Local woman to be on national TV for cooking competition

Bryon Glathar, Managing Editor
Posted 5/23/23

A Cokeville woman was selected to be on the hit television show “MasterChef,” featuring world-renowned, fiery-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Forty-one-year-old Megan Reid, who moved to Cokeville two years ago with her husband, Paul, and their three children, will be on the 21st season of the cooking show set to air this week.

Reid said the family moved from Seattle after purchasing The Hideout Motel in Cokeville. They’ve been operating it since while renovating it. Reid began documenting their journey on TikTok, where she’s now accumulated a whopping 135,000 followers with more than 1.5 million “likes.”

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Local woman to be on national TV for cooking competition

Posted

A Cokeville woman was selected to be on the hit television show “MasterChef,” featuring world-renowned, fiery-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Forty-one-year-old Megan Reid, who moved to Cokeville two years ago with her husband, Paul, and their three children, will be on the 21st season of the cooking show set to air this week.

Reid said the family moved from Seattle after purchasing The Hideout Motel in Cokeville. They’ve been operating it since while renovating it. Reid began documenting their journey on TikTok, where she’s now accumulated a whopping 135,000 followers with more than 1.5 million “likes.”

Reid said she started using TikTok more because there isn’t a whole lot in town and she was used to “Door Dash and all the amenities we had in Seattle.”

After her TikTok blew up, she said, someone claiming to be with “MasterChef” sent her an email last August about being on the TV show.

“I wasn’t even sure it was real so I had them call me,” she told the Gazette. “Then a producer from “MasterChef” called me.”

Reid said she had to submit recipes, photos and other things to be considered for a spot on the show. The screening process was thorough, she said, adding that she had to undergo a psychological evaluation to advance.

In January, Reid traveled to Los Angeles to film the season, which is subtitled “United Tastes of America.” Reid explained that, this year, contestants compete by region, and Reid competed for the West.

Along with Ramsay, the show features judges Aaron Sanchez and Joe Bastianich. While Reid cannot spoil the competition’s results, she was able to give up one secret.

“The guest judge for the West was Susan Feniger,” Reid said.

She said competing on the show was the experience of a lifetime.

“This was the most amazing experience. I now have friends all over the country,” Reid said. “I am friends with the entire cast. I did something that was terrifying, that was so exhilarating, and I wouldn’t change it for anything — the people and the connections I made were unreal — and I would do it again.”

Reid offered some advice for others.

“If you have a dream and you want to go and do something, then you should just do it and jump in headfirst and magical things can happen,” she said.

Reid can be found on TikTok @megan.hays.reid. Season 21 of MasterChef is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. on Wednesday on Fox.