Now, a lot of people would know of me as the kid who was on MasterChef, or more specifically the boy who cried on national TV; but a lot of people don’t know the backstory of my junior MasterChef experience.  I was only 11 years old when I was extremely fortunate to be a participant of ‘Junior MasterChef Australia 2020’, where I took on lots of difficult challenges alongside 14 other great young chefs.

When I stepped foot in the MasterChef kitchen, I couldn’t believe it was real. I’d watched the show for years, and it was “a full dream come true”. I was standing under the spotlight with over 30 cameras from all different directions filming me. It was exciting, scary and all I could think about was the fact that I had actually made it. Weeks went past and challenges became tougher. With the help of a few immunity challenges and just making it out of elimination rounds I found myself all the way into finals week.

The hardest round I faced throughout my MasterChef journey was the Semi Final. I lost so much time at the beginning; forgot to put the butter in my cake batter; and at one point breaking down in tears, gasping for air. I was a mess and I could not regain focus and gather myself. The clock continued to tick, thankfully Jock (one of the judges) came running over. His wise words of wisdom and direction allowed me to get my head back in the game and continue with the rest of my cooking. He stated, “You’re letting the idea of a pressure test get to you, you just can’t. You just have to think, I’m just making a lemon meringue pie, it’s easy. You’re good at this.” I told myself at the beginning of this journey that I was not going to give up, and boy, did I stick true to my word!

I pushed through the rest of that cook and came out with a nearly faultless dish. When it came time for the tasting, I was shaking with nerves. Wondering if I had done enough and whether that one mistake had ruined my whole dish, however the judges loved it and there it was, I was through to the Grand Finale!

Video can be found: https://www.facebook.com/reel/814567349341459

To the Grand Finale, where I cooked two dishes that needed to fit the brief of ‘Fine Dining Dishes’. My first dish: A charcoal-crusted lamb back strap with Pea Purée, Cauliflower & Leek Purée and Black Garlic Purée. And for my dessert I made a Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Raspberry & Pomegranate Sorbet and Chocolate Soil, a dish that I felt fit the brief extremely well. Overall, this challenge tested everything that the others hadn’t. It was the final chance to show the judges what I had.

As I endured extreme pressure, small mistakes started to arise. However, I did not let this effect the way that I presented my dishes at the end. For some reason, I didn’t feel worried when the judges tasted my dishes. I more so felt a sense of accomplishment. When it came time for the winner to be announced, I was so excited. Whether I walked away from it with the title or not I was proud. I was just like any other 11-year-old at the time; however I believed I could do it. And despite not finishing with the winning title, or the trophy, I came out of that incredible experience not regretting anything.

If I could say one thing about this whole experience, it is that no matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, anyone can achieve anything. Your mind is the only thing stopping you and if you believe in yourself and tell yourself that you can do it, you will. Don’t let your friends or anyone diminish your achievements because ultimately you have done something that is special, something that you love and something that’s amazing.