Mikey DiTomasso was seated Friday in a side room at Grill 89 in Westmont, signing autographs. His fans filed in by the dozens, eager to support him at his watch party.
Mikey, 11, is one of the junior cooks on the Fox TV show “MasterChef Junior.” The Clarendon Hills resident attends Prospect Elementary School and he said he’s been cooking for years.
“I’ve been cooking since I was 7 years old and I fell in love with it,” he said. “I started watching cooking shows and it took off after that.”
Mikey’s mother, Lindsey DiTomasso, said her son didn’t get his passion from her.
“No, I did not find joy in cooking,” she said.
She explained the television, as well as a cooking workshop for kids at the The Community House in Hinsdale, inspired her son. She said teacher and chef Mary Gail Bennett inspired Mikey.
DiTomasso said these days her son cooks at home all the time. On Sundays, he’ll plan meals and help his mother shop, but the cooking is left to him.
“We really trust him in (the kitchen),” she said. “My 13-year-old is the one I have to remind, did you turn the stove off did you turn the oven off.”
Mikey’s performance on Friday’s “MasterChef Junior” was near flawless. He earned praise from the show’s judges, a chance to move ahead in the show and received cheers from his dozens of fans and friends who attended the watch party.
Friday’s challenge was a mushroom-and-cheese-hamburger and a side of fries, though Mikey’s preferred cuisine is Italian. He said he loves making homemade pasta and he’d like to make it into a career.
“My dream is to have a first ever make-your-own-pasta bar,” he said. “It would be a walk in and you make your own pasta.”
But for now, he’s just focused on enjoying his time in the spotlight.
The show was shot in 2016, when Mikey was 10, and while he cannot yet talk about how the show ends, he said the whole experience was great.
“It’s been very cool getting to meet new people and see new stuff,” he said. “I feel happy that I got this opportunity.”
The kid chefs are judged by pros, including restaurateur Joe Bastianich, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi, a pastry chef. Between the judges, the bright lights and the cameras, Mikey said it could get stressful, but he loved it.
“There’s been lots of times I’ve been scared if I’m going to make it,” he said. “I’m almost frightened and curious but at the same time I’m enjoying that I’m there.”
DiTomasso said the whole experience was good for her son.
“He’s handled it so well, and with grace,” she said. “Fox was fantastic to him. The producers and the judges, they were amazing.”
She said she also loves the support from the hometown folks, too.
“We are so proud to represent Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale,” she said. “That’s been so special, to have the support of our family and friends and the community.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter.
