Klein teenager creating a stir on Fox’s ‘MasterChef Junior’
Area eighth-grader makes final 8 in cooking competition
Shayne Wells learned to please picky palates long before he appeared on national TV and cooked for some of the world’s greatest chefs.
After serving as his family’s primary chef for three years, the now-14-year-old has developed a knack for whipping up meals that satisfied everyone except his older brother Tyler. Now 15, Tyler refused to eat any green or remotely hearthealthy foods until Shayne employed new tactics. He’d grind greens up or combine them seamlessly with meats, not unlike a pet owner tricking a dog into taking a pill by shoving it into a bite-sized morsel of meat.
“I love to make risotto; my brother will eat that, but a good risotto always has a little onion and a little garlic,” Wells said. “I told him there’s nothing in it, and he can’t spot it because (it) blends in really nicely. That tricks him into eating some things.”
Shayne, an eighth-grader at Shindewolf Intermediate School in Klein ISD, was among 40 youngsters to compete on Fox’s “MasterChef Junior” reality cooking competition out of thousands of teens and preteens who competed nationwide for the coveted spots. Since the premiere of the fifth season in February, Shayne has prepared steaks, vegan burgers and bone-in pork chops, along with a myriad of side dishes. Last week, he made the final eight after impressing notoriously tough chef Gordon Ramsay with a
“Maybe I could be the next Gordon Ramsay.” Shayne Wells, “MasterChef Junior” contestant
beef Wellington complemented by sides of mashed potatoes, sautéed asparagus and a mushroom gravy. The next episode airs at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Aaron Sanchez, an El Paso-born chef who has judged adult cooking competitions such as “Chopped” and “Iron Chef,” said Shayne’s Texas roots showed in the perfect preparation of his beef.
Shayne flashed the judges a grin, his blue eyes beaming as he walked back to his cooking station.
Shayne, who was 13 at the time of filming, was the oldest contestant this season; the youngest was 8.
His mother, Shelley, said Shayne flocked to the kitchen with his grandparents on Sundays, eager to get in on the action.
“He always has to be in the center of things; that’s how (the cooking) started,” Shelley said.
But after a few years with Shayne as sous chef, his family realized he had a knack for creating recipes and crafting edible creations. They drove to downtown Houston from Spring last year for “MasterChef Junior’s” open auditions.
Kids were given two tasks: cook an egg and chop celery.
Shayne decided to poach his egg rather than reach for a whisk, a decision that separated him from the dozens of other hopefuls. He got a call back from the show’s producers within hours of his public debut. He said he landed a spot on the show “probably because of my hairdo — and my loving personality.”
Shelley accompanied Shayne out to Los Angeles for taping, where they lived in a hotel with other young chefs and their families. The middle-schooler was astounded by the lack of rain and humidity out west, noting that his mom “really liked that it didn’t mess up her hair.”
“This was the first time he got to be with kids who like to cook and have those types of conversations,” Shelley said. “It was really neat (to) see the kids talk about their favorite things to cook and traditions in their homes.”
Shayne says he still exchanges messages with other contestants nearly every day. One of his best friends from the show, an enthusiastic California teen named Mashu Nishi, has traveled out to Texas for visits.
Since this season’s premiere, Shelley said, people will sometimes recognize Shayne at a grocery store or park. Once, a concessionaire at an Astros game did a double-take, told Shayne her daughter loved watching him and pleaded for a selfie.
How does a family keep a 14-year-old humble after he’s appeared on national TV?
“We let his older brother do that,” Shelley said, laughing. “He likes to remind him ‘You’re just Shayne’ — no one is that special. But Shayne has been very grounded through all of this. He’s still surprised when people come up to him and recognize him from the show.”
Still, it’s easy to see why fans and judges took to Shayne’s positive attitude and wisecracks, as well as his scrumptious dishes. He hopes the experience will launch him to a dream career of owning a restaurant or food truck.
“Maybe I could be the next Gordon Ramsay,” he said.