WHITNEY MILLER, A STUDENT FROM POPLARVILLE, MS, NAMED AMERICA'S FIRST-EVER "MASTERCHEF"

The first season of MASTERCHEF came to a sensational end tonight as judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot named Whitney Miller the winner during the two-hour season finale on FOX. Miller, 22, a student from Poplarville, MS, and the youngest competitor in the competition, walked away with the $250,000 grand prize and will publish her own cookbook.

Whitney Miller competed against several thousand hopefuls for a coveted spot among the finalists, and in the end went head-to-head with David Miller, 29, a software engineer from Newton Centre, MA. For the final challenge, Whitney won the judges over with a delicious and technically savvy gourmet three-course meal: an appetizer of Sweet Shrimp on a Crispy Corncake with Turnip Green Pesto, a main course of Buttermilk Chicken with Creamed Collard Greens and a dessert of Bread Pudding with Raspberry Coulis with White Chocolate Sauce.

"Winning MASTERCHEF was amazing," said Whitney. "I really felt all the hard work I put into the competition had just paid off. Being the youngest competitor, I was able to prove that age is just a number, and I cannot wait to continue my culinary career because now there is definitely no turning back. I'm just elated."

"Whitney is a brilliant ambassador for the MASTERCHEF brand around the world," said Ramsay. "She is one of the most instinctive, naturally gifted home cooks I've ever come across. Her innate ability to create stunning desserts and cakes, in particular, is mind-blowing. Graham, Joe and I are all thrilled for her, and we are really excited to see what happens next for the Pastry Princess!"

Home cooks who believe they have what it takes to be the next MASTERCHEF should visit www.fox.com/masterchef.

MASTERCHEF is produced by Reveille, Shine TV and One Potato Two Potato and is based on format created by Franc Roddam and Shine TV. Shine International handles distribution for the MASTERCHEF format. Elisabeth Murdoch, Franc Roddam, Mark Koops, Howard T. Owens, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Pat Llewellyn, JD Roth and Todd Nelson serve as executive producers.