FOX Welcomes 24 Contestants for MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, Premiering Today

Move over grown-ups! Kids take over the kitchen on the series premiere of culinary competition series MasterChef Junior airing tonight, Sept. 27 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The MASTERCHEF judging panel - host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot - welcomes the series' first-ever batch of kids to the kitchen, where they will prove their passion for cooking in the auditions round.

24 of the best junior home cooks in the country between the ages of eight and 13 will compete in the first audition round and present their dishes to the judges. The kids will split up into three groups of eight and, as a group, create their best seafood, pasta or dessert dishes. Those who impress the judges will earn a white MasterChef Junior apron and advance to the MasterChef Junior Top 12. Then, The Following week, on Friday, Oct. 4 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the Top 12 finalists will compete in the first challenge to prove they have what it takes to be a junior MASTERCHEF.

This season, the MasterChef Junior finalists will compete in a series of delicious challenges and cook-offs, including a cupcake challenge, a tag-team Beef Wellington challenge and the always difficult restaurant takeover, during which the kids will prepare a three-course menu at a celebrated fine dining restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Along the way, the judges will coach and encourage the budding cooks until one talented kid is named America's first-ever MasterChef Junior and win $100,000.

Below are the names, ages and hometowns of the MasterChef Junior Top 24 contestants:

NAME, AGE, HOMETOWN	NAME, AGE, HOMETOWN
Alexander, 13, New York, NY	Lishai, 11, Los Angeles, CA
Amanda, 12, Franklin Square, NY	Mina, 11, Pomona, CA
Daniel, 11, Hawthorne, NY	Molly, 12, Pasadena, CA
Dara, 12, Culver City, CA	Nathan, 8, Woodland Hills, CA
Ethan, 11, Riverside, CA	Noah, 12, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Franco, 11, Massapequa, NY	Roen, 12, Brooklyn, NY
Gavin, 10, San Francisco, CA	Sage, 13, Rossmoor, CA
Hana, 10, Claremont, CA	Sara, 12, Studio City, CA
Jack, 10, East Rockaway, NY	Sarah, 9, Culver City, CA
Jewels, 12, Manalapan, NJ	Sofia, 12, Brooklyn, NY
Justin, 11, Neptune, NJ	Tommy, 11, Palos Verdes Estates, CA
Kaylen, 11, Culver City, CA	Troy, 12, Thousand Oaks, CA

MasterChef Junior is produced by Shine America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on the format created by Franc Roddam and Shine. Shine International handles distribution for the MASTERCHEF format. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Paul Franklin, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers.

"Like" MasterChef Junior on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MasterchefJuniorFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @MasterChefJrFOX and join the discussion at #masterchefjunior.

About One Potato Two Potato:

One Potato Two Potato (OPTP) was co-founded by Gordon Ramsay and Optomen Television in 2008 to exclusively create and produce worldwide content for Ramsay ventures across all media, including television, digital and publishing. Renowned for award-winning original programming, the company produces high-quality TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including the smash-hit HOTEL HELL, which was the highest-rated new network show of summer 2012 (OPTP is now in production on Season Two); and four seasons of MASTERCHEF, all for FOX; "Food Court Wars" for Food Network; massive U.K. hit "Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars" and "Gordon's Great Escape" for Channel 4; and "My Kitchen" for UKTV's Good Food Channel. Ramsay's groundbreaking Channel 4 series, "Cookalong Live" aired as a special on FOX and has since become a successful format around the world. OPTP is also currently in development on several exciting unscripted and scripted projects, within and beyond the food genre, for network, cable and digital platforms in the U.S., U.K. and around the world. OPTP distributes its hugely popular TV programming and formats to more than 200 territories via Optomen International. The company became part of the All3Media group in 2010. Find out more about One Potato Two Potato at www.onepotatotwopotato.tv.

About Shine America:

Shine America is a world leader in producing and distributing compelling scripted and unscripted television and digital content. Shine America is known for popular and award-winning original series, including "The Biggest Loser" and "The Face"; as well as adaptations of Shine Group formats, such as MASTERCHEF and "Minute to Win It"; and scripted series like the new FX drama "The Bridge." Shine America has development deals with some of the top producers in television, including Nigel Lythgoe (Nigel Lythgoe Productions) and its own unscripted format label in Ardaban, led by the creators of the hit Food Network series "Chopped." Shine Latino, a new division of Shine America, is producing and distributing original Spanish-language content to the U.S. and Latin American marketplaces.

The global Shine 360? division builds brands through the leveraging of its intellectual property and by creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers. The company has also developed more than 20 groundbreaking original online series on MSN, Yahoo!, Youtube premium channels and other platforms, many produced in partnership with global brands such as Walmart, Toyota, Kraft Foods, Subway and Microsoft. Through Shine Group's distribution arm, Shine International, Shine America distributes its extensive library of programming and formats to more than 150 countries.

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