Jamaica now has its own reality television cooking show, featuring kids! The Young Chefs Cooking Show is set to begin airing on local free-to-air television station, Television Jamaica (TVJ) as of Sunday June 12, 2016 at 5:30 pm.

The show, which is set to run for seven weeks, will see 12 children, aged 8-12, going head-to-head in culinary challenges each week, to earn the title of Jamaica’s First Young Chef as well as a host of other exciting prizes.

The creator of the show, Chef Latoya Panton, without giving away too much, said that viewers can expect to be blown away by the high quality dishes that the young chefs will prepare throughout the season.

“They can expect to see  8-12-year-olds cooking like professionals and producing gourmet dishes. The dishes are cooked with a lot of heart and passion by the young chefs and will make your mouth water. You just have to watch and see,” Panton told teenAGE.

At the launch event, held on Tuesday in the Audi Showroom on Oxford Road in Kingston, the young chefs expressed excitement at the season, and by all accounts, the competition will be fierce.

“Viewers can expect to see the flames turned high as the young chefs test their skills,” Panton said.

The 12 youngsters who will form the cast of the show represent the top tier of those who auditioned for the show, whose main sponsor is BIGGA. Panton has a passion for teaching children how to cook, and for a number of years now, has been offering cooking classes to children in her Young Chefs Cooking Classes. She does this with the support of her catering team and Executive Chef at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, Kenard Swaby, who is the supporting chef on the show.

teenAGE will definitely be following the show! You may follow the young chefs on Instagram and Facebook at YoungChefsJA.