“I’m in it to win it,” Avery Kyle says of the remainder of her time on FOX’s MasterChef Junior.
The fourth-grade Episcopal School student advanced to the top four contestants in the show’s latest episode, airing last Friday, Jan. 15. The top six chefs were faced with one of the most stressful challenges yet: preparing a VIP meal for Gordon Ramsay and 20 of his friends.
The six were split into two teams of three and tasked with preparing an appetizer of pan-seared snapper with rainbow chard and shellfish broth and a main entree of venison loin with cabbage, gnocchi and chanterelle mushrooms.
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Kyle says she and her fellow five contestants felt a lot of pressure under this challenge, admitting that she and her team faced some communication problems in the beginning. But Kyle’s team landed a solid finish in the makeshift kitchen in Ramsay’s backyard, winning both the appetizer and entree challenges.
Ramsay’s friends—who weren’t aware the chefs behind their meal are underage—were fans of the lunch prepared by Kyle and her teammates. They remarked that the presentation was stunning, the chard was seared and crispy and the venison was cooked to perfection.
After Ramsay’s friends finished up, the three MasterChef judges introduced the chefs behind the lunch.
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“That was the best part,” she says. “Everyone clapped and laughed and some people even started crying.”
The 9-year-old faces only two more MasterChef challenges and says the reality of the competition is starting to sink in. The top four junior chefs will battle it out in the semi-final challenge this Friday for a spot in the top two.
The next MasterChef Junior airs Friday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. Kyle and her family will be at Mellow Mushroom at 4250 Burbank Drive for a public viewing party.