The best young home cooks between the ages of eight and 13 have been cast to compete in Season 8 of “MasterChef Junior” on Fox. Once again, Gordon Ramsay leads the judging panel and is joined by renowned chef Aarón Sánchez and Emmy-winning talk show host Daphne Oz. The winner of “MasterChef Junior” wins the coveted trophy and $100,000. They’ll also take home a brand new Viking kitchen, amazing countertop appliances, kitchen tools, bakeware and a trip to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

SEE Aarón Sánchez on ‘MasterChef Junior’ season 8 and challenging Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen: ‘I could kick his ass’ 

Below, read our minute-by-minute “MasterChef Junior” recap of Season 8, Episode 8, titled “Junior Edition: Jalapeño Business” to find out what happened Thursday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite young cooks on Fox’s reality TV show and who you think has what it takes to win the entire competition.

SEE Daphne Oz on joining Gordon Ramsay for ‘MasterChef Junior’

8:00 p.m. — Previously on “MasterChef Junior”! The top 10 headed to a motorcross course where they divided up into teams and cooked for 51 hungry racers. In the end, 10-year old Starla was told to turn in her apron and head home. Now nine contestants remain in contention for the “MasterChef Junior” title!

8:05 p.m. — Tonight it’s time to turn up the heat for a spicy team challenge. The chef-testants will be split up and tasked with making as many perfect jalapeño poppers as they can. First, Aaron will show them all how to make these fried tasty treats. Next, the young cooks draw aprons to determine three teams of three: Green Team is Ciara, Eva and Liya. Red Team is A’Dan, Cruz and Molly. Yellow Team is Abir, Grayson and Ivy. The winning team will be safe and the two losing teams will have to face elimination.

8:10 p.m. — Teams have just 15 minutes to create as many poppers as possible. Grayson is annoyed by how slowly Abir is dropping poppers into the deep fryer. Over on the Red Team, A’Dan continues to question everything Molly does. Meanwhile, they haven’t fried a single popper. A’Dan continuously butts heads with teammates regardless of which team he’s on.

8:25 p.m. — Daphne tells A’Dan to be a team player after she hears him continuously yelling at Molly. She also instructs them to get someone on the fryer because they’re wasting time. On the Green Team, Liya is struggling with breading the poppers so she asks Eva to take over her station. Red Team looks to be getting further and further behind and A’Dan is growing more and more frustrated. Being on a team just isn’t his jam. At the end of the challenge, Cruz is so disgusted with A’Dan that he refuses to give him a high five. Yikes! Daphne calls out the Red Team for talking over each other, A’Dan especially. It was a lot of “nasty talk” and she was disappointed in them. The Yellow Team has won this challenge with 19 good poppers. That means Abir, Grayson and Ivy are safe and will advance to the Top 8!

8:30 p.m. — Tonight’s elimination challenge is another dreaded mystery box. They lift up their boxes to reveal a live crab. Before they get cooking, Gordon teaches them all how to break down a crab. Most of them are freaking out, but Cruz is totally unfazed. Ciara is particularly grossed out by this crab, but she’s determined to show these judges she’s here to win. Later she tells Gordon she’s not even interested in tasting her own dish tonight. This concerns Gordon. The contestants have 60 minutes to serve up a delicious crab dish. Let’s go!

8:45 p.m. — Each young cook begins plating and the challenge comes to an end. Every dish will be tasted tonight before the judges decide who is going home. Ciara is first serving a Black Bean Crab Cake with Corn Puree and Jicama Slaw. Gordon calls is visually “unfinished.” Unfortunately it’s also bland. Daphne says the dish doesn’t come together. Aaron says the construction is okay, it just needs to be “doctored up.” Next up is A’Dan with Crab Cakes with Andouille Succotash, Fried Okra and Cajun Tartar Sauce. Aaron is disappointed that A’Dan was trying to get a problem past them and he “phoned it in.” Gordon says it doesn’t look as good as it sounds. Daphne says the succotash is delicious. Aaron says he was lucky with such great flavor, because the presentation was awful.

8:50 p.m. — Liya presents Crabmeat Dumplings with Soy Broth and Braised Daikon. Gordon says it sounds amazing, but it should be in a bowl, not on a plate. Daphne says the broth is “unbelievably delicious.” Gordon says the dumplings are “spot on.” Cruz is next with Crab Tagliatelle with a White Wine Cream Sauce. Daphne says the sauce is delicious, but she would like more lumps of crab meat. Aaron says it’s “spectacular.” Gordon would take out some pasta so the crab was the star. Eva is next with a Vietnamese Crab Omelette with Crab Noodles and Toasted Peanuts. Daphne compliments the color and texture. Gordon says it looks “restaurant quality.” Daphne loves the omelette but the noodles are underdone. Aaron wants more of everything to amp it up. Gordon calls it “delicious” and says she’s “on track.”

8:55 p.m. — Molly presents her Crab Cake Benedict with Prosciutto Frisee Salad and Hollandaise Sauce. Aaron says it looks like a challenging dish to eat. Gordon says she didn’t look composed today while she cooked. He also doesn’t think her food looks very good. Thankfully, her egg is perfectly poached and the taste is solid. Daphne says it’s more like a tuna salad than a crab cake. Gordon says it doesn’t “taste that good” and it’s her worst dish so far.

8:59 p.m. — The judges discuss all eight dishes and decide who should go home. First, they want to congratulate tonight’s top three: Eva, Liya and Cruz. All of them are safe. A’Dan, Ciara and Molly have landed in the bottom. The individual leaving the “MasterChef” kitchen tonight is Ciara. The 11-year old from Bakersfield, California will keep her dream alive of opening up her own bakery and giving cooking classes to kids with disabilities.

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