As Avery Kyle was announced as one of two finalists on MasterChef Junior last Friday evening, the Baton Rouge 9-year-old fell to her knees on screen—and in real life at her viewing party for the semifinal show at Mellow Mushroom.
As 225 Dine reports, the jam-packed room resonated with whoops, claps and hollers as the judges declared Kyle’s spot in the season finale, which airs tonight at 7 p.m.
In the most recent episode, the top four young chefs were tasked with preparing what judge Christina Tosi called the toughest dessert in the world to make: a souffle. With just one wrong move or one minute too long in the oven, the perfect souffle can crumble.
Avery’s mystery ingredient was strawberries, and she crafted a near-perfect souffle, according to the three judges. After a tough decision, the winner of the souffle competition is 9-year-old Addison Osta Smith of River Forest, Illinois, Avery’s rival on tonight’s finale.
For last week’s elimination challenge, the finalists cooked up a pork dish with different cuts, with Osta Smith getting to choose which cut each contestant gets. Kyle turned her pork belly into a visually stunning dish of braised pork belly with a sweet potato mash, sautéed brussel sprouts and beet chips. She shouted “Go pig or go home!” as the judges surveyed her dish.
Judge Tosi was left nearly speechless by Kyle’s pork belly, calling it her best dish of the season. Judge Graham Elliot examined a piece of the pork belly and asks if it was luck that perfectly rendered the fat on each side.
“It’s not just luck,” Avery assured him. “I’m a competitor.”
Should she bring home the $100,000 prize, Kyle says she will put some money in her college fund and take her family on a vacation. As for her final thoughts on tonight’s finale?
“May the best woman win,” she says.
Along with friends and family, Kyle will again host a viewing party tonight for the finale at Mellow Mushroom, 4250 Burbank Drive. Read the full story and see a gallery of photos from last week’s viewing party.
