“When I found out about it, I thought, ‘Why not? What do I have to lose?’” Kho said.

Kho said the show casts amateur chefs to compete for the MasterChef title and the $250,000 prize.

For the first round of auditions, Kho had to prepare a meal for the judges to try, which landed him a spot on the show.
“I made a bacon and scallion pasta for the audition,” he said. “It had no tomato, (but) it was very creamy. It was closer to an Alfredo than anything else.”

After presenting the dish, Kho was selected to move on to the second round of auditions.

“They then invited me back, and I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and cook another dish,” Kho said.

With the second round under his belt, Kho moved onto the third round in New York City and was chosen as one of 36 contestants who were flown to California for the official competition.

Once he landed the show, Kho said he made the decision to take the semester off from MSU. Unfortunately, though, he was eliminated shortly after, placing 24th out of 36 contestants.

Kho’s friend, communication junior Nick Mizesko , said he traveled with him to Chicago for the first audition. Although Kho was eliminated, Mizesko said it was a blessing in disguise.

“When I talked to (Kho), he was very realistic about it,” Mizesko said. “And in some ways, I think it has really benefited him because I think the fact that he can put it on a résumé that he was in the top 30 in the country for MasterChef, that’s going to open a lot of doors for him, and that’s valuable.”

Despite his disappointment, Kho said he learned valuable lessons from the experience.

“I learned that I still have a long way to go,” Kho said. “Even when I was there, the ideas of the contestants showed how much more there is to learn about cooking.”

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities and global studies in the arts and humanities freshman Allison Levine, who met Kho this fall, said she almost didn’t believe Kho when he first told her of his experiences on the show.

“At first I was thinking, ‘This kid is lying,’ but we looked it up and he was actually on it,” Levine said. “He makes the best food. He has a very positive attitude about everything, and that will definitely help him. I can see that he’s really persistent, and I think he could definitely find support for opening a business.”

In the future, Kho aspires to open his own Pan-Asian bistro-themed restaurant. He said he will get there with the love and support of his peers.

“All of my friends and family are in support of me, and I’m extremely grateful that I have such a great support group that believes in me,” Kho said.

After taking a semester off to compete, Kho will be a junior in the spring. He said he will continue his education at MSU and hopes to open his own restaurant after graduation in 2014.