Joshua Lefkoff, a seventh-grader at Baylor School, will appear on the Food Network cooking show “Chopped Junior” on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m.
Letkoff said the invitation to compete on the show came as a bit of a surprise.
“I auditioned for a similar program, ‘Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cookoff,’ but I didn’t get picked,” he said. “A few weeks later, Food Network contacted me and said they’d like me to be on ‘Chopped Junior.’ It was very exciting.”
Joshua taped the show in New York last April and learned he had been selected in August. He developed his love for cooking from his mother, Rebecca, at a young age. He has lately been taking weekly classes at Dish T’Pass Cooking School and Catering Company in Chattanooga.
“I like to eat what I cook and my favorite is Cajun food,” says Joshua. “I also love to bake and would like to have my own bakery someday.”
On the show, chefs work through three timed rounds of cooking, each using ingredients found in mystery baskets. There are three rounds of competition with contestants being eliminated, or “chopped,” until just two remain to face off in the last round. The single winner will walk away with a $10,000 cash prize. To prepare for the competition, Amanda Varnell at Dish T’Pass gave him challenges presented in the same format as on “Chopped Junior.”