Hosted by chef and television personality Adam Gertler, the 13-episode series follows a team of five up-and-coming child cooking wunderkinds – Estie (8), Dylan (11), Emmalee (12), Cloyce (13) and Holden (14) – who face off against a different executive-level chef each week for bragging rights.
Each episode is made up of three rounds of cooking set to test the competitors’ abilities and mastery in the kitchen, from making sausages from scratch to preparing the perfect omelet. The kids nominate a team-mate to face off against the expert in each challenge. In the first two rounds, resident judges and commentators (chef-restaurateur Mike Isabella and private chef to the stars Alia Zaine) will taste the dishes to determine which chef has created the most delicious and inventive plate. The winner of each of the first two events will be awarded an advantage in the next round which includes preventing their competitor from tasting their food as they prepare it and forcing them to take a ten-minute break during the allotted cooking time. The final round will feature a blind taste-test by a world-renowned master chef such as Hubert Keller and Ludo Lefebvre that will determine the ultimate winner - the professionals or the youthful contenders.
In the series premiere, aptly titled “Don’t Under-ESTIE-mate Her”, the youngest chef on the show, then seven-year-old Estie Kung, whips up a Korean fried chicken dish with kimchi mayonnaise and a gochujang gastrique. The precocious Kung, who is half-Chinese and has been cooking since age three, will visit Asia as part of a promotional tour for the show’s launch on Lifetime, which will include press, trade, and consumer events.
Estie Kung arrived in Singapore at IKEA stores last week on 17 January 2016 for a ‘Meet-and-Greet’ session with her Singapore fans. Specially for this visit, this little cutie-pie creates exclusive recipes using IKEA’s salmon and vegetable balls which will be available at IKEA’ Singapore’s Swedish Food Market for a limited time from 17 Jan 2016.
Photos with these two lovely ladies before meeting junior Chef Estie Kung..
There were a few rounds of challenging games played between Chef Estie (now 8) and her supportive fans during the ‘Meet-and-Greet’ session and Chef Estie is such a joy to watch as we all love her enthusiasm and passion towards cooking and being on show! When asked about her envision, she mentioned she would like to open her own restaurant that serves french cuisine, she would have her own tv cook show, and also have her very own cook book! How amazing it was to hear these from such a young girl!
"Soft Peaks" test by lifting the whisked egg whites straight up or turning the bowl upside down and the egg whites doesn't fall out!
Q&A session..
Followed by autographs and photos opportunity!
Estie Kung is born and raised in Hollywood California. She’s half Chinese, and her grandparents are from Hong Kong and Shanghai. She first started cooking when she was only 3 years old, the age most children are only starting to familiarize themselves with speech and colors.. Due to her participation in Man vs Child: Chef Showdown, Estie Kung has gained many recognition particularly due to very young age and has even been featured in The Late Late Show with James Corden in October 2015. You can watch it here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXKmuO0Jh54.
While sneak peak of her in MAN VS. CHILD here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HUf4PUb86o !
Also, Lifetime hashtag #JustAKid in its campaign to celebrate children talent just like Chef Estie!
Will raw talent and imagination prove to be enough to trump years of training and decades of experience? Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm (with a primetime repeat at 10pm) to watch these talented minors square off with their more experienced opponents and witness a culinary revolution in the making!!
That very afternoon, friends and i had our lunch settled before the event at Encik Tan eateries. They have really nice Curry Rice and Wanton Mee! =)
