Members of the media and bloggers recently had the chance to meet and watch the 12 Kiddie Cooks of ABS-CBN‘s Junior MasterChefs Pinoy Edition as they prepare scrumptious recipes at the kitchen of Trescon International College.

Patrick is one of the Super 12 Junior Masterchefs

The Pinoy Junior Masterchef cooking reality program showcases a pool of talented kids coming from different backgrounds. It was astonishing to see how the little master chefs effeciently held the knife as they cut ingredients into desired shapes and pieces.

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.

Junior MasterChefs Contenders Ian, Kyle, Acee, Philip (L-R)

First up in the Super 12 is Bianca, 9, one of the youngest kiddie cooks in the show.  Both of her parents were formally trained in the culinary arts and have taught her proper cooking techniques at such an early stage.

Cheerful Philip of Cebu 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.

Junior MasterChefs Contender Bianca

Iain masterfully creates various Italian dishes which he and his family enjoy.

Mika on the other hand has extensive training in Japanese cuisine.

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 every day after school to watch their chefs cook or help out in preparing their customers’ orders.

Junior MasterChefs Contenders Jobim (top right), Miko (bot left), Emman (center), and Tricia (bot right)

Judy Ann Santos

During their family trips abroad, Patrick asked his parents to buy him cooking tools and equipments instead of toys and gadgets.

Outside the kitchen, Miko is a school varsity basketball player. His first dish created was 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 from ham and cheese omelette to beef steak and pizza rolls, among others.

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.

Jobim likes to experiment in the kitchen by adding different herbs and spices to his dishes.

Junior Masterchef Super 12 Presscon

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 on the other hand, impressed the judges early-on in the competition with her dishes such as ‘rice in ampalaya silog’, which gained the highest score in the program’s silog challenge.

Junior Masterchef Pinoy Edition at Trescon International College

One of the two Pinoy Junior Masterchef recipe made in the press conference

Catch more of “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition” on ABS-CBN, visit www.masterchefph.tv, www.facebook.com/jrmasterchef, and @jrmasterchef_ph on Twitter.

Junior MasterChefs Chef Judges Chef Rolando Laudico, Chef Ferns, and Chef Jayps (L-R)

* Text and Photos by Marjorie Pineda

All of them were very energetic. We saw the passion in what they were doing, from preparing the ingredients, cooking up to keeping their work station clean and orderly. They prepared two recipes during the press conference of the Junior MasterChefs Pinoy Edition. All these they learned from the Judges Chef Ferns, Chef Lau, Chef Jayps, and celebrity Judy Ann Santos.

They say that Filipinos are good adopters. When they see something they can attune to their own taste, they create their own version. One new upcoming example that would please cooking show and TV buffs‘ eyes and palettes at the same time would be the Filipino version of the internationally successful Junior Masterchef – Pinoy Junior MasterChef – with host Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo.

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo Hosts Pinoy Junior Masterchef

Meet the 60 young kitchen stars on the premier show of this much-awaited kiddie cooking reality show “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition” on August 27, at Saturday’s primetime. Find out as well who will eventually advance to the Top 20 on ABS-CBN. The first Pinoy Junior MasterChef will win a culinary scholarship and P1 million.

Hosted by famous celebrity Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, Juday returns to television through this new show. For the very first time in her career, the Philippine’s Queen of Soap Opera will dabble in hosting as she leads the search for the finest young amateur chef in the country.

Joining Judy Ann are world-renowned Filipino chefs Fernando “Ferns” Aracama, Rolando “Lau” Laudico, and JP “Jayps” Anglo in the newest reality franchise from the group that brought you phenomenal hits “Pinoy Big Brother,” “Pinoy Dream Academy,” and “The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition.”

They will be the ones to guide the kiddie chefs and judge the dishes the kids will cook up as the Philippines will be the third country in the world to produce its own Junior MasterChef.

Idiomatically, Chef Lau is The Rebel, Chef Ferns is The Maestro, and Chef Jayps is The Traveler.

“This show is all heart. The kids are really cute and smart so it’s hard not to have a connection with them. But as a host and their mom in the program, I’m the one to balance their emotions. We don’t want to hurt their feelings but we also need to be honest when it comes to the taste of their dishes. When they’re about to cry, I have to be strong and raise their spirits. You have to be ready with words of encouragement for them,” shared Juday.

With the help of Chef Ferns, Chef Lau, and Chef Jayps, all accomplished chefs and restauranteurs, Juday said kids will surely learn from every challenge or task they face in the program.

Check out the official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/jrmasterchef or follow @jrmasterchef_ph.

Don’t miss the first taste on the reality show that will make you hungry, smile, cry, and be inspired to cook, whether you are young or old, an aspiring chef or simply a food lover in “Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition” on August 27, Saturday at ABS-CBN.