September 8 13

My kids’ daddy is a part-time chef. He’s a full time computer guy with a Chandler Bing-type job—no one has any clue what he actually does, but in his off hours he is experimenting with food and addicted to the Food Network and doing foodie guests spots on local Toronto morning shows. I can handle my own in the kitchen, I even made homemade butter tarts this week. And you can rest assured, my tarts are raisin-free.

butter-tarts

So, my three have grown up around food. They are not only the world’s best taste-testers, but they can often be found aproned-up, helping with the chopping, stirring, pouring, mixing, and measuring, or they can be found parked in front of cooking and baking shows—their favorites include Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Cake Boss, and anything Chef Michael Smith.

When they heard about new four-episode show “Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off,” which premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. on Food Network Canada, they were jealous. I mean, they are kids after all. But once that wee bit of green wore off, they were super excited to watch the show. And then they found out that they were going to be able to intereview the show’s only Canadian contestant, 11-year-old Daniel Hamilton—all bets were off. They didn’t let me get a word in edgewise when they chatted with the Toronto pint-sized chef.

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(photo from The Food Network)

Emily and Isabella: Do you love to cook—how did you start? What is your favorite thing to make? What is your least favorite thing to make?

Daniel: I LOVE to cook! I cook all the time and it’s so much fun to cook for my family. My favorite thing to cook is pasta—I make a really great spring pasta with balsamic and olive oil (edited by Ali: OH MY LANDS). I really don’t like to make rice, it just seems like too much work and there’s so much cleaning involved. Rice is tricky.

I started cooking once. Well, my mom was tired so I offered to make her a meal and she totally didn’t think that I would. So I went into the kitchen and made her a baked salmon with asparagus (edited by Ali, again: OH MY LANDS. AGAIN.).

Emily and Isabella: Can you tell us which celebrity chef was the most exciting to work with?

Oh, I absolutely loved working with Guy Fieri. He’s such a funny guy.

Daniel: Emily and Isabella: We love Diners, Dive-Ins, and Drives. (I told you.)

Daniel: I like to watch that show too. He’s exactly like that in real life too. He’s cool and just so funny.

Emily and Isabella: Do you see yourself becoming a chef in the future? Where can we see you next?

Daniel: I am definitely going to be a chef in the future—that’s totally the direction I’m going! I’m getting better every day and improving my skills and I’m on my way to become a master chef. Also, make sure you follow me on Twitter—I’m @JrChefDaniel, and check out my website quiteabite.com. Oh! And like me on Facebook too!

Emily and Isabella: We definitely will! We’re going to be watching—and rooting for you, of course.

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  1. ????

    Comment by cne?? on September 12, 2013
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