Buford boy competing on ‘MasterChef Junior’

Quani Pointer of Buford loves soccer, but he loves cooking more, which is why he has made it into the top 18 on the latest season of Fox’s “MasterChef Junior,” which airs at 8 p.m. Fridays.

His cooking strength is baking, which he does frequently. In their still empty new home last week, Quani broke in the renovated kitchen creating vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow frosting and chocolate ganache.

As he prepped the cupcakes, he exhibited positive, calm energy and a palpable joy. He was thrilled to break in the new kitchen. “Most kids care about their room,” said his mom, Rebecca, a paralegal. “He cared about the kitchen.”

Over five episodes, the 13-year-old has been on the bottom multiple times but has survived thus far. He’s going to need to start moving up the ranks quickly if he has a realistic shot at winning. “I’m due for a comeback,” he said.

Of the judges, he thinks Gordon Ramsay is the toughest but Joe Bastianich is the scariest. “He just looks at you,” Quani said.

“It’s hard to tell what he thinks,” Rebecca added.

Quani was able to cruise through last week’s wedding catering episode. He was assigned plating, so he stayed out of harm’s way. He was just sad to see his good friend Ben get cut. This Friday, they have to cook something based on their heritage, but his favorite moment was simply getting a massive amount of sugar dumped on his head.

His mom is not at all perturbed that her son is now a better cook than she is. “I’m good for the family,” Rebecca said. “He’s good for everyone else.”

He’s also a budding entrepreneur. He sells baked goods at his and his brother’s soccer games, often clearing $100 to $200 a pop. He makes cookies and for portability, he and his mom created cupcake sandwiches and sell them at games for $3 apiece. “I try to feed his creativity as much as possible,” Rebecca said.

Every Friday last summer, he catered her office.

Rebecca said his interest in the culinary arts started early. “He liked to cook with me, then started doing it on his own,” she said, at about age 6.

“I want to run a bakery,” he said. He thinks baking is more creative and fun than regular cooking, but he keeps expanding his knowledge across the board.

Recently, he has learned how to create homemade pasta with different flavors.

“I make him try to stick with a recipe once, but he likes to venture off pretty quickly,” his mom said.

Experimentation is his thing. “I tried to convince her to get me a blowtorch,” he said. She said no. (Maybe when he’s 16, she added.)

Quani Pointer