*SPOILER ALERT: This story reveals details about the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR episode from Monday, April 15.
OCALA, FL (352today.com) – First responders and staff from Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) got a special treat on Monday. A surf and turf meal whipped up by local kid cook competing for the title of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR.
Michael Seegobin is the son of MCFR lieutenant Deen Seegobin. On Monday, Seegobin showed off the professional cooking skills he’s honed while on the reality cooking show by preparing steak, lobster and potatoes for Fire Chief James Banta and the crew at Weirsdale Station #27.
The lunch came just hours before a new episode of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR aired on FOX stations.
SPOILER ALERT – NIGHTMARE CHALLENGE
This week’s episode, titled the nightmare challenge, tasked the kid competitors with preparing a gourmet dish using their most hated ingredients.
“I got mushrooms. They make me want to gag ’cause of, like, the texture. I just hate them,” said Michael during the episode.
“Mushrooms are delicious young man,” retorted celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
The kids had 60 minutes to turn what they hate into a plate that would wow the judges.
“Look at you – calm, cool, collected. Always with the hair looking coiffed,” said judge Daphne Oz to Michael as he sliced plantains.
“So, I’m gonna do a mushroom-rubbed ribeye with a mushroom callaloo because my dad is from the Caribbean and talks so much about the callaloo and I’ve been wanting to make it for a good time,” Michael told the judges. He described it as a stock with coconut milk, chicken stock, greens and mushrooms.
When they asked him about his disdain for mushrooms, Michael threw his dad under the bus, “Because my dad has made mushrooms before, and I hated the way he cooked them.”
When it came time for the taste test, the judges grilled Michael on his dish.
“How did you want your steak to be cooked?” asked Tilly Ramsay, Gordon’s daughter.
“Medium rare,” responded Michael.
“Are you confident you got that?” she asked.
Without hesitation, he responded, “Yes!”
When it came time for deciding which young cooks made the cut, Michael found himself in the top 4 and safe from elimination.
“This is my third time in the top,” said Michael on the show. “I’m feeling really good about this.”
The show selects one competitor each week whose dish impressed them the most.
The panel described Michael’s dish as extremely well-seasoned and had great flavors.
“I think the magic in this dish is the mushroom callaloo. It’s so profound in flavor and it has that beautiful citrusy heat, and you didn’t shy away from mushroom,” said Aarón Sánchez. “For an ingredient you don’t like, you surely embraced it.”
Chef Ramsay told him his seasoning was “spot on” and announced his as the week’s winning dish which earned him a prize of electric bikes for his entire family.
“I’m not only safe. I get the e-bikes for me and my family. I get one step closer to making it to the final. That is three things,” said Michael. “I’m so excited right now.”
Things get sticky in the next episode where the challenge involves pancakes and ice cream. You can see it on Monday, April 22, at 8 p.m.