Before The Kids Head Back To School Catch The Next Generation Of Culinary Hopefuls On Food Network Star Kids

"These young finalists have come from all over the country to compete, bringing with them ambition and incredible talent both in the kitchen and in front of the camera," said Didi O'Hearn, Senior Vice President Programming, Food Network & Cooking Channel. "Tia and Donal are fantastic mentors for the kids, having evolved their culinary skills while growing up in front of the camera, making them the perfect fit to help find the next generation of star chefs in the making."

The Food Network Star Kids competitors are: Gracie Evans (Tampa, FL; age 9), Isaiah A. Hooks (Stroudsburg, PA; age 13), Nicholas Hornbostel (Vail, CO; age 11), Tyra Jefferson (Irmo, SC; age 11), Amber Kelley (Seattle, WA; age 13), Sydnie Jaye Meyers (Austin, TX; age 9),  Lexi Shuster (Portchester, NY; age 9), Salvatore Soldo (Staten Island, NY; age 10), Sammy Voit (Bronx, NY; age 11), Liam Waldman (Los Angeles, CA; age 12).

In the premiere episode 10 multi-talented kids arrive to prove their culinary chops and on-screen talent. Right away they are thrown into the spotlight to present a 30-second live audition to prove to mentors Tia Mowry and Donal Skehan why they have earned a chance to be the Food Network Star Kids winner. The kids must then cook up a memorable dish that expresses their food personality, accompanied by a Snapchat cooking tip. In the end, the mentors must send home three competitors based on their dishes. Throughout the season, Tia and Donal are joined by special guests, including YouTube stars Gabriel Conte and Elise Strachan, comedian Loni Love, and breakout star of The Jungle Book Neel Sethi, to test the junior finalists' creativity in the kitchen and their communication skills in front of the camera. Whether it is whipping up a brunch dish that is created and served in an actual orange, sharing a Sunday supper while livestreaming, or pitching high-powered lunches to Hollywood VIPS, the kids leave it all in the kitchen, and on-camera, for a chance to compete in the finale and walk away as the first Food Network Star Kids champion, with their own series on FoodNetwork.com!

Host of Cooking Channel's Tia Mowry at Home, Tia Mowry has been in the public eye for over 20 years, gaining initial fame in her teens starring opposite her twin sister in the hit comedy, Sister Sister. Her work on the series won her two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, and three Kids Choice Awards for Favorite Television Actress. After the series wrapped production, Mowry attended Pepperdine University where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. In 2013 Mowry published her debut book, "Oh Baby!: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another;" and in May 2016, she released the second book of her young adult series, "Twintuition," that she co-wrote with her sister. Next up, Tia will be releasing her first cookbook titled, "A Whole New You." She is also known for her lead role on the CW/BET's hit show The Game as well as the Nickelodeon series Instant Mom. When not acting, she spends time in Los Angeles with her husband, actor Cory Hardrict, and her son Cree Taylor. 

Donal Skehan is a food writer, food photographer and television presenter living in Dublin, Ireland. Inspired by a family of passionate food lovers who have worked in the food industry for over 60 years, cooking and eating hearty home cooked food has always been a way of life. Donal got his start when he started a food blog in 2007; he was offered a book deal which coincided with his first television series on Irish TV. Donal is now one of Ireland's most popular food profiles. His television career has gone on to see Donal exploring European cities and Vietnam on Cooking Channel in the Follow Donal series, learning the secrets of Italian cooking from 13 incredible Nonna's on FOX International's Grandma's Boy, judging some of the UK's finest young cooks on BBC's Junior MasterChef and using his Swedish language skills while he presents Sweden's biggest food show Mitt Kok. Donal has also had a primetime series for the past 5 years on RTE, Ireland's largest TV channel and public broadcaster, as well as a popular YouTube channel.

For more Food Network Star Kids, visit FoodNetwork.com/StarKids to learn about the kid competitors, relive the top moments from each episode, and watch the Star Kids champion host their own series. Fans can also access photos, videos, interviews with the co-hosts and guest judges and more. Join in on the fun on Facebook at Facebook.com/FoodNetwork and on Twitter with the hashtag #StarKids.

Food Network Star Kids is produced by LEG/Triage Entertainment.

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and up to 35 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown 13 times and is now the third largest monthly magazine on the newsstand, with over 12.4 million readers.  Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24-hour networks in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Scripps Networks Interactive (NASDAQ: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com) and Great American Country (www.gactv.com), is the manager and general partner.

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SOURCE Food Network

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