What Happened To The Winner Of MasterChef Junior Season 8?
In 2022, Liya Chu, a 10-year-old culinary prodigy from Scarsdale, New York, captivated audiences and judges alike on "MasterChef Junior" Season 8. She won with an impressive final meal of spiced duck breast with scallion pancakes and miso eggplant, followed by a coconut pandan panna cotta with passion fruit coulis and mango. These dishes paid homage to her Taiwanese heritage, showing off the skills she learned from her parents, who run two restaurants, Fantasy Cuisine in Hartsdale and Dumpling + Noodle in Bronxville.
Now 16 years old, Chu is still cooking up a storm in her free time, posting her take on apple rose tarts on Instagram during the holiday season. She's also made various other recipes for her followers, including ground beef samosas, sweet potato casserole, and ground pork rice bowls.
One untold truth of "MasterChef Junior" is that the kids still attend school while on the show. That hard work has paid off for Chu, as her recent social media posts show off the many academic accolades she's earned since the show. She's taken an interest in the forensic sciences, with a recent Instagram post announcing her 4th place win at the 2024 Princeton Invitational. She's also took part in the 2024 Yale Invitational, snagging champion status with the New York State Forensic League. Aside from hitting the books, Chu participates in golf tournaments with her high school golf team.
Liya Chu had to keep her MasterChef Junior win under wraps
Season 8 of "MasterChef Junior" was filmed in 2019 but didn't air until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant Liya Chu had to keep her win a secret for three years. After the show finally aired, she announced her victory to the world and thanked everyone involved in the competition as well as her friends and family. Fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express admiration, with one user saying, "Liya dominated the entire show." While some audience members favored the runner-up, Grayson Price, it's clear Chu still had plenty of people in her corner.
Chu walked away with a $100,000 grand prize, which she's saving for college. She also earmarked some of that cash for a trip with her family. Liya seems to have a love of travel, posting about her trips online. Over the last few years, she's visited L.A. for college tours, went to Las Vegas to see Bruno Mars perform, toured Japan, and attended summer camp in Spain.
We'll have to wait and see what's next for Chu, but she has a solid head start no matter which direction she takes. We're hoping something food-related is in her future (she has mentioned wanting to open her own restaurant), so fingers crossed we'll see more deliciousness from this creative culinary mind. Perhaps she'll compete on the adult version of the show in the future, so we can include her in our "MasterChef" Winners: Where Are They Now? coverage.