While the junior cooks on "MasterChef Junior" are impressive enough as it is, 9-year-old finalist Avery Kyle takes her skills to the next level. Avery is only in fourth grade, and she's proved time and time again with her Louisiana-style cooking that she deserves this spot in the season four finale alongside Addison.
From crawfish to gator to sweet potato mash, Avery loves to cook up some of her hometown favorites for judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Christina Tosi, and she recently revealed that back home, she even hunts some of the food herself!
"My first time hunting a gator, I shot him but then I felt really bad for some reason," she told FOX411. "I just sort of tricked him and I felt really bad."
She's already writing her first cook book and it's almost guaranteed that she'll include some of her favorite recipes for gator, which she prefers to fry or grill, even though it's a tough protein to cook. "If you overcook it, it can be really rubbery and chewy," she added. "You have to cook it really well to have it taste good."
When she first tried out for "MasterChef Junior," producers knew they had to bring her on board because they were immediately wowed by her confidence, her Southern charm and the fact that she included images from her first gator kill in the audition video.
(WARNING: Graphic video below)
In the finale, which airs on FOX on Friday, Jan. 29, Avery will compete against Addison Osta Smith, who is also 9 years old, for the first-ever female MasterChef Junior title and the $100,000 prize.
"We both really wanted to win," Avery said. "I remember before we [taped the episode], we both said, 'Look, one of the A's is gonna win. We should just be happy for the A that wins.'"
Avery made her first meal of cereal and fruit when she was just 4 years old when she brought her parents breakfast in bed because they wouldn't let her use the stove, as HNGN previously reported. Now, her favorite food to cook is lamb chops, and she looks up to none other than judge Ramsey as her culinary hero.
"To be in the finale is nothing short of amazing and a dream come true," Avery said in a statement, according to the official press release. "This entire experience - from the talented people I've met, the friendships I've made, the beautiful California locations I got to visit during filming and the opportunity to compete on America's biggest junior culinary stage - all incredible and an experience of a lifetime. All of the junior chefs are winners! Thank you 'MasterChef Junior' for such an awesome opportunity."
"I have fought for my place in the finale," she says in the sneak peek video for the finale. "So Addison better watch out because Hurricane Avery is coming through and I'm ready to take that trophy."
