MasterChef Junior interview: Quani Fields on baking, future goals, and overall experience

Quani Fields had himself a fairly incredible run on MasterChef Junior this season — it’s hard to know how else to describe how else to describe making it all the way to the finale! While he finished just short of winning the title, he showed over time that he had a lot to offer — even beyond just his specialty making baked goods soccer games. He showed that he’s ambitious, and with that in mind there’s a reasonably good chance you’ll be hearing from him at some point in the future.

Below, you can take a look at some of what Quani had say about his time in the competition, what he’s doing now, and the experience of cooking in the recent finale.

CarterMatt – After doing this whole competition, are you still making baked goods for soccer games?

Yes, I do bake all the time and sell at the soccer fields. I make a lot of money selling stuff like cupcakes, cupcake sandwiches, donuts, and cookies. I also fill special orders that I take from my website.

You were one of the biggest bakers going into the season, but what did you learn about yourself as a savory chef?

I learned that when you take risks the risks you take need to make sense, like making my own syrup didn’t make sense.

Was there a moment that you’ll remember from this season more than any other?

The moment I will remember most is when I made my squid ink pasta and made it into the finale.

How can you describe the experience of cooking in the finale?

There was a lot of pressure cooking in the finale and it was really hard to get the timing down right. I made it into the finale and really wanted to win but I also knew that all three of us would deserve to win.

What’s been the reaction from friends and family to you being on the season?

People are really happy and excited that I was on the season. A lot of people are really proud of me. People believe in me more as a chef and a baker because I cooked in the MasterChef kitchen.

What are you hoping to do in the world of food next?

I want to keep moving with my business and hopefully get a bakery or bakery food truck of my own instead of being a mobile bakery. I want to go to the Culinary Institute of America and become a professional Chef. I want to be a Chef that has a narrative to my food like Joe said.