Junior MasterChef

Junior MasterChef is a British TV cookery competition, broadcast by the BBC, in which nine to twelve-year-olds compete to be crowned "Junior MasterChef". It is a spin-off from the main UK series of MasterChef.

Junior MasterChef first ran from 1994 to 1999, presented by Loyd Grossman. After a long hiatus, it was revived in 2010 in a revamped format, presented by writer and actress Nadia Sawalha, who won the 2007 series of Celebrity MasterChef, and professional chef John Torode, who also presents MasterChef. The revival series was commissioned by CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist and produced by Shine Television, and was broadcast on CBBC and BBC One. A further series was commissioned in 2012 for broadcast on CBBC and again in 2014.

Original series
Based on the MasterChef format, and using the same set, the original Junior MasterChef was for cooks up to the age of 16. It ran from 1994 to 1999 and was presented by Loyd Grossman.

Revival series
Junior MasterChef was briefly revived in 2008 for a Children in Need special after the success of the 2006 series. It was won by Billy.

The first new series, targeting children aged 9 to 12, premiered on 10 May 2010 on CBBC. India Fisher continued to provide the voiceover, and the judging panel consisted of John Torode and former Junior MasterChef champion, Lawrence Julian Roberts.

Georgia, who turned 13 by the time the finals occurred, was the 2010 winner. From the 2012 series, Sawalha was replaced by Irish cook Donal Skehan.

Age limit rules
The online application form for the CBBC series filmed in 2012 clearly shows that applicants had to be between 8 and 13 years old on 6 August of that year. Filming of the early heats would start on that same date.

International versions
Legend: Still in production No longer airing

In the Taiwanese version, the series is based on the same concept as Junior Masterchef, but there are no mystery box challenges, and there are no eliminations (but there had been cases where a contestant has quit the competition for health reasons). After the first individual challenge, there are a series of team challenges, where team captains cannot enter the pantry, the person who earns the most points (doubled as a winning team captain in team challenges) wins. The eventual winner will receive home appliances instead.