Food Network Star Kids All Episode Talk

[Whimsy]

Here is your thread for the Food Network Star Kids

Quote

In this new series hosted by former teen stars-turned-celeb cooks Tia Mowry and Donal Skehan, 10 wildly talented kid chefs will battle their way through a variety of culinary and social media challenges to become the next Food Network Star Kid. The winner will walk away with his or her own series on Food Network's digital platforms, a spread in Food Network Magazine and special correspondent status on The Kitchen.

If it gets too busy we can consider starting a board just for this, but let's see how this goes. 

[jcbrown]

I did not hate this as much as I expected to. That is pretty high praise, considering. I did feel sorry for the little girl with the tiger shirt who was eliminated in the first episode (forgot her name already) and I actually sort of liked the precocious kid who had been on the Kids' Cook-off show. He was also sent home, of course.

[nottopbravo]

How many times can a show advertise a show that I'm watching?

I wish they had different hosts.

[mlp]

I also liked this better than I expected to.  I'd never seen either judge before regular FNS and didn't know what to expect but I liked both of them although, like judges on every other show involving kids, they both went overboard being extra nice about everything.  

I thought the right three kids were eliminated.  Sydnie (sp.?)  was kind of cute and annoying at the same time.  Nicholas was less annoying than he was a couple years ago.  I wonder who fed him the Jackson Pollack line.

[ladytenor]

Looks like one of our guest judges will be Tregaye. I heard "this was on fleek" and thought "Ugh"

[TDT]

4 hours ago, ladytenor said:

Looks like one of our guest judges will be Tregaye. I heard "this was on fleek" and thought "Ugh"

Oh no...i expect we'll hear her patented "Yaaaasssss..." as well lol

On the bright side neither Bobby or Giada havent shown up yet(at least not that i know of..)

Edited August 25, 2016 by TDT

[BW Manilowe]

20 hours ago, mlp said:

I also liked this better than I expected to.  I'd never seen either judge before regular FNS and didn't know what to expect but I liked both of them although, like judges on every other show involving kids, they both went overboard being extra nice about everything.  

I thought the right three kids were eliminated.  Sydnie (sp.?)  was kind of cute and annoying at the same time.  Nicholas was less annoying than he was a couple years ago.  I wonder who fed him the Jackson Pollack line.

Tia Mowry starred with her twin sister, Tamera, on the ABC sitcom Sister, Sister where they played twins who were adopted separately at birth/early in life & didn't reconnect until they were in Junior High or High School (I watched it, but don't quite remember a lot of the details). More recently, they had a reality show on either E! or Style, Tia & Tamera. Tia also has a current show on Cooking Channel.

Edited August 25, 2016 by BW Manilowe
Fix spacing.

[biakbiak]

Why didn't the mention that Amber was also on Rachel and Guy's kids show? Of course their only criticism of her was that she is too polished she has been on YouTube and televised events for years, met the President and First Lady at a dinner honoring culinary kids, etc. She was more polished than most of the adult contestants.

I thought the concept of a lasagna pinwheel was perfectly obvious and didn't need further explanation.

[HyeChaps]

Salvatore was all set to be Dom's Mini Me. 

[biakbiak]

Definitely making some shakshuka for dinner this week been too long since I have made it.

[nottopbravo]

I guess they have to be somewhat gentle in their judging of kids, because before bringing them to the edge of tears, they always find something good about the dish.  "The potato was raw, but it was seasoned well".

[Madding crowd]

The kids all seem really nervous and it is obvious they are having trouble with everything; presenting, putting spices in food, cooking times and temperatures. I think this show is just not right for these kids while a show like Chopped may be easier because they are given specific ingredients, are expected to cook crazy things, and don't have to do live TV. The judges are doing OK but I hate seeing kids cry and look so nervous. Salvatore is not made for TV. He twists his hands and looks so nervous. I thought Sammie was a girl until he got eliminated, but I don't think he was as bad as Sal.

[bkathi]

I wish the "mentors" would actually act as mentors and stand offish judges.  One of the best parts of the Duff/Valerie kids baking show was them walking around and mentoring the kids.  They didn't tell them what to do - but were able to ask questions and talk them around to good decisions. 

[NYGirl]

I don't now why they let Sammy go before Salvatore.  They both made steak, both meals were not good but at least Sammy recovered and had personality.  Sal annoys the crap out of me.  I also do not like Amber.  I think this is Liam's to lose.

[Sew Sumi]

I hate to say it, but BECAUSE DRAMA. Poor kid. 

Amber?  She's a pro. She should be better than this. Is she just coasting?

[mlp]

I didn't understand why they sent Sammy off.  Sal acts like a rude teenager who was never taught any manners.  I liked him at first but changed my mind when he went to the "talk show" and I saw him sprawling on the counter and chewing with his mouth open.  He didn't come across well at all.

I wonder how a boy of Mid-East descent came to be named Liam.  The disconnect is almost startling to me.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I didn't understand why they sent Sammy off.  Sal acts like a rude teenager who was never taught any manners.  I liked him at first but changed my mind when he went to the "talk show" and I saw him sprawling on the counter and chewing with his mouth open.  He didn't come across well at all.

I wonder how a boy of Mid-East descent came to be named Liam.  The disconnect is almost startling to me.

He is an affluent kid from LA with parents in the fashion industry, I don't find the name odd.

[mlp]

Quote

 I don't find the name odd.

I don't think it's odd.  In fact, it was my younger son's middle name.  It's an old Irish name that has recently become popular.  It just doesn't seem to go with the boy - like naming a Chinese boy Jose or something.  Disconnect.  I like the kid so far.

[biakbiak]

I meant I don't find it odd that LA parents would name their son Liam regardless of their ethnicity.

Edited September 1, 2016 by biakbiak

[Whimsy]

I feel like all of these kids are spoiled.  When Sammy said he got his recipe from his car service driver my eyes almost rolled out of my head.  Did the parents all buy the kids' spots on this show? 

I like Isaiah, Liam, Tyra and Lexi.  I think I like Lexi the most personality-wise.  She seems very supportive of all the other contestants.  I actively dislike Sal. I don't like saying that about a kid, but I just agree with @mlp.  He has no manners and seems like he doesn't know what he's doing at all. 

It seems like most of the food is barely edible.  

Honestly, I just watch for Donal Skehan's accent.  I just love Irish accents.  

[Fostersmom]

Sal really should have gone the first week and it just confuses me they sent Sammy home the second week instead of him. Precocious kids are bad enough, but mannerless kids are even worse. It's getting a bit creepy FN and all involved are trying so damn hard to make these kids happen though. Especially when they ask them what they want to be when they grow up half the time chef isn't the answer. 

[magpye29]

I am so glad that Sal got sent home today.  What an obnoxious, self-important little so-and-so.  The way he ran right over Lexi, and hen disingenuously denied it was bad enough, but the way he reacted when he got the boot was really rude, and I totally disliked the way he held himself rigid when Lexi tried to hug him.  He was the right choice to go.  I really thought Donal was fighting to keep him, so I'm glad Tia won that argument.  

[justjen]

Stray thoughts on the last episode. Everyone is like Sal this and Sal that, but in her critique Tia pulls out the mom voice and starts with "Salvatore..." How awesome when Lexi spoke up and asked what 'varied' means...we (me) forget that that isn't necessarily a word that a 10 year old would know.

[jumper sage]

I like Lexi.

Salvatore (a name that runs through our family) has actual issues.  I don't think it is his manners, I think he has diagnosable problems.  I feel sorry for him that his parents put him out there like that.

[jcbrown]

I love Lexi. Sal was a straight up ass and deserved to go home. Entitled jerk. He will be someone's nightmare boyfriend in the future at this rate.

[biakbiak]

Why were Amber and Tyra the only ones to stand together in the shot during the demos? It looked so weird with the other two teams where they had someone just lurking in the background.

I don't do Snapchat but between this and the adult medium it doesn't seem like a good place for a teaching tutorial if people are asking all of these random questions that don't necessarily have anything to do with the recipe and distract from the actual cooking.

Edited September 7, 2016 by biakbiak

[theatremouse]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Why were Amber and Tyra the only ones to stand together in the shot during the demos? It looked so weird with the other two teams where they had someone just lurking in the background.

Because lack of teamwork? Amber, correctly, realized the way to do this was to toss the questions while Tyra worked, and then assumed they'd switch. The other kids seemed to just take it as "you do your two minutes and I'll do mine" so they stayed back until they went for the switch.

[Whimsy]

13 hours ago, jumper sage said:

I like Lexi.

Salvatore (a name that runs through our family) has actual issues.  I don't think it is his manners, I think he has diagnosable problems.  I feel sorry for him that his parents put him out there like that.

That's interesting.  I don't see him like that.  I see him as a child that was given everything and just thinks that everything he does is perfect and right because no one told him otherwise.  That's why I think he has such big reactions to everything- he's very immature for his age due to everyone around him coddling him.  But, then again we are just seeing little bits of these kids via a heavily edited show so you may be right.

I really liked Lexi.  Class act all the way to the end.  She was very diplomatic with all of her answers and never threw Sal under the bus even though she could've. 

[justjen]

10 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Why were Amber and Tyra the only ones to stand together in the shot during the demos?

Isn't Amber one of the older (if not oldest) kids here? I felt like maybe she's watched enough of these to know what they're supposed to look like.

As for Salvatore...I mean the kid is only 10 years old. If he acted like that at maybe 13 or 15 then I would consider calling him an ass. But with his stepping on Lexi's toes and then not realizing it, it kind of reminded me of that study (paraphrasing) in classrooms where boys do step over girls answers, it's the classroom culture. If that makes any sense. Even though Sal looks at least 12, he's probably a young 10.

[jumper sage]

6 hours ago, GenL said:

That's interesting.  I don't see him like that.  I see him as a child that was given everything and just thinks that everything he does is perfect and right because no one told him otherwise.  That's why I think he has such big reactions to everything- he's very immature for his age due to everyone around him coddling him.  But, then again we are just seeing little bits of these kids via a heavily edited show so you may be right.

I really liked Lexi.  Class act all the way to the end.  She was very diplomatic with all of her answers and never threw Sal under the bus even though she could've. 

Being a support person for a county health program I was loosely trained in actions, behaviors and expressions in children that could be an undiagnosed condition which could also relate to abuse or neglect in a child.  Example:  I had a mother who was constantly screaming at her almost 3 yr old.  I noticed he never even cocked his head toward her when she was screaming at him.  The mother told me that her and her husband have been spanking him on a daily basis but he is just stubborn.  When I pointed out he did not seem to hear her by his action of not even showing movement.........set them up with the health department and he was diagnosed with a high level of deafness.  How could they not see it?  How could a dr. not see it?  They had been spanking this child for something that is not his fault.   Arrrrrrg.  Anyways.  Salvatore shows some signs of something.  The way he closes his eyes, he cocks his head oddly, he jumps around more than is normal for a 10 year old...........He has a lot of mannerisms of something.  The blinking!

Edited September 7, 2016 by jumper sage

[LazyToaster]

I wasn't as put off by Salvatore as much as some - the goofy jumping around seemed like something boys that age do sometimes.  He is kind of a self-important little person, but that doesn't surprise me for a kid who has a chance to BE ON TV!!!!  I did not like how he treated Lexi at all, so wasn't sorry to see him go; however, I felt bad when he cried.  I do wonder if he would have acted that way if he had been paired with one of the boys - or for that matter, one of the other girls who seem more self-assured to me.  One other thing - I laughed out loud when he complimented Tia at the start of the show - reminded me of Eddie Haskell (that's how old I am!).  

[theatremouse]

Sal's a little manipulative, which can be common among actor-children, which let's face it, that's what these kids are or aim to be or are being conditioned to be. The compliment to Tia didn't read genuine. It read something he'd been taught was a thing to do to make yourself look nice. Likewise when he was throwing Lexi under the bus (and I use that phrase so carefully because I think it's entirely overused in this type of show), he was very conspicuously deflecting blame, and I think he knew it. Something about the look on his face and his defensiveness. It read to me like a kid who knows how to talk his way out of getting in trouble for something. He may not have been conscious of his doing it, but the way he reacted during judging, even the fact that he was crying over losing, told me a lot. I'm not saying it's unreasonable for him to cry; he's young and even if he weren't if we wanted it a lot, you know, it sucks. Still I think part of why he was so upset was not just that he lost but because he knew the criticisms were valid but he was sort of desperately willing them not to be? If that makes any sense.

Or, editing and I'm reading far too much into far too small a sample of facial expressions and body language.

Edited September 7, 2016 by theatremouse

[justjen]

I'm not sure why I cried when Tyra was eliminated, but I did. She seems like a very young 11 years old. Basically, this is Amber's to lose.

[mlp]

I was glad to see Tyra go.  That look she gave the hosts when they were teasing told me everything I needed to know about her attitude.  Also she didn't seem to really know what she was doing when she was dumping spices onto the chicken .. I think she was just hoping for the best and failing.

Lexi is very cute but she seems to be a little princess without real cooking ability.  I think she'll be the next one out.

I like Amber and both of the boys.  All of them have cooking knowledge and ability beyond the average kid.

[nottopbravo]

I could go another year without hearing the word "fleek" again.

It must be a sign of the times that the kids are more comfortable talking into their cellphones than talking to a camera man and camera in their "confessionals".

[needschocolate]

On 9/13/2016 at 3:59 PM, nottopbravo said:

I could go another year without hearing the word "fleek" again.

It must be a sign of the times that the kids are more comfortable talking into their cellphones than talking to a camera man and camera in their "confessionals".

I could easily go the rest of my life without ever hearing "Fleek" and I would not miss it.  

My impression is that the cell phone thing is a gimmick by the producers to show that the show is trendy (I will not use that other word) and in touch with the youth of America.  If they ever do a teen version of this show, we will probably be subjected to a hailstorm of hashtags. 

[ladytenor]

I couldn't figure out why Lexi discarded her potatoes because they fell on the floor. Why not just take them to the sink and rinse them off.  I can see if it was meat or something (even that I might rinse off and use...I hate wasting food) but I would have rinsed them and if I wanted to be extra sure, just peel off another layer.

[bkathi]

I'm sure they had extensive training in food safety and in a professional kitchen picking food up off the floor and rinsing it is a big no no.

[justjen]

I feel like Loni Love was only on because she was in the area (filming the Worst Cooks thing maybe?) and didn't bring anything to the show. Neither did that other kid...except that he's a kid JUST LIKE the kids are also kids (thank you Amber for that clarification). Lexi was making me nervous the entire time, but I'm sure if I would also lose an entire plate of fries. I also don't understand why the kids introduce themselves at the beginning of every presentation. Do the adults do that, too?

[theatremouse]

They're supposed to be pretending that they're recording a bit, or doing a live spiel, so yeah, they do introduce themselves as they would if they had a new food show and no one knew who the hell they were. It's baked into the challenge.

I LOVED when the kid judge was all "I'm Indian and this is too much for me". The one thing that is a touch suspicious for me about Liam and the constant over-spicing narrative: we never see him taste. So, is he just that not-detailed-oriented that he got the note that he overdid the spices 62 times, and every time he's like "I just sprinkled it on, because I know they didn't want me to overdo it" and it never occurs to him to taste it to be sure? Or is there something edited out where he does taste it, and decides it's good. So he's not learning the lesson every time because to his palate it's fine? Because every time I watch I'm like, dude, they keep telling you this, why are you eyeballing it. Especially something like a chip. Eat one, bro. 

Edited September 20, 2016 by theatremouse

[mlp]

1. 8 hours ago, theatremouse said:

   I LOVED when the kid judge was all "I'm Indian and this is too much for me".

   I got a kick out of that too.  I wonder how old that boy is.  He looked tiny but he was very composed .........which is more than I can say for Loni Love.  I didn't hate her but, as someone said upthread, she didn't really add anything to the judging.

So far, they've sent the right kid home every week IMO.  I'm not clear on whether the finale will be a three-way contest or if another kid will be eliminated first.  My guess is the next one out will be Liam, then Isaiah and Amber will win.  She seems best suited to do a show, again IMO.

[theatremouse]

He's nearly 13.

[ladytenor]

Just a heads up. The finale will air at 7pm EDT on Monday, not 8 like the previous episodes.

[AlliePK]

I thought the judges were awful. Terrible. Ptooey. 

[nottopbravo]

On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 11:17 AM, ladytenor said:

Just a heads up. The finale will air at 7pm EDT on Monday, not 8 like the previous episodes.

I wonder what the ratings were for Food Network to be burning this off at 7pm.

 

So much for not hearing the word "fleek" again. 

I wish the Food Network would come up with some new creative programming.  It can't be that hard.

Celebrities?  I can't stop laughing.

[LennieBriscoe]

I hate to say this, but as soon as I saw the 3 finalists, I picked Amber. I didn't think an overweight boy would be given this title.

[Sew Sumi]

I'm on the west coast. I assume they gave the title to Isaiah? He made no waves, never bottom 2 that I can recall, and had just enough personality to go with the food. 

[mlp]

All three kids were impressive for their ages in their own ways but I think Amber was the right winner.  She has everything going for her including being very pretty and articulate.  Isaiah can cook but he doesn't speak clearly.  Liam has what seems to me to be extensive food knowledge plus sincerity in his enthusiasm but he needs to ditch the hat and some of the ego.

The white dress Tia had on looked like something Giada would wear only many, many sizes larger.  Horrible.  She should have looked in a mirror before wearing it.  Tregaye (ugh) looked like she was poured into the first dress she had on also.

[Darian]

Happy Amber won. I thought she was terrific throughout. 

I was only half watching, but the one time I heard Tregaye judging one of the kids' dishes, she said nothing specific. Not one thing. She made the separate comments that were basically "It was amazing." I don't know if that's typical of her, but all three of these kids can do better when speaking spontaneously about food. 

[nottopbravo]

9 hours ago, Darian said:

I was only half watching, but the one time I heard Tregaye judging one of the kids' dishes, she said nothing specific. Not one thing. She made the separate comments that were basically "It was amazing." I don't know if that's typical of her, but all three of these kids can do better when speaking spontaneously about food. 

I thought that was the funny part.  Even though Tregaye was tasting the dishes, she had no input on the judging.  The hosts basically said, "Thanks, you can leave now."

Edited September 27, 2016 by nottopbravo
Cannot edit