Jacob Stern, a rising freshman at East Brunswick High School, will face the dreaded mystery basket Tuesday on the Food Network
Rising East Brunswick High School freshman Jacob Stern says he started cooking out of epicurean necessity.
"My parents were ..." Jacob takes a judicious pause. "They didn't love to cook, let's put it that way." Dinner consisted of pork chops or salmon or leftovers. "Eventually I decided to take matters into my own hands ... I'm kind of a culinary rebel, I guess."
The aspiring chef faces off against a 3 1/2-pound peanut butter cup, pork and "a gooey skillet of pink sweetness" on Tuesday night's episode of "Chopped Junior." It airs at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.
Jacob's entry into the world of cooking was relatively recent, but, he says, "at a very young age, I loved eating." His father did teach him one of his few go-to dishes, chicken schnitzel, which Jacob makes with garlic mashed potatoes, but on his own Jacob has tackled everything from rack of lamb to bao (Chinese steamed buns) stuffed with brisket. His parents are thrilled; his older brothers, well, "They are not able to appreciate my flavor profiles."
Jacob often helps cater events for his synagogue, Anshe Emeth in New Brunswick, and hopes the "Chopped Junior" appearance could lead to more opportunities. "Maybe I could, like, stage in a kitchen or something," he says, using the French term for apprentice. Taping the show "definitely helped me learn to work under pressure."
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You might think kid contestants get a break when its comes to degree of difficulty, but one recent basket included sweet limes, broccoli leaves, fruit cereal marshmallow treats and ... rattlesnake. Clearly these kids have to sweat it for the $10,000 prize.
The judges for Jacob's episode are chefs Maneet Chauhan and Andrew Gruel, plus actress Meghan Markle ("Suits"). Ted Allen hosts.
If you've got a budding Batali or promising Pepin (or even, bless you, a fledgling Fieri) on your hands, you can apply for upcoming seasons of "Chopped Junior" here. Kids must be between the ages of 9 and 13 to compete (Jacob was 13 when he taped the episode in the spring.)
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