Tonight, Season Four of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR came to an exciting conclusion as host/executive producer and judge Gordon Ramsay and fellow judges Graham Elliot and Christina Tosi named Addison Osta Smith, a nine-year-old from River Forest, IL, the winner of FOX’s hit cooking competition series.
In addition to earning the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR trophy, Addison walked away with a $100,000 grand prize. She also will set sail this November on the MASTERCHEF Cruise, where she will cook with other All-Stars, including previous MASTERCHEF winners Claudia Sandoval and Luca Manfe.
“We were so impressed with all of our junior home cooks this year, and Addison stood out from the very beginning,” said Ramsay. “She was a fierce competitor, wonderful leader and team player and overall great joy to work with in the kitchen. Her desserts were especially remarkable and we are all looking forward to seeing her bright culinary future unfold.”
“Winning MASTERCHEF JUNIOR is just completely amazing and overwhelming,” said Addison. “It’s like I want to go jump off a big rock into a lake or go running down the beach screaming, ‘I won MASTERCHEF JUNIOR!’ I am so, so thankful that I have had this amazing opportunity. I am even more inspired to work hard to accomplish all of my goals in life and I will never forget this awesome experience, all of the friends I made and everything I have learned. It’s just awesome!”
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In tonight’s season finale episode, Addison competed in a culinary showdown with Avery, a nine-year-old from Baton Rouge, LA. For the final challenge, Addison created an impressive, restaurant-quality three-course meal: an appetizer of Sake-Marinated Shrimp with Seaweed, Sea Bean, Sour Plum and Puffed Rice Salad; a Miso Black Cod with Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushrooms and Coconut Ginger Broth; and a Green Tea Panna Cotta with Cookie Crumbles and Brûléed Plums for dessert.
After a very close competition, it was Addison’s delicious and exciting flavors, perfectly cooked black cod and exquisite infusion of plums throughout her dishes that earned her the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR trophy.
MASTERCHEF is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Endemol Shine. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers. “Like” MASTERCHEF JUNIOR on Facebook at facebook.com/MasterChefJuniorFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @MasterChefJrFOX and join the discussion with #MasterChefJunior. See photos and videos on Instagram @MasterChefJr/.
All episodes of the current season of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR are available on FOX NOW and Fox on Demand to subscribers of participating pay-TV services. To learn more about FOX NOW, please visit www.foxnow.com.
About One Potato Two Potato
Renowned for award-winning original programming, One Potato Two Potato produces high-quality TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including the smash-hit HOTEL HELL, the blockbuster MASTERCHEF and irresistible spin-off MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, all for FOX; as well as “Best New Restaurant” and competition series “Food Court Wars.” In the U.K., OPTP produces “Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars” and “Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape,” for Channel 4; food biography and nostalgia series “My Kitchen,” for UKTV’s Good Food Channel; and “Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch,” starring Tilly Ramsay for U.K. children’s channel CBBC. OPTP has also produced two instructional cookery series featuring Gordon Ramsay, “Ultimate Home Cooking” and “Ultimate Cookery Course,” both of which have sold all over the globe.
About Endemol Shine North America
Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the newly launched global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world. Its Endemol Shine Studios division develops and produces original scripted television programming in the U.S. for global exploitation and Endemol Shine Latino oversees all Spanish-language sales and development in both the U.S. and now across all of Latin America. Subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Original Media, True Entertainment and 51 Minds Entertainment. In addition, Endemol Shine North America has a strategic partnership with Ryan Seacrest Productions.
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Endemol Shine Group’s companies in North America are behind such hit series as “Big Brother” (CBS), “The Biggest Loser” (NBC), “Hell on Wheels” (AMC), “Ink Master” (Spike), “Kingdom” (DirecTV), MASTERCHEF (FOX), MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (FOX), “Restaurant Startup” (CNBC), “Swamp People” (History), “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), “Steve Harvey” (NBCU), “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” (VH1), “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” (CMT) and the upcoming “Hunted” (CBS).
[EDITOR’S NOTE: For information on MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, please visit www.foxflash.com.]
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