Fishers’ own Kelsey Murphy wins 2021 MasterChef Legends
By STU CLAMPITT
Fishers physical therapist and mother of three Kelsey Murphy faced a host of chefs, including the notorious Gordon Ramsay, to win the grand prize on the 11th season of MasterChef on FOX. The Reporter spoke to Murphy about her experience putting the Hoosier state firmly on the culinary map and about what is next for this local champion chef.
In June, when the MasterChef season began, Murphy told The Reporter the total filming time in Los Angeles, Calif., had been six weeks, but because of the pandemic, there was a seven-month break in the middle. That means she has been keeping her victory a secret for a long time until the final episode aired on Wednesday, Sept. 15.
“It was very difficult to keep it a secret,” Murphy said. “My coworkers and friends and everybody … they really tried hard to get it out of me. I just said, ‘I can’t tell ya. I signed a very extensive NDA.’”
Now that the secret is out, Murphy has been able to feel a bit of relief before she works to capitalize on her new fame.
Photo courtesy Fox Broadcasting Company
“I feel such a weight lifted off of me right now,” Murphy told The Reporter. “There was so much anxiety in the weeks and months leading up to it, just waiting for the show to air with the anticipation of the win coming. After it aired, immediately, I was like, ‘I just need to take a nap!’ I was mentally and physically exhausted. Today [Friday] I woke up feeling so excited about the future. I need to hit the ground running, get things organized and really get moving on everything.”
According to Murphy, one of the main things that is happening is that MasterChef has partnered with Grubhub for the first time.
“I was lucky enough to get to be a part of this collaboration,” Murphy said. “It is going to be a way for diners to be able to experience some MasterChef food at home.”
This is the first time a MasterChef winner will take part in a national partnership after newly being crowned. More details on the Grubhub partnership will be announced in the months to come.
Murphy is also working to build a personal culinary career.
“Within Indy and locally, I’m going to start doing private events,” Murphy said. “I’m really looking to make a name for myself outside of just here locally. I want to become a household name in the culinary world. There is a lot of work ahead because it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Of course, readers will want to know what Murphy is going to do with her $250,000 grand prize money.
In June, she told The Reporter her experience on MasterChef was her “ode to moms.”
“For anyone who is working and taking care of kids, we get super busy and lost doing the day-to-day stuff of taking care of our kids all the time, trying to work, or being a stay-at-home mom,” Murphy said. “It is important to take a step back and remind yourself that you are an individual also. You need to take time to explore your own passions and find yourself.”
It thus comes as no surprise that Murphy will invest her prize money in a better future for her family.
“Some of it is going to be there to help cover me stopping working as a physical therapist,” Murphy said. “I’ll be quitting my job as a PT and working on this full time. That is going to definitely be needed to help support my family and keep us afloat for a while. Then we hope to invest it into our kids. It will help save for college a little bit. We are definitely very realistic and practical people when it comes to our money and finances, so I’m not going to be going out and buying a fancy car. We are really using it to invest in our future, not only for my career but then our kids as well.”
Editor’s note: The Reporter first spoke to Murphy in June, when the MasterChef season was just starting. You can read that article about the beginning of Murphy’s journey to culinary fame at this link.
Kelsey represented Indiana and herself so well. She was pure class in every episode.