- 👨🍳 The programme · “MasterChef Junior: Next Course” · cookery workshops for children aged 6 to 12 at Dreams Resorts & Spas resorts, the family brand within Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection.
- 🎬 The partners · Hyatt and Endemol Shine North America, a Banijay Americas company that produces MasterChef Junior · collaboration launched in early 2025 and extending throughout 2026.
- 📦 The activities · The mystery box challenge at the Explorer’s Club, pop-up poolside workshops and a parent-child cookery class.
- 🍰 The menus · Menus signed by two former contestants: Bryson McGlynn, season 9 winner, and Remy Powell, finalist from the same season.
- 💶 The price · Included in the Unlimited-Luxury all-inclusive formula · rollout across a selection of resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Kids’ clubs have long been the blind spot of all-inclusive holidays: a room, a few games, activity leaders and parents hoping to drop their children off for a couple of hours. Dreams Resorts & Spas, the family brand within Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection, has replaced this with a cookery programme built alongside the producers of MasterChef Junior, and is rolling it out in 2026 under the name “Next Course” across its resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. The idea is not entirely new, but the execution is: the children actually cook, and the programme is included in the price of the stay.
What the children actually do
At the heart of the initiative is the mystery box challenge, adapted from the television show: participants receive a box of secret ingredients, often chosen from local produce, and have a limited time to create a dish while competing against each other. The exercise takes place at the Explorer’s Club, the brand’s kids’ club, and is aimed at 6-12 year olds. Alongside this headline workshop, the brand has added pop-up poolside sessions and a cookery class where parents and children prepare the same dish together, such as Street Corn Dip inspired by Mexican street corn.
Menus signed by former contestants from the show
To avoid a gimmick effect, the brand has called upon former participants of the television show to design the children’s menus served in the resorts’ restaurants. Bryson McGlynn, season 9 winner, has signed a Southern US-inspired menu and a non-alcoholic drink named “Berry Breeze”; Remy Powell, finalist from the same season, has composed a collection of desserts with Italian, French, Mexican and Asian influences, accompanied by the “Resort Refresher”. During the initial launch in January 2025, the first menu was designed by Bryson McGlynn and Ivy Childs, season 8 semi-finalist.
The concept follows a simple commercial logic: a children’s menu designed by a child appeals more to a child than one designed by a director of food and beverage. Nevertheless, the content matters more than the signature, and that is where the operation succeeds: moving away from the nuggets and pasta that make up the entirety of the under-twelve offering in the vast majority of resorts.
| Age group | 6 to 12 years |
| Workshop location | Explorer’s Club, the brand’s kids’ club |
| Cost for guests | included in the Unlimited-Luxury all-inclusive formula |
| Participating regions | Mexico and the Caribbean, selected resorts |
| Initial launch | January 2025 |
| “Next Course” extension | throughout 2026 |
Why Hyatt is investing in the family segment
Upscale all-inclusive resorts have grown massively in Mexico and the Caribbean, and competition is increasingly driven by the quality of the stay’s content rather than square footage. For a family, the deciding factor is no longer the size of the pool, but what their children do with their days. Hyatt, which built its Inclusive Collection upon the acquisition of Apple Leisure Group in 2021, features several brands including Dreams for families, Secrets for adults and Hyatt Vivid for a younger demographic.
“Hyatt continues to lead the all-inclusive category by offering meaningful experiences for guests of all ages,” states Ana Tomicevic, Vice President of Global Brands for Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection. On the production side, Christopher Lucero, Executive Director of Global Licensing at Endemol Shine North America, notes that the show “has always been about empowering young cooks to explore cooking with creativity and confidence.”
Our perspective
This announcement should be viewed for what it is: a brand licensing partnership that costs the hotelier little while bringing brand awareness to both parties. Its quality will be judged resort by resort, based on the competence of the teams leading the workshops rather than the logo on the apron. However, the point that strikes us as correct is the rejection of the standard children’s menu: in a region where local produce is exceptional, serving chicken nuggets to an eight-year-old for seven days is a waste and a missed opportunity to introduce them to the destination they are visiting. We will request the precise list of participating resorts and publish it here. Discover hotel news in Mexico on La Revue des Hôtels.
Practical information
- The brand · Dreams Resorts & Spas, all-inclusive family resorts within Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection
- The programme · complimentary for guests, upon registration at the resort’s Explorer’s Club
- Where · selected resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean, list currently expanding
- Official website · inclusivecollection.com
