# Junior MasterChef Australia

Junior MasterChef Australia (known colloquially as MasterChef Kids) is an Australian competitive cooking game show. It is a spin-off of MasterChef Australia, itself an adaptation of the British show MasterChef, and featured contestants aged 8 to 12. The first season of the show began production in July 2010 and included 50 contestants. Over 5,000 children from around the nation auditioned for the series.
In contrast to prior series, Junior MasterChef Australia was produced by Shine Australia. The promo was seen during the final episode of the second season of MasterChef Australia. The series premiered on Sunday, 12 September 2010.
On 27 April 2020, it was announced that a third season of Junior MasterChef Australia had been commissioned, nine years after the second series aired.

## Changes

In the Junior series, contestants are not eliminated every week, though four are eliminated at a time once the finalists are decided. Every eliminated contestant receives a range of prizes.
From series 3, casting was extended to children aged between 9–14 years old, as opposed to 8–12 years old.

## Hosts and judges

Timeline of hosts, judges and other personnel :
| Starring | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Starring | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Current ||||
| Jock Zonfrillo | | | Host & Judge |
| Melissa Leong | | | Host & Judge |
| Andy Allen | | | Host & Judge |
| Former ||||
| Gary Mehigan | Host & Judge | Host & Judge | |
| George Calombaris | Host & Judge | Host & Judge | |
| Matt Preston | Host & Judge | | |
| Anna Gare | Judge | Judge | |
| Matt Moran | | Judge | |

## Winners

| Season | Numbers of Contestants | Name | Age | State | Occupation | Date Won |
| 1 | 12 | Isabella Bliss | 12 | New South Wales | School Student | 15 November 2010 |
| 2 | 20 | Greta Yaxley | 11 | Western Australia | School Student | 23 November 2011 |
| 3 | 14 | Georgia Eris | 11 | Victoria | School Student | 9 November 2020 |

## Series synopses
### Season 1 (2010)

Production of a junior version of the show was initially suggested in October 2009. The first series of the show, featuring 8- to 12-year-old contestants, was filmed after the second series of MasterChef Australia and began airing 12 September 2010 on Ten. In contrast to prior series of the main show, Junior MasterChef Australia was produced by Shine Australia. Isabella Bliss won the contest to become Australia's first Junior MasterChef.

### Season 2 (2011)

Junior MasterChef was officially renewed on 15 November 2010. Filming started on 28 July 2011, with the season premiering in October 2011.
Matt Moran replaced Matt Preston as a judge and Callum Hann was a guest in the series.
11-year-old Greta Yaxley from Western Australia won the Junior MasterChef title for 2011.

### Season 3 (2020)

A revamped third series of Junior MasterChef Australia was announced on 27 April 2020, nine years after the second series last aired. Applications for casting were opened on 25 April 2020 for children across Australia aged from 9–14.
Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo returned from the main series to undertake the role of judges. As of late-July 2020, the program began filming at the Melbourne Showgrounds in Flemington.
The series premiered on 11 October 2020.
11-year old Georgia Eris from Victoria won the title with 12-year old Filo from Victoria and 11-year old Carter from New South Wales as the runners up.

## Reception
### Ratings

| Series | Premiere date | Finale date | Episodes | Premiere ratings | Rank | Finale ratings (Grand final) | Rank | Finale ratings (Winner announced) | Rank | Series Average |
| 1 | 12 September 2010 | 15 November 2010 | 17 | 2.202 | #1 | 1.532 | #2 | 1.853 | #1 | 1.313 |
| 2 | 25 September 2011 | 23 November 2011 | 21 | 1.129 | #5 | 0.934 | #10 | 0.911 | #12 | 0.844 |
| 3 | 11 October 2020 | 9 November 2020 | 13 | 0.524 | #8 | 0.652 | #12 | 0.881 | #5 | 0.539 |

## International syndications

The network in bold also broadcasts their own version of Junior MasterChef.
| Country | Network | Dubbed or Subtitled? |
| Afghanistan | STAR World | Subtitled in Dari |
| Arab League | STAR World | Subtitled in Arabic |
| Bangladesh | STAR World | Subtitled in English |
| Belgium | Vitaya | Subtitled in Dutch |
| Bhutan | STAR World India | Subtitled in English |
| Brazil | TLC | Dubbed in Portuguese |
| Burma | STAR World | Subtitled |
| Cyprus | Nova (Forthnet) | Subtitled |
| Mexico Colombia Venezuela Argentina Peru Ecuador Bolivia Chile Uruguay Paraguay Panama Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Dominican Republic | TLC | Dubbed in Spanish |
| Argentina | Discovery Home & Health | Dubbed in Spanish |
| Finland | Liv | Subtitled |
| Greece | Cosmote TV | Subtitled |
| Hong Kong | TVB Pearl | Subtitled (English and Selectable Cantonese) and Subtitled (Cantonese) |
| Hong Kong | STAR World | Subtitled in Cantonese |
| India | STAR World India | Dubbed in Hindi |
| Indonesia | B Channel | Subtitled |
| Ireland | Watch | |
| Italy | Sky Uno and Cielo | Dubbed |
| Macau | STAR World | Subtitled in Cantonese |
| Malaysia | STAR World | Subtitled |
| Nepal | STAR World India | Subtitled in English |
| New Zealand | Prime and TVNZ | |
| Pakistan | STAR World | Subtitled |
| Philippines | STAR World | |
| Poland | TV4 | Polish lector |
| Portugal | SIC K and SIC Mulher | Subtitled in Portuguese |
| Slovenia | Planet TV | Subtitled |
| South Africa | M-Net | |
| Sri Lanka | STAR World India | Subtitled in English |
| Singapore | STAR World | Subtitled in English |
| Singapore | Okto | |
| Singapore | MediaCorp Channel 5 | |
| South Korea | Food TV | Subtitled |
| Sweden | TV8 and TV3 (Sweden) | Subtitled |
| Taiwan | STAR World | Subtitled |
| Thailand | STAR World | Subtitled |
| The Netherlands | NET 5 | Subtitled in Dutch |
| The Netherlands | 24Kitchen | Subtitled in Dutch |
| United Arab Emirates | StarWorld HD | Subtitled in Arabic |
| United Arab Emirates | Fox | Subtitled In Arabic |
| Vietnam | STAR World | Subtitled |
| Vietnam | VTV6 | Subtitled (Vietnamese) |
| Kuwait | STAR World HD | Subtitled in Arabic |
| Kuwait | Fox | Subtitled In Arabic |
| Brunei Cambodia Hong Kong Indonesia Macau Malaysia Maldives Myanmar Palau Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand PNG | Lifetime Asia | Subtitled |