PAINTED POST, N.Y.(WENY)-- A local boy followed his dreams and this past summer they came true! Ever since Owen Roloson started cooking with his family, he has been interested in trying to get on Chopped Jr. and this past year, his chance to show off his skills finally happened.

"So one day, my mom was just like checking to see if there was any and so there was and she said there's some applications available, do you want to sign up,and I'm like yes, yes I do," says Roloson. 

Owen is 12 years old and attends 7th grade at Corning-Painted Post Middle School This was his first competitive cooking challenge and show, which he said at first was nerve wracking but once he got in the  groove of things, it got easier. 

"So it was nerve wracking at first, being in front of like a bunch of cameras made me a little nervous.. But then when I started going it wasn't really too hard to know what I was doing," Roloson tells WENY News. 

Owen told WENY News that even though he was competing for winners spot,  he was still cheering on his fellow competitors. 

"Once you get to know those people, you kind of, it doesn't really matter to you who wins, like you'll be happy for them," says Roloson. 

And Owen had some wise words for those who are considering following their dreams, especially when they get unique opportunities such as the one he was presented with. 

"Opportunities like this are what get you into the world. You are letting people know you exist and that you can make a difference," Roloson tells WENY News.

Along with winning the title of Chopped Junior on Season Nine, Episode Two, Owen is donating $2,000 of his $10,000 winnings to World Hope International, a charity that drills wells in Africa for clean water. Owen is now working on writing his own cookbook to hopefully sell one day to save money up for culinary school tuition. If you would like to follow Owens cooking journey, you can follow him on Instagram at @owenthechef.