Personal trainer Katie Dixon cooked her way through two episodes of Fox’s MasterChef on Wednesday, surviving the challenges and earning her spot as one of the Top 9 in what the network calls the “best home cooks in America.”

And soon, Dixon, the daughter of Henry and Vickie Newman of Brookhaven, will be bringing

her cooking expertise home to Brookhaven.

She’ll be appearing at a fundraiser for Brookhaven Academy Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25. For more information or to order tickets call 601-665-7884. Dixon said she’s thrilled to return to her hometown and her high school.

“I am so excited to share my experience with my family and friends back home,” she told The Daily Leader. “I want to tell each and everyone from Brookhaven thank you for believing in me and always pushing me to strive for greatness. I wouldn’t be top 9 in the MasterChef kitchen if it weren’t for the love shown to me as a child from faculty and staff, and friends at Brookhaven Academy. Thank you for changing the lives of children. I can’t wait to see each of you.”

Until then, Dixon, 33, continues her run of good luck on MasterChef, which will not air for the next two weeks because of the Olympics. It will resume Aug. 24.

Two episodes aired Wednesday night.

In “The Weakest Links,” Dixon and her blue team cooked a pork dish for 101 farmers with sides of vegetables they picked themselves.

Dixon’s’ team prepared spice-rubbed pork chops with black rice and apple coleslaw. The blue team won with 81 of the farmers’ votes and Dixon was safe from the elimination round (where cooks prepared homemade sausage).

Dixon spent a lot of time on her grandparents’ farm in Lincoln County.

“I loved my grandparent’s farm,” she told The Daily Leader. “I enjoyed riding the tractor and feeding the cows with my grandfather. I also loved using the fresh veggies and milk to help my grandmother cook. I wouldn’t have my love for cooking since such an early age if it wasn’t for the farm.”

Her parents now have the farm and Dixon enjoys watching her daughters, Risi and Stevie Kate, spend time there.

In the second hour, in the episode “Sweet Surprise,” Dixon was tasked with preparing a breakfast dish with the Mystery Box ingredient — Nutella.

She made three different Nutella dishes representing her family’s favorite breakfasts. She made Risi’s banana oat muffins with a Nutella cream cheese frosting, Stevee Kate’s Nutella yogurt with a Nutella granola parfait and her husband Todd’s favorite, a huevos rancheros breakfast dish.

Dixon’s dishes didn’t impress the judges enough to keep her safe from the elimination round and she and the other contestants had to prepare bibimbap, a Korean classic of meat, rice and vegetables.

Guest judge chef Edward Lee explained that a good bibimbap will have a crunchy bottom layer of rice. Dixon’s did not.

Her Thai bibimbap with shrimp and pineapple was a letdown and judge Christina Tossi pointed out that the flavor and texture is chunky and that visually, her dish is a mess with vegetables cut way too big if at all.

“I had never made bibimbap before,” she said.

She made a healthy version, using an unusual item called forbidden black rice, which, unfortunately, didn’t work with that traditional dish.

“I put a healthy spin on mine trying to capture who I am as a cook,” she said. “My family loves eating black rice with shrimp and lots of colorful veggies. It also reminded me of the colorful dishes we have eaten as we travel as a family to tropical areas. The combination is actually usually very delicious.”

Though the dish put Dixon in the bottom three, she said she is proud of herself for giving 100 percent to this challenge.

“It’s not easy being in the bottom but on the bright side I learned a lot and I am a better cook from the experience with bibimbap,” she said.

Dixon’s rice dish wasn’t the worst of the three and Diamond Alexander, a beauty pageant winner from San Diego, went home.

“I am absolutely so thankful to have another day in the kitchen,” Dixon said. “I came here to learn and to be so thankful for each and every opportunity. I feel like I need to pinch myself. I can’t believe I am top 9 in the biggest home cooking show on TV.”