This Hyatt All-Inclusive Brand Is Putting Kids in the Kitchen With MasterChef Junior Winners

Dreams Resorts & Spas is expanding the culinary programming it built around the TV cooking competition MasterChef Junior, rolling out a refreshed version called MasterChef Junior: Next Course at select family resorts across Mexico and the Caribbean.

The updated program leans harder into getting children into the kitchen while on vacation. It brings back the Mystery Box Challenge and adds poolside pop-ups plus a slate of new dishes created by two alumni of the show: Season 9 winner Bryson McGlynn and finalist Remy Powell.

McGlynn built a limited-edition menu around Southern-inspired comfort food, while Powell developed a lineup of desserts drawing on Italian, French, Mexican and Asian flavors. The pair also created two alcohol-free drinks for younger guests, McGlynn's Berry Breeze and Powell's Resort Refresher.

The headline addition is a family cooking class where parents and kids make McGlynn's street corn dip together. Dreams says the broader goal is introducing young travelers to new ingredients, cuisines and techniques rather than just handing them a kids' menu.

All of the MasterChef Junior activities are complimentary, folded into the resort's all-inclusive rate. That fits the positioning of Dreams, a family-focused brand within the Hyatt Inclusive Collection with properties spread across the Riviera Maya, Cancun and beyond.

The experiences are live now at select Dreams resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean, with more properties set to gain the Next Course program through the rest of 2026. It is a small but telling move in a segment where all-inclusive brands increasingly compete on programming and entertainment, not just pools and buffets, to win over families weighing their next trip.