Sweet childhood
New season of ‘Kids Baking Championship’ is full of sugar and spice
It’s 2019, and the new year sure is off to a sweet start — at least it is on Food Network, thanks to a new season of “Kids Baking Championship.” On a specialty channel that doesn’t exactly suffer from a shortage of baking competition shows, this one stands out from the crowd due to its smallerthan-average contestants who more than make up for their lack of worldly experience with their skills in the kitchen.
Baker Duff Goldman (“Ace of Cakes”) and actress Valerie Bertinelli (“Valerie’s Home Cooking”) return to host the sixth season of the competition, which kicks off Monday, Jan. 7. In the premiere, the hosts meet a dozen new bakers between the ages of 9 to 13, each one ready to prove that they’re more than a match for the baking challenges ahead.
In the premiere, the bakers are tasked with making cupcakes that feature one of Goldman’s favorite ingredients: bacon! The savory treat has become a popular addition to baked goods in recent years, but the contestants are also assigned another ingredient that they have to pair with the bacon. These secondary ingredients include caramel, ginger, chocolate and cherry.And that’s not all: the hosts love keeping the kids on their toes, so not long after they start baking, Bertinelli throws yet another challenging ingredient into the mix.
Over the course of 10 episodes, the young bakers face a variety of challenges. They make tarts using jalapenos, goat cheese yuzu and anise; they sculpt monkey bread volcanoes that actually erupt; and they tackle the latest trends in dessert.The pressure is on, but for one talented baker it will all be worth it.At stake for the winner is a feature in Food Network Magazine and a tasty $25,000 prize.
“This season of ‘Kids Baking Championship’ delivers new challenges with surprising twists, making this the toughest most exciting competition yet,” Courtney White, president of Food Network, said. “Even the most skilled pastry chefs would crumble under the pressure.”
These kids may not be pastry chefs yet, but they sure are skilled home bakers with bright futures ahead of them. The new season of “Kids Baking Championship” premieres Monday, Jan. 7, on Food Network.