Ulster County’s celebrity stock just got a bit bigger. In addition to a few movie stars and a Jeopardy winner (New Paltz resident Francois Barcomb), the county now has a MasterChef Junior winner. Boiceville resident Che Spiotta, 12, recently took home the top prize on the Fox TV show, beating out twenty-three other competitors, ranging from ages eight to thirteen, to win the trophy and the grand prize of $100,000.

An Onteora Middle School seventh grader, Che, who had lost his father, said winning would keep his dad’s memory alive; his dad had taught him how to cook when he was three or four. Che says he loves to cook all types of food, “from my classic risotto to my dad’s sauce to my eggnog crème brûlée.”

During the finale, Che was up against Malia Brauer and Ivy Angst, both aged 11. The kids had an hour to prepare a dish of their choice for each round: appetizer, main course and dessert. The pressure was on; they had to cook in front of a live studio audience filled with family, friends, and the season’s previous kid contestants, all rooting them on.

Three chef judges — Gordon Ramsey, Aarón Sanchez and Christina Tosi — decided the winner.

Che’s appetizer included pan-seared prawns and cuttlefish on a bed of polenta with a parmesan crisp. For his main course, he chose saltimbocca — veal wrapped with prosciutto and cheese — over fingerling potatoes, with a side of spring pea ragout, fiddlehead ferns, morels and mushroom jus. The judges said the challenge of this dish was rendering the prosciutto so that the veal didn’t taste too salty from the cured meat, which Che accomplished with professional precision. While the judges said Che should have added more acid to his ragout to avoid the fiddlehead ferns from turning a grayish green, they praised the meal’s overall execution.

For dessert, Che, being gluten intolerant, made a gluten-free chocolate olive oil cake, with orange glaze, a fresh ricotta cream and pistachio tuile. Judge Ramsey said he couldn’t tell that the cake was flourless. And while Judge Tosi wasn’t impressed with the pistachio tuile, she also asked Che for his cake recipe.

When the judges announced him as the winner, Che collapsed to the floor with excitement, as confetti rained down on him. He was then met on stage with his two brothers and mother, who hugged and congratulated her “Chee Chee Bear.” Ivy and Malia also graciously congratulated Che as he screamed with enthusiasm. Che said he wished that he could cut his trophy into three pieces to share with his fellow finale participants.

Che said he wanted to use his winnings “to start my culinary revolution,” and noted how proud he thought his dad would be.

On his website, Che said of the finale, “Holey Moley! What an awesome season. I learned so much and met so many amazing people. From the start I had so much fun! The finale was all around awesome, and I had such a great time. Malia, Ivy and I all cooked fabulous dishes that night and it was really close. I was so happy when Gordon said my name. I fell on the floor because I couldn’t believe it! What a feeling!”

After his win, Che, along with family and friends, celebrated at Peekamoose Restaurant in Big Indian, NY. Che is considering attending culinary school when he gets older and would like to one day open his own restaurant.