Chef Shaun O'Neale, winner of Fox's MasterChef season seven, paid a visit to Holt Thursday evening. He gave a cooking demonstration for a packed room at Buddies Grill. O'Neale cooked his "Mom's Homestyle Flank Steak", a meal from his book called My Modern American Table.
MasterChef is a reality show with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay that has 40 amateur chefs compete for a grand prize. Chef O'Neale won MasterChef in 2016, where he earned the coveted white apron, MasterChef trophy, and a quarter of a million dollars.
He spent over 20 years as a professional D.J., but since winning MasterChef, he mostly spends his time touring the country, cooking at events, and promoting his book. He says he is so much happier working with food, and has this advice for less experienced cooks:
"Get out of what you're familiar with,” said O’Neale. “Play with new things, play with new spices, play with fresh ingredients, and don't be afraid to fail in the kitchen because even the best chefs do it."
The Capital Area District Libraries invited Chef O'Neale to give his demonstration in celebration of their 20th anniversary. Fox 47 Meteorologist Dustin Bonk interviewed O'Neale for the crowd, where they talked about his love of cooking and his success since winning MasterChef. O’Neale also gave cooking demonstrations at the Mid-Michigan Women’s Expo in Lansing Friday afternoon.
Season nine of MasterChef will be airing on Fox 47 later this year.
