It showed me the professionalism within the industry and it really sparked the passion that I have for cooking and exploring and learning more about the restaurant. The show really changed my whole perspective on the food industry. I was 12 when I was on the show, one of the oldest contestants. It definitely was a huge learning experience.

A few days after, I got a call telling me and that I’d have to be sequestered in a hotel for three weeks to shoot the eight episodes. I made a trio of crostini: a chili-rubbed flank steak, an egg crostini and a spiced blueberry compote one.Īfter that, we met with a psychiatrist. My mom and I used to play “ Chopped” - I think it was her way of getting out of cooking - so I made a dish that I had come up with at that time. Then there was an on-screen test where I had to cook a dish in front of a camera. They also asked us individual and group questions to see our personalities. They put pictures of different foods on the screen and asked us what they were. They wanted to see that we had basic cooking skills and knowledge.įrom there, we went into a room with a panel of casting directors and producers.

That was the only cooking that was done that day. We first went into a room where we had to measure water, cut vegetables and cook an egg in any way. She then knew that I was interested in baking and took me to the audition. I taught myself how to make that cake off of YouTube. ” When she got remarried in 2012, I made her wedding cake. My mom was a commercial actress for a while and she saw the casting call for “ MasterChef Junior. I would go home and instead of watching cartoons, I was watching the Food Network. Growing up in Los Angeles, I was surrounded by a who-is-who food scene. My grandma actually used to teach traditional Chinese cooking to housewives in South Bend, Indiana.

Masterchef junior finale 2014