The MasterChef Contestant The Internet Adores
Oh how fast the youth grow up. Shayne "the Train" Wells made a big impact on audiences when he appeared on "MasterChef Junior" at just 13 years old, and it seems like no time passed at all until he appeared on "MasterChef: Back to Win" at the (still) young age of 18. This was the first time that a contestant from "MasterChef Junior" would get a chance to compete with the big dog. Wells told Guilty Eats that this round was a completely different experience than the junior version because the fellow competitors were much more professional. After making it into the top 20, he said: "I'm so excited to be in the Top 20. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not the same Junior that was here last time. I'm an adult now, and, man, I am back to win."
Unfortunately, Shayne did much better the first time around than he did in his return as an adult. He was eliminated in only the second episode, during a Southern Fusion challenge. That's a very different experience from his time on "MasterChef Junior," where he was in the top four semi-finalists (per SportsKeeda). In the challenge on "MasterChef" Season 12, contestants were tasked with pulling a country's flag from a globe and creating a dish that was Southern-infused with the country's cuisine. Shayne drew Ethiopia, and it turned out he didn't even know which country the flag he drew represented until he had a conversation with Gordon Ramsay.
Shayne the Train is gone but not forgotten
Chef Joe Bastianich told viewers that Ethiopia was actually the most challenging country out of the available options. During Ramsay and Shayne's talk, Ramsay said that Ethiopian food is all about spices. Shayne tried to make the best of the challenge with a coffee-marinated chicken fried steak alongside collard greens and turmeric spiced potatoes (per SportsKeeda). Alas, the judges weren't impressed. Shayne's fanbase took to social media to express their disappointment, with one tweeting "OMG! Shayne the train has been derailed!" and another commenting "Damn I don't even watch cooking shows but Shayne on #MasterChef was inspirational af. I wish that young man all the success in the world."
In between Shayne's "MasterChef" runs, he graduated from Klein Collins High School and started working at a Vietnamese barbecue fusion restaurant, (via MasterChef Fandom.) He now sports a large tattoo of a chef's knife with a train illustrated within the reflection on the knife, a callback to his moniker "Shayne the Train."
Shayne's journey with "MasterChef" isn't entirely over. He told Guilty Eats he will be working with former "MasterChef" contestant Cowboy Chef Newton at his restaurant. Shayne's fanbase will likely follow him despite his elimination as fans left heartfelt comments on a side-by-side picture of Shayne with Gordon Ramsay.