The missing ingredient in the MasterChef kitchen Wednesday night seemed to be Lincoln County native Katie Dixon.

Dixon, a 2001 graduate of Brookhaven Academy, is one of 40 of “America’s best home cooks” chosen to compete in the FOX reality show for a coveted white apron. Ten cooks won aprons in Wednesday night’s premiere episode.

Dixon wasn’t one of them.

But she also wasn’t one of the cooks who left the kitchen empty handed.

The remaining 10 aprons will be awarded when “Battle for a White Apron Part 2” airs Wednesday, June 8, at 7 p.m.

Dixon is in New Zealand with her family until Monday, but took a moment to post on The Daily Leader’s Facebook page after the show aired. “Hope everyone enjoyed tonight’s battle for apron,” she said. “I can’t wait for each of you to watch me in action next Wednesday in round 2.”

Hopefully, Dixon will be on it preparing her signature dish — salmon burgers with kale salad and sweet potato curry fries.

In a continuation of the season premiere episode, the remainder of the 40 cooks will compete head-to-head in the apron challenge where they will battle against a cook with a similar signature dish. Winning one of the 20 white aprons puts the cook into the main competition to vie for the top prize of $250,000, a cookbook deal and the title of America’s Master Chef.

No matter how far she gets in the competition — and a confidentiality clause prevents her from revealing the outcome — Dixon can at least say award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay and renowned pastry chef Christina Tosi tasted her food.

Ramsay and Tosi are judging the Battle of the Apron in the first two episodes. They’ll be joined by guest celebrity chefs as judges throughout the rest of the season.

Dixon, who lives in Hattiesburg, drove to Jackson for the MasterChef auditions several months ago. She was one of more than 22,000 hopeful cooks to audition nationwide.

Dixon’s love for food first began when she watched her grandfather tend his garden in Lincoln County.

She describes her cooking style as “simply southern,” which is typical southern dishes prepared in a healthier way.

Dixon will be the only contestant in the MasterChef kitchen representing the Magnolia state.