior Season 5 felt more authentic than many subsequent seasons because the "influencer" era hadn't fully taken over yet. These kids just wanted to cook, not necessarily launch a TikTok brand.
The Cultural Impact of the Show
This season aired during a time when food culture was shifting. We were moving away from "fast food" obsession into this weird, hyper-fixated "foodie" era. Seeing kids embrace things like vegan cooking, international spices, and complex plating influenced a lot of families to get their kids into the kitchen.
It demystified the "chef" persona. It showed that you don't need a beard and tattoos to be a serious cook; you just need to understand the ingredients.
What We Can Learn from Season 5 Today
- Resilience is key: Jasmine Stewart literally won the whole thing after being sent home. If that isn't a lesson in not quitting, nothing is.
- Precision matters: In the "Tag Team" challenges, the teams that lost were always the ones who didn't listen. It's a cliché, but communication is everything in a kitchen.
- Simplicity wins: The best dishes of the season weren't the ones with twenty ingredients. They were the ones where a single ingredient—like a perfect piece of fish—was treated with respect.
Practical Takeaways for Your Own Kitchen
You don't have to be a nine-year-old prodigy to cook like one. If MasterChef Junior Season 5 taught us anything, it's that fear is the biggest hurdle in the kitchen. Most people are scared of ruining expensive ingredients. The kids on this show don't have that fear because they haven't been "taught" to be afraid of failure yet.
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If you want to up your game, start by mastering the basics these kids had to learn:
- Knife Skills: Learn the difference between a dice, a mince, and a chiffonade. It's not just for looks; even cuts cook evenly.
- Temperature Control: Stop guessing. Use a meat thermometer. The kids in Season 5 used them constantly.
- Acid and Salt: If a dish tastes "flat," it usually needs lemon juice or salt, not more spices.
Watching this season again is a great reminder that cooking is supposed to be fun. It’s a craft. Whether you're a fan of the Gordon Ramsay "Nice Guy" arc or just want to see some impressive culinary feats, this season remains a high-water mark for the series. It’s wholesome, slightly stressful, and makes you want to go sear a steak immediately.
If you're looking for where to watch it now, it's usually floating around on Hulu or Discovery+. It’s worth a binge, even just to see the "Big Mac" challenge where they had to turn fast food ingredients into gourmet meals. Pure television gold.
For those interested in following the alumni, many of them, including Jasmine, have gone on to host cooking segments, write cookbooks, or attend prestigious culinary programs. They’ve grown up, but the impact of that 2017 season still lingers in the world of food media.
To get the most out of your own culinary journey, try recreating one of the "Mystery Box" challenges at home. Grab five random ingredients from your pantry and give yourself 60 minutes to make something edible. It’s harder than the kids make it look, but it's the fastest way to learn how flavors actually work together. Focus on the balance of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Once you nail that, you’re basically halfway to a white apron.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Inventory Your Spices: Check the expiration dates on your pantry staples. If your cumin smells like nothing, it is nothing.
- Practice One "Scary" Technique: Pick something like poaching an egg or making a roux. Do it until it's muscle memory.
- Watch the Finale: Re-watch the Season 5 finale to see how Jasmine and Justice structured their three-course meals. It’s a masterclass in menu planning.
- Get a Bench Scraper: It’s the cheapest tool in a professional kitchen and the one that will save you the most time. Use it to move chopped veggies without dulling your knife.
- Cook with a Timer: Discipline with time is what separates the "home cook" from the "MasterChef" level. Set a hard limit for your next dinner prep.