Tuesday’s episode starts out with a team challenge; the top ten are presented with cupcakes and while they are devouring their delicious treats, they get the bad news: whoever has the same cupcake as them will be their partner in the next round. The task: to make a dozen high quality cupcakes, but they won’t be just standing side by side, it’s a three-legged race!

The teams are: Abby and Mitchell, Sam and Adaiah, Levi and Samuel, Sean and Logan, Oona and Josh.

The idea is to work together on a dozen cupcakes, yet everyone seems to be doing two different flavors. For some of the kids, being tied together is more awkward than others. Joe teases Oona about being tethered to Josh after the challenge is done, to which she amusingly protests with a loud “No!” Ah, well, at ages nine and ten, I still thought boys had cooties too.

In a bit of fun, the judges are tied together as they inspect everyone’s cupcakes. I love how they don’t seem to be taking themselves as seriously this season. They are essentially the teachers, yes, but why not have a little fun, too? And a key part of the entertainment is lightening the mood in moments of stress. I think they’ve got it
down in a nutshell. When asked if being tied together was difficult, Gordon’s like, “Now you know what its like when you are married.” Har. Har.

The top three groups had the best cupcakes: Sam and Adaiah, Abby and Mitchell and Sean and Logan.

Sam and Adaiah’s cupcakes are chosen first. They made an orange honey bosom cupcake, and a vanilla cupcake with raspberry. Abbey and Mitchell also impress with their cupcakes. They made a Mexican hot chocolate cupcake and a peanut butter cup cupcake.

And also in the top three again: Sean and Logan, who impressed the judges with their culinary skills. They made lemon basil cupcakes and a chocolate raspberry cupcake with a creative candied sugar on top. The cupcakes are gorgeous; they really do look like a work of art. Logan says that, “Sean really brought it with the presentation, and he
brought it with the flavor.” They also are the only ones that had a cupcake with a filling in it.

Naturally, Sean and Logan win the mystery box challenge and gain an advantage in the next round. Their cupcakes really were quite stunning.

Gordan Ramsay’s mum stops by for a visit. When asked about her son’s success, she chalks it up to trial and error. I love it! For the next challenge, Sean and Logan get to choose from Gordan’s three favorite dishes that his mom used to make for him: fish sandwich, chicken curry, and Shepard’s pie. And Ramsay’s mum will stay as a guest judge.

I personally don’t think this is completely fair, as Gordan grew up in the UK, and the stuff that he was eating as a kid isn’t necessarily what kids in America would eat on a regular basis, but then again, these kids are adventurous little cooks and aren’t intimidated by a little bit of curry.

Sean and Logan choose Shepard’s pie for the next challenge.

Surprisingly, Oona struggles for the first time. Most of the kids, it seems, have never made or tasted Shepard’s pie before. It is heartbreaking especially to watch Oona, who is nine years old going on thirty, and claims that she has never done so badly before.

Levi, Abby, and Samuel come out strong, although, Samuel seems to stretch the limit a bit by deconstructing the Shepard’s pie, when they clearly said to elevate it, not take it apart. Mitchell also struggles which is tough to see, because we know that he is a top contender. Sam also breaks down when he accidentally makes his potatoes too runny. Graham is quickly there to offer encouragement, but he doesn’t seem to bounce back.

Adaiah and Levi have the strongest dishes again, while Mitchel and Sam get sent home. It’s getting more and more difficult to watch the kids get sent home, especially when we are just getting to see their personalities. And the worse part: watching them cry, because I hate to see them cry.

You can tell it’s also hard for the judges, too, but they also encourage, and their words of advice are uplifting for the heartbroken kids. And yes, they should be proud to be in the top ten best junior cooks in America.

Next episode the top eight make fried eggs and it looks like we are getting into the best and brightest. Not surprising that some of the oldest kids on the show are some of the last in the competition. They seem to have the advantage of consistency so far.

Here’s a peek at next week’s episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYKszfT3Mv0