ALMA — Jake Kelley, an Alma College class of 2024 graduate who grew up in Hemlock, won Season 16 of MasterChef: Global Gauntlet in the finale broadcast Sept. 16.
Kelley finished ahead of fellow finalists Heidi Muston and Peter Egede. Coverage of the finale identifies the award as the MasterChef title, trophy and a $250,000 prize.
The season's judges were Gordon Ramsay, Tiffany Derry and Joe Bastianich. According to TV Insider's interview with Kelley, his three-course finale menu opened with a smoked appetizer he named for the kraken, the sea monster of legend, followed by a traditional mole served with octopus and a dessert of profiteroles with ice cream, coulis and ganache.
Alma College profiled Kelley in June while the competition was still underway. The college reported that he earned a neuroscience degree, taught himself to cook through online videos and used food to connect with classmates. Kelley represented his Mexican heritage during a season in which contestants drew on cultural traditions.
Mole was also how he got on the show. The college reported that his audition dish was a mole-inspired dessert: chocolate-chili ganache, almond sponge cake and a black sesame crème anglaise. Kelley told the college that Mexican cooking carries history and nuance that people do not always get to see.
His Alma years included the iGEM program, Student Congress, marching band and the rock climbing club. The college also reported that he worked as a pharmacy technician and was beginning to take private-chef clients while building restaurant experience.
He lived in Bruske and Newberry halls and joined the TKE fraternity, the college said, and cooking for other students became part of campus life. “It was one of the ways I met people,” he told the college.
The win changes his plans. TV Insider reported that Kelley set aside the idea of pharmacy school, moved to metro Detroit and joined the kitchen at Vecino, a Mexican restaurant that was named to a New York Times list of the best Mexican restaurants in the United States.
The two sources describe his roots slightly differently. Alma College identifies his hometown as Hemlock, in Saginaw County; TV Insider lists Alma. This article follows the college's account of where he grew up.