Grayson Price: 'MasterChef Junior' Season 8 semi-finalist from Texas reveals his toughest competitors
Season 8 of 'MasterChef Junior' will return to television on Tuesday, June 14 at 9 pm ET on FOX with its semi-final, in which three lucky contestants will compete for a spot in the finale. Grayson Price, a junior chef from Austin, Texas, who has been a star cook since the culinary competition began, is set to give it his all to clinch a spot in the finale.
Grayson, Liya Chu, and A'Dan Lisaula won the elimination challenge in episode one. He has been at the bottom twice so far. This happened once in Junior Edition: Totally Egg-streme! and then again in Junior Edition: Alexander in a Box. Price even set up an online Summer Baking Club during Covid to educate novice bakers on some wonderful recipes. Price's signature dish according to 'MasterChef Junior,' is Pan-seared Duck Breast with Duck Fat Potatoes, Asian Pears, and Blackberry Gastrique.
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After a three-year hiatus, 'MasterChef Junior' returns with vigor for its eighth season. Grayson is on the show with a culinary ambition to build a technique-driven, ingredient-focused restaurant providing Japanese-French fusion cuisine in Los Angeles. In the episode preceding the semi-final, he and Ivy Childs, Molly Leighninger, and Liya Chu battled for a position in the semi-final. The top four chefs were teamed up with a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler for the first tag team challenge. They had one hour to recreate a buffet of finger foods such as curried chicken puffs, lobster rolls, and buffalo chicken lollipops.
Chu won both the challenge and a ticket to WWE WrestleMania. During the elimination task, all four participants had to prepare Gordon's specialty dish of truffle egg yolk ravioli. After he finished, they were given 60 seconds to plate their dinner. Leighninger was ultimately ousted from 'MasterChef Junior,' and the three surviving chefs advanced to the semi-final stage. When questioned about his competition on the show, Grayson told MEAWW, "Everyone was amazing, however, I would say that Ivy and Liya were my toughest competition."
This season, viewers have watched Grayson succeed and bring his inventiveness to each task. But what was that one challenge that he found particularly memorable? "The restaurant takeover challenge was particularly memorable to me - it was so fun!" he tells us. In this particular challenge, he led the Blue Team, which included Molly and Liya. They were tasked with serving a crowded house of customers who expected nothing but the finest. The young chefs traveled to downtown Los Angeles and then to the Nomad Hotel, where they had a cooking demonstration from Rudy Lopez, the NoMad's head chef. Grayson appeared to communicate well with his comrades, and the Blue Team was highly focused. Grayson's excellent leadership kept the Blue Team moving at a solid pace. Even though the Blue Team encountered a hiccup when a steak was returned from the dining room, the meal was swiftly retrieved and Grayson and his team won the task at the end of the day. As a result, it's a no-brainer that the young cook has this particular challenge etched in his memory.
The young chef is inspired by several great French and Japanese cooks, as well as current chefs such as René Redzepi (of the Copenhagen restaurant Noma), who try to push the frontiers of the culinary arts. He acknowledges that his stint on 'MasterChef Junior' taught him the "importance of organization and efficient time management when cooking." Grayson, despite whipping up some of the most spectacular and difficult-to-execute meals so far in the competition, found solace in a decent bowl of pasta. When asked about his favorite comfort food, he said, "In regard to something savory, I love pasta carbonara for comfort food. If we are talking about sweets, nothing beats a warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven."
Sneak peek of the semi-final
Fox has released an exclusive clip ahead of the semi-finals this week. Grayson, Childs, and Chu, the three semi-finalists, will now compete to advance to the finale of 'MasterChef Junior.' Judge Gordon can be seen in the clip speaking with Grayson's family while the young chef sweats it out in the kitchen. Grayson's father, Brad Price, expresses his pride in what his son has done and finds it "inspiring" as a parent to be a part of Grayson's journey. When Gordon brings up Grayson's statement about spending time in the kitchen with his father, Brad says that Grayson seemed to learn the skill of cooking right away. When questioned about her son's accomplishment, mom Christina Price expresses how "unreal" it feels that something Grayson has been dreaming about for a long time is now coming true. Grayson's little sister, who can be seen cheering on her big brother from the stands, tells Gordon that she believes in her brother's ability to become the next 'MasterChef Junior.'
So, tune in to Fox on Tuesday, June 14, to witness Grayson compete against the other semi-finalists for a spot in this year's 'MasterChef Junior' finals.