Young Livingston Chef Wins Food Network’s Chopped Junior, Cooks On TV

Livingston, NJ – She’s got chops.

Livingston resident Amanda DeFuria showed off her cooking skills when she took home the top prize Tuesday night on the Food Network’s “Chopped Junior.”

More than 65 friends and family joined the 11-year-old to cheer her on during a live watch party of the episode at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown Village Food Garden Patio, according to a news release.

The junior cook, who attends Unity Charter School in Morristown, used the show’s bag of mystery ingredients to create three unique dishes to wow the judges.

She also trained for 10 days earlier this year with Chef Daniel Arturo, the certified executive chef at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown, in preparation for the show.

Amanda captured the $10,000 top prize and Chopped Junior’s chef jacket with her winning pan seared scallop with a creamy white wine citrus sauce and sautéed broccolini.  

“Chef Danny taught me so much, but proper seasoning and preparing of meat and seafood were probably two of the top skills that helped me take the top spot,” she said after capturing the Chopped Junior Champion title on May 31.

“I’m so proud of Amanda,” said Chef Danny. “To watch where she started with me to where she is now is amazing. I would compare her culinary skills to that of cooks I’ve worked with in restaurants across the country. To be able to call yourself Chopped Junior Champion at the age of 11 is a huge accomplishment, and I have no doubt she’ll succeed in anything she puts her mind to in the future.”

According to a news release, Amanda has been cooking with her mother and grandmother since the age of two, and one of her favorite hobbies includes watching the Food Network. Last year while watching Chopped, she saw a commercial looking for contestants for the upcoming season of Chopped Junior.

She submitted her online application and three Skype interviews later, had secured a spot on the show. 

Amanda then sought out and teamed up with Chef Danny at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown. The two met every day for 10 days straight, reviewing hundreds of possible culinary scenarios that could occur during the show.

“I tested her with everything from red hot candies to sugary cereal to see what she could come up with” Chef Danny recalled during the viewing party at ShopRite Tuesday.

For more information about Chef Danny’s culinary classes, click here.

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Photo courtesy of BML Public Relations