Sean wears his signature MasterChef apron. Photo by Kristie-Valerie Hoangby Kristie-Valerie Hoang, Editor-in-Chief
Standing at a tall 4 feet and 11 inches, freshman Sean Le is no stranger to the high stakes and pressure of a professional grade kitchen. He was a contestant in season two of MasterChef Junior.
MasterChef is a television cooking competition, aired on Fox and judged by world renowned chefs Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich.
Le began cooking when he was 8 years old with his mother, who taught him the basics of traditional Vietnamese cuisine. Though, his passion for food didn’t kick until he was 10, when he cooked his very first dish: barbecued turkey sliders. From there, Le surrounded himself with food. He spent his days developing his cooking techniques by watching YouTube videos. During the holidays, Le prepared his whole family’s dinner by cooking mashed potatoes, roasted turkey and prime rib with his cousin.
His favorite dish to cook is coffee rubbed filet mignon. On the sweet side, Le loves to bake passionfruit macarons; baking the French cookies twice a week.
Le isn’t a stranger with culinary competitions. Before MasterChef Junior, Le participated in the local Orange County fair.
However, in 2014, Le decided to take his zeal for cooking to the next level by auditioning for MasterChef. Le recalled that initially, he didn’t know what MasterChef was. Upon further research, he fell in love with the show and watched the entire first season in one night.
“I really thought that I could win and do that show,” said Le. “I found out about it two days before the audition.”
Once he sent in his audition information, Le set up an appointment to showcase his skills on a Sunday afternoon.
“I walked into a room, and it was filled with kids who were just like me,” said Le. The audition consisted of an interview and a simple test of basic knife technique.
“It was very simple, the first audition… Nothing too crazy until the next few when they really narrowed down the kids,” said Le. In the final audition, Le tested his ability to cook a full dish in front of a camera.
After proceeding through rounds of auditions, paperwork and confidentiality agreements, Le finally made it to the prestigious MasterChef Kitchen where he received his own coveted MasterChef apron.
“It was amazing… I literally just stood there for a moment and I kept staring around. I was so nervous,” said Le. “I honestly never felt happier in my life.”
Le competed until he was eliminated as the top 4th contestant of the competition. For 3 weeks, Sean endured dozens of cooking challenges, from baking pies to running a restaurant. For him, one of his fondest memories remains one with judge Bastianich, known for being the toughest critic on the show.
“Joe inspired me the most,” said Le. “During the first episode, I presented my dish and he put a $20 bill on the table and said my dish looked like one that cost that much from a restaurant.”
Le’s parents remained extremely supportive throughout his MasterChef experience.
“They’re traditional Vietnamese, so they don’t know much about what happens on TV,” said Le. “Usually they’re not really supportive in my interest in the arts, but I was really shocked by how glad they were that I signed up.”
Le’s biggest lesson from MasterChef was time management. The judges taught him key time management and planning skills.
“They taught us to first, get your protein done, and then onto your vegetables or sauces and sides. And that really helped me on the long term,” said Le.
After being a line chef for a MasterChef team challenge, Le does not want to become a head chef in a restaurant in the future. Instead, he wants to open his own restaurants, where he can design his own menu.
“I like to create more than take orders,” said Le.
One day, he imagines himself open an elegant steak house, a trendy, healthy-eating cafe and a bakery.
“MasterChef has not only changed my life because people recognize me now, but my notch for cooking has definitely advanced,” said Le. “I really learned that when you have other kids around you that share the same passion, you learn a lot.”
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