Eastern WA teen competes in ‘amazing animals’ Food Network TV show. When to watch
A Tri-Cities 7th grader will show off his culinary skills competing for $25,000 and the title of Kids Baking Champion.
The 13th and latest season of the beloved, Emmy Award-nominated Food Network series returns 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, and streams the next day on HBO’s streaming service Max.
This time with theme of amazing animals.
Jack Whalen, a 13 year old from West Richland, and 11 other competitors will create unique and delicious animal-themed treats to wow the judges for a chance at winning the grand prize.
“It is kind of fun to see a pile of ingredients turn into something pretty and delicious,” he told the Tri-City Herald.
Jack attends Three Rivers HomeLink. When he’s not busy baking peppermint cupcakes, pumpkin creme pies or mixing homemade hot chocolate, he plays cello and swims with the Tri-City Channel Cats team.
His dad, Scott, works as a scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and his mom, Dawn, is raising Jack and his two older siblings.
Dawn Whalen said her son began helping her in the kitchen at a very young age, since he could stand on the kitchen step stool.
When he was 8, she told him that he could make whatever he wanted in the kitchen — as long as he could do it on his own and safely. He began delving into the more complex aspects of baking as young as 10.
“He started making such detailed baking items that I started saying, ‘I’m going to find a cooking competition,’” she said.
Food Network had a simple application to apply to be featured on “Kids Baking Championship,” she said, and so they took their chances.
“It’s been fun to watch him. All the kids on the show and the parents were fun to get to know. They were in an environment that required a lot from them,” she said. “He just stepped up and baked gracefully and had fun along the way.”
“His baking skills have really improved, and his palate as well,” Dawn Whalen added.
Jack says he was inspired to do his best in this competition and feels proud of what he created.
At home, his favorite items to make are macarons and cream puffs. The sky’s the limit with egg whites, his favorite ingredient, which he uses in a variety of meringues or in Swiss buttercream cupcakes.
“I like the technical aspect of them and both of them taste real good after you’re done with them — and they look really good,” he says.
Jack says he idolizes the likes of Christina Tosi, the Milk Bar founder and James Beard Award-winning celebrity pastry chef, as well as MasterChef Nick DiGiovanni, a social media giant whose quirky cuisine videos have amassed more than 12 billion views on YouTube.
Soon, Jack will have an audience of his own — all thanks to a bit of curiosity and hard work.
“Anyone who’s interest in doing something new, they should go for it. You never know what might come from that,” Dawn Whelan said.
Jack enthusiastically agreed with his mom.
“You never know where you might go. You could end up on a TV show for something you just like to do,” he said.
If he wins this season of “Kids Baking Championship,” Jack says he plans to put the money toward a new cello and bow.
Food Network’s ‘Kids Baking Championship’
Hosts and judges Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown will welcome the new field of talented kid bakers in this season’s iteration of “Kids Baking Championship.”
Kids will be inspired by creatures big and small, including “new fluffy, furry and feathery friends who drop in to the kitchen for live appearances over the course of the season,” according to a news release from the network.
The 10-episode season features the addition of a parrot named Chicken and a cockatoo named Teva, who make an extravagant entrance in the premier episode as judges welcome contestants into the jungle-themed kitchen.
The first challenge will require the young contestants to make an “animal texture tart with creature-inspired features like scales, feathers, fur or fins, and an edible tail is a late-breaking twist the bakers must solve in a tasty and create way.”
“’Kids Baking Championship’ is a celebration of the amazing things kids can do in the kitchen, not only with their baking and decorating skills but also in how they support each other even when competing,” said Betsy Ayala, an executive with Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement.
The finale airs at 8 p.m. Monday, March 3. The season finale will see the top-three bakers dig deep for their most “zoo-inspired” cake before a winner is crowned.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Eastern WA teen competes in ‘amazing animals’ Food Network TV show. When to watch."
