"MASTERCHEF JUNIOR" SEASON SEVEN KICKS OFF WITH 24 PINT-SIZED HOME COOKS

Top 24 Face First Mystery Box Challenge on Season Premiere, Tuesday, February 26, on FOX

Kicking off its seventh season, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR gives talented kids between the ages of 8 and 13 the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of fun, mouth-watering challenges. Having already won a coveted white apron, 24 young chef-testants - 12 girls and 12 boys - must prove that they deserve to stay in the game by completing their first Mystery Box Challenge. Award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay and renowned pastry chef Christina Tosi will be joined by celebrated chef and restaurateur Aarón Sánchez on the judges' panel. These three culinary heavyweights will determine which pint-sized home cook will be named America's next MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, taking home a trophy and $100,000 in prize money.

Season Seven will feature even more unique and messy challenges for the judges and chef-testants, including attending and preparing a meal for 51 circus performers, pulling a live lobster out of a tank and having 60 minutes to make a mind-blowing dish, competing to see which team can first roll out a perfect sheet of pasta to a length of 24 feet and powering through the fan-favorite restaurant takeover challenge.

In the premiere episode, "Culinary ABC's," airing Tuesday, Feb. 26 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX, the Top 24 must prove they've mastered the first meal of the day, breakfast, in a mystery box challenge. Then, school lunches get a total makeover as contestants are tasked with elevating three classic school lunch dishes into restaurant-quality cuisine.

Meet the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR Top 24 and find out their signature dishes:

Aaron
Age: 10
Hometown: Powder Springs, GA
Signature Dish: Baked Salmon with Sautéed Green Beans & Lemon Couscous

Ashley
Age: 9
Hometown: Queens, NY
Signature Dish: Spicy Steamed Salmon with Carrots & Okra

Ben
Age: 11
Hometown: Morristown, NJ
Signature Dish: Fried Chicken & Coleslaw

Brielle
Age: 8
Hometown: Conley, GA
Signature Dish: Caribbean Jerk Shrimp with Avocado Cream Sauce over Pineapple & Tomato Rice

Che
Age: 12
Hometown: Boiceville, NY
Signature Dish: Pan-Seared Salmon with Celeriac & Potato Purée & Sautéed Leeks with Kale Avocado Salad

Evie
Age: 11
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Signature Dish: Seared Steak Crostini with Chimichurri Sauce

Ivy
Age: 11
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Signature Dish: Beef Stir Fry with Broccoli & Peanut Sauce

Jaala
Age: 10
Hometown: Pawtucket, RI
Signature Dish: Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

Jayden
Age: 12
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Signature Dish: Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry with Mixed Vegetables & Scratch-Made Soy Sauce

Kate
Age: 8
Hometown: Roanoke, AL
Signature Dish: Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry

Kyle
Age: 11
Hometown: Rye, NY
Signature Dish: Pan-Seared Salmon with a Citrus Salad

Malia
Age: 11
Hometown: Newhall, CA
Signature Dish: Tuna & Cucumber Roll with Garlic & Soy Sautéed Broccolini

Mateo
Age: 8
Hometown: Demarest, NJ
Signature Dish: Baked & Seared Asian Salmon with Rice & Bok Choy

Matthew
Age: 8
Hometown: Livingston, NJ
Signature Dish: Filet Mignon with a Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Miguel
Age: 12
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Signature Dish: Thyme, Garlic, Buttered Seared Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms & Organic Side Salad

Nayeli
Age: 9
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Signature Dish: Cheese Enchiladas with Roja Sauce & Sautéed Potatoes & Carrots with Chorizo, & a Cabbage Radish Slaw

Neko
Age: 11
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Signature Dish: Irish Potato Soup with Bacon

Reid
Age: 8
Hometown: Newnan, GA
Signature Dish: Southern State Sliders with Bacon & Cheese Infused Burger Patties & a Special Sauce

Rhashad
Age: 12
Hometown: Milton, GA
Signature Dish: Shrimp Scampi over Pasta

Sadie
Age: 12
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Signature Dish: Spaghetti with Tomato, Basil, Pignoli & Cheese

Shannen
Age: 9
Hometown: Scarsdale, NY
Signature Dish: Yellow Turmeric Grilled Chicken with a Vegetable Medley

Tal
Age: 13
Hometown: Port Washington, NY
Signature Dish: Kombu-Cured Salmon with a Miso Buerre-Blanc & Yuzu Kosho (Japanese white wine grape)

Talulah
Age: 11
Hometown: New York, NY
Signature Dish: Savory Mushroom Crepe

Thomas
Age: 12
Hometown: Boerne, TX
Signature Dish: Personally Harvested Dove served on Toast topped with a Red Wine Jalape�o Jelly

MASTERCHEF JUNIOR is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Endemol Shine. Robin Ashbrook, Danny Schrader, Elisabeth Murdoch, Georgie Hurford-Jones, Gordon Ramsay, Yasmin Shackleton, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers. "Like" MASTERCHEF JUNIOR on Facebook at facebook.com/MasterChefJuniorFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @MasterChefJrFOX and join the discussion at #MasterChefJunior. Check out photos and videos on Instagram @masterchefjunior/.

Be part of Camp MasterChef this summer! Join former MASTERCHEF and MASTERCHEF JUNIOR winners and fan favorites for an enriching and immersive culinary experience designed for kids and teens ages 8-16. For more information and to register for Camp MasterChef, visit CampMasterChef.com

ABOUT ENDEMOL SHINE NORTH AMERICA

Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world. Its Endemol Shine Latino division oversees all Spanish and Portuguese-language operations across Latin America, including newly launched studio Endemol Shine Boomdog, which produces original content for both the U.S. Hispanic and Mexican markets. Subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Truly Original and 51 Minds Entertainment.

ABOUT GORDON RAMSAY

Renowned for highly successful and award-winning original programming, Emmy-nominated, multi-Michelin-star chef Gordon Ramsay produces TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic that are seen by audiences worldwide, including his FOX shows, "The F Word with Gordon Ramsay," GORDON RAMSAY'S 24 HOURS TO HELL AND BACK, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, HELL'S KITCHEN and MASTERCHEF CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN; as well as Bravo's "Best New Restaurant"; and Food Network's competition series "Food Court Wars." In the U.K., he's produced "Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars" and "Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape" for Channel 4; food biography and nostalgia series "My Kitchen" for UKTV's Good Food Channel; two instructional cookery series, "Ultimate Home Cooking" and "Ultimate Cookery Course," for Channel 4; and the first two seasons of "Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch," all under his One Potato Two Potato banner. The next-generation multimedia production company Studio Ramsay was founded in 2016 by Ramsay and has a joint venture with All3Media to develop and produce both unscripted and scripted television shows, creating new formats and innovative programming that include a scripted arm focused on food-related themes and development of new talent on a global front. The catalog of programs that Ramsay has worked on historically with All3Media via One Potato Two Potato, together with new original content he's currently developing, make for a unique and dynamic production and distribution partnership. Studio Ramsay's first production, live series "The F Word With Gordon Ramsay," premiered in the U.S. on FOX; and its second FOX series, GORDON RAMSAY'S 24 HOURS TO HELL AND BACK, was one of the summer's most-watched new series. Its first daytime cooking series, "Culinary Genius," premiered on ITV in the U.K. and was syndicated on FOX stations in the U.S. The documentary series, "Gordon on Cocaine," premiered on ITV to critical acclaim. "Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch," starring Tilly Ramsay, for U.K. children's channel CBBC, is also produced by Studio Ramsay.