'MasterChef Junior' Season 8: Here's how Che Theo Spiotta won Season 7 of the franchise
When it comes to 'MasterChef Junior' contestants, one thing is for sure; these kids are spitfires in the kitchen! With Season 8 of the show finally here, 16 adorable chef-contestants between the age of 8 to 13 are all fired up to take home the championship trophy and $100,000 in prize money.
If you're looking for other cooking-based reality shows, consider checking out ‘Top Chef: Houston’, 'Top Chef Family Style’, and ‘Family Food Fight’.
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Who won 'MasterChef Junior' Season 7?
With Season 7 having aired in 2019, the young chef that bagged the win was 13-year-old Che Theo Spiotta from Upstate New York. His family consists of his mother and two brothers. Besides cooking, Che enjoys playing soccer, as his website mentions that he is a part of three teams.
He enjoys gluten-free pancakes with local maple syrup, burgers over hotdogs and considers himself a night owl. Che's affiliation for gluten-free food began at a young age as he was a sickly child and a gluten-free diet helped remedy that largely. This soon led to him experimenting in the kitchen himself to see what he would whip up on his own to expand his options.
A look at Che's run on 'MasterChef Junior' Season 7
After impressing the judges time and again with his wonderful gluten-free creations, Che found himself in the Season 7 finale. His winning menu consisted of an appetizer of pan-seared Santa Barbara prawns and cuttlefish on a bed of polenta with Calabrian chili powder. For jus entrée, he prepared veal saltimbocca with finger potatoes and a spring pea ragout with mushroom. For dessert, he prepared a flourless chocolate, olive oil cake with an orange glaze, ricotta cream, and pistachio tuile was on the menu. That delicious menu helped Che take home the grand prize of $100,000.
While talking to GlutenFree Living, he spoke about his time on the show. "Nobody executed their dishes the way they wanted to because everyone was so freaked out by the cameras," he explained.
But the nervousness didn't last for long, as they soon got a hang of it. He even opened up about how the show changed his own attitude towards cooking. "I learned how to work under stress because I've never cooked with a time limit like that," he explained.
"Coming out of the competition, I'm definitely more composed," he added. Moreover, he also picked up a few life lessons along the way. "I learned to be yourself when you're cooking and not to let anyone else get to you," he said.
Che's tryst with food is far from over, as he revealed to Parade. He plans on having his own restaurant and TV show too. "I definitely want to have a restaurant at some point in my life, but being on the show, I realized how much I love cooking shows and being on TV, so I am thinking having my own cooking show one day would be a really cool thing to do," he said during his interview.
Catch 'MasterChef Junior' Season 8 on Fox, on Thursdays at 8 pm ET.