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'MasterChef Junior' Season 8: Ciara gets eliminated after refusing to taste her crab dish

As Gordon mentioned, it was important to taste what you serve, but Ciara let her prejudice towards crab get the better of her

BY AURELIA FERNANDES

UPDATED MAY 6, 2022

With 'MasterChef Junior' down to the top 9 contestants, the young chefs are under a lot of pressure, as everyone is now gunning for a spot in the top 5. However, there are a ton of challenges to overcome before that happens!

Stepping into a group challenge, the chefs had to make jalapeno poppers all under 15 minutes. They were divided into three teams for the challenge: Ivy, Grayson, and Abir were on the yellow team, Molly, Cruz, and A'dan were on the red team, Ava, Liya, and Ciara were on the green team.

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While each team was struggling, seeing that the challenge was not as easy as it looked, the red team couldn't seem to get it together. The judges noted that A'dan had communication issues in team challenges, seeing that he kept talking over teammates. When it came down to it, the green team put 22 poppers on the plate, the red team put out 11 poppers, and the yellow team managed to put out 27 poppers -- however, the judges were looking for quality over quantity.

The judges noted that the red team had only three perfect poppers, the green team had 15, and finally, the yellow team put out 19 perfect poppers, making them the winner of the challenge. This meant Ivy, Grayson and Abir were safe as they won, while the others had to take on a mystery box elimination challenge. The chefs had to cook box crabs, right from boiling them to breaking them down and then putting together a dish.

When it came down to it, the judges noted that Liya, Ava and Cruz's dishes stood out among the rest, earning them a spot in the top 8. However, this meant that A'dan, Ciara and Molly were at the bottom. All three of them struggled with their dishes, and even though there were good parts to it, the issues were far too many to overlook. The judges made the final decision and eliminated Ciara, seeing that she hadn't tasted what she put out on account of not liking crab. Gordon mentioned that when cooking, it was essential to taste what you put out, even if you don't like what you're cooking with. Even though she was leaving, the judges encouraged her to keep chasing her dream of opening a bakery with her friend and starting a cooking class for kids with disabilities.

Catch Season 8 of 'MasterChef Junior' on Thursdays, at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.