Weeks of tough cook-offs have brought together the best 12 kiddie cooks from the country in the “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition,” impressing viewers with creations kids their age might not be able to cook with ease.
The kitchen battle is just about to heat up as the Super 12 faces all-new challenges to bring them closer to the MasterChef crown.
Taking a spot in the Super 12 is Bianca, 9, one of the youngest kiddie cooks in the show. Both of her parents were formally trained in culinary arts and have taught her proper cooking techniques at such an early stage.
The cheerful Philip of Cebu, meanwhile, made his way into the viewers’ hearts by dancing every time his dish gets complimented by host Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo and chef judges Ferns, Lau, and Jayps. He lacks formal cooking training but still manages to whip up the best-tasting dishes in the show and even led the culinary race last week by topping the scoreboard.
The kiddie cooking reality program showcases a pool of talented kids coming from different backgrounds. There is Iain, who masterfully creates various Italian dishes which he and his family enjoy.
Filipino-Japanese Mika, on the other hand, is extensively trained in Japanese cuisine. Although she prefers to bake, her skills in different cooking methods are just as refined.
Also getting into the Super 12 is Tricia, who plans to major in Business Management to help their family business thrive. She goes straight to their family-owned restaurant in Batangas everyday after school to watch their chefs cook or help out in preparing their customers’ orders.
There is also Patrick, who dreams of becoming a doctor someday, but also wants to pursue formal culinary studies after. During their family trips abroad, he asks his parents to buy him cooking tools and equipment instead of toys and gadgets.
Outside the kitchen, Miko is a school varsity basketball player. He prepares breakfast for his family on Sundays and made his first dish, beef broccoli, when he was just eight years old.
Emman’s most memorable cooking experience was cooking pancakes for his mom who worked on a night shift when he was six years old. From the usual pancakes, he can now cook a variety of dishes—ham and cheese omelet, beef steak, and pizza rolls, among others.
Meanwhile, eleven-year old Kyle has an instinctive approach to cooking. He is fond of using the Ouido style – cooking through reliance on look, feel, and taste instead of measurements – a sign of an interesting career ahead of him.
The naturally curious Jobim likes to experiment in the kitchen by adding different herbs and spices to his dishes. Sometimes when he and his family eat out, he requests to visit the restaurant’s kitchen to watch the chefs in action.
A devotee of “Junior MasterChef Australia” and a fan of its grand winner Isabella, Acee hopes to win the competition one dish at a time. During an immersion, she wowed viewers with her spaghetti bolognese with béchamel sauce and tomato salsa.
Caitlin joined the cooking competition because it’s one way for her to spend more time with his father, who is currently working as an engineer in Abu Dhabi. Although timid, she has impressed the judges early in the competition with her dishes like rice in ampalaya silog, which gained the highest score in the program’s silog challenge.
The cooking showdown of the Super 12 kicks off this Saturday (Nov 19) as they conceive wow-worthy recipes made with shellfish in another Invention Test.
This Sunday (Nov 20), meanwhile, the 12 kiddie cooks will be divided into two competing groups and prepare a full meal consisting of an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert for Treston College students and employees, who will serve as their judge.
Watch “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition” this Saturday (Nov 19) after “Wansapanataym” and this Sunday (Nov 20) after “Goin’ Bulilit” on ABS-CBN. For updates on the program, like http://www.facebook.com/jrmasterchef on Facebook, follow @jrmasterchef_ph on Twitter, or visit www.masterchefph.tv.
