Peters grad to compete on FOX’s ‘MasterChef’
As a dancer, Caitlin Jones has to care about nutrition.
Jones, who grew up in McMurray and now lives in New York City, has to stay in shape and energized as a professional dancer for the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.
Jones, 24, started learning how to cook when she was 15 years old, as a ninth-grader at Peters Township High School. No one in her family liked cooking, so she taught herself by testing recipes she found on blogs and watching the Food Network.
Now, almost 10 years later, Jones will be competing in Season Eight of FOX’s television show “MasterChef,” hosted by award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay. In the season premiere, 40 contestants from across the country travel to Los Angeles with only half moving on in the contest for the “MasterChef” title, a cookbook deal and $250,000. The Season Eight premiere airs Wednesday, May 31, at 8 p.m.
“I’m so excited; I can’t believe it’s time share my adventure with the world,” Jones said. “It seems a little surreal. I work in entertainment (and) I’m used to being on camera, but this experience was unlike any other. I’m just so excited to be able to share the entire thing with my friends, my family and the viewers.”
In August 2015, Jones started a food blog to share recipes she was cooking as a part of her paleo diet – a diet based on not eating grains or dairy and only eating natural foods – that she started a year prior.
More than a year later, Jones happened to find the “MasterChef” audition posting on a website she frequently checks for dance auditions. She told her roommates the posting said the show was looking for “all home cooks with personality,” and they encouraged her to audition.
“They love the things that I’ve made and baked and cooked, and they were really encouraging me to do it,” Jones said. “So I did.”
One of the auditions was in New York City with hundreds of people, and Jones had no expectations of anything to come out of it.
“Honestly I surprised myself the entire time, and I’m really lucky the show decided to cast me and who I really am,” Jones said.
There are several different rounds to the audition, including an application process and video of possible contestants cooking dishes.
“It’s a long selection process,” Jones said. “It’s a long road from the open call to the top 40, but it was very, very worthwhile.”
Throughout the process, Jones took a similar approach to her dance auditions and performances.
“The less stressed I am about something, I always do better,” Jones said. “With ‘MasterChef,’ I was just there for fun and for the experience and was really excited that they were interested in me and my food. From there, every step was like, ‘Great, I’m just going to do my best at the next round and show them who I really am, and they’re either going to like me or they’re not.'”
Jones’ favorite part about “MasterChef” is that it’s not just focused on the food, but the contestants of the show as well.
“They’re just as interested in your personality as your food,” Jones said. “I think that’s one of the most exciting things about the show. Every home chef has a unique personality and background that shapes the way that they cook.”
Jones focuses her cooking style on being healthy to complement her lifestyle as a dancer.
“Cooking nutritious food is super integral to me and my career, because I’m a dancer and I’m a fitness professional,” Jones said. “I have to eat well, but I don’t want eating well, in terms of nutrition, to mean bland or unflavorful food. It’s really important to me that everything I cook tastes great and also serves me well nutritionally.”
While she can’t give away her signature dishes she uses on “MasterChef,” Jones loves baking, eating potatoes and breakfast – her favorite meal of the day.
Despite being a contestant on “MasterChef,” Jones knew from the beginning of her journey that she would stay committed to her dancing career and her dream to one day be a Radio City Rockette.
Meanwhile, she will continue to run her blog – www.paleostateofmindblog.com – as a “creative outlet” to share a recipe every week or two.
“My mission is more to get people cooking more in their own homes,” Jones said. “Teach people how to cook for themselves and have it be healthy, affordable and delicious.”
The Season Eight premiere of “MasterChef” airs May 31, at 8 p.m. on FOX.