FIFTY children aged between eight and 12 are vying to become finalists in Australia's first Junior MasterChef competition as the television juggernaut finds yet another way to cash in on its omnipresent profile.
The 50 children - chosen from more than 5500 applicants around the country - gathered last week in an industrial studio at Redfern's Technology Park.
The youngsters opened the next version of the free-to-air phenomenon under the gaze of new judge Anna Gare plus regular taste-testers Matt Preston, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan.
Gare, who has four children with the Australian and Chicago Bulls basketball great Luc Longley, is a celebrity cook and caterer best known until now for her pay-TV roles on The Best in Australia and more recently Quickies in My Kitchen on the LifeStyle Food channel.
She is a former musician, having achieved success in a band from Perth called the Jam Tarts.
She has also had stints acting, including in a TV miniseries, Stark, based on the book by the English comedian Ben Elton, who is married to her sister Sophie.
Gare, 41, turned down a mentor role on the original MasterChef Australia, deciding to stay in Perth with her blended family rather than move to Sydney for the filming.
''I'm thrilled and excited to be going on to such a hugely popular program,'' she said yesterday. ''I've seen some of the junior kitchen superstars in action and there is some really amazing talent there. I can't wait to get started.''
Insiders who have seen the Junior MasterChef contestants in action are amazed at their expertise.
''The one overwhelming thing I can say is that these kids don't just cook,'' said Mark Fennessy, whose company Shine Australia is producing the series for Ten. ''They absolutely blow you away with their skills and what they deliver.''
One girl showed up and confidently offered to make one of the most difficult desserts the adult MasterChef contestants have tackled, a croquembouche.
''Not only can these kids do something like that,'' Fennessy said. ''They can do it extremely well.''
The original MasterChef is a proven hit with children. Last year's ratings showed 20 per cent of the audience was made up of viewers under 15, compared with Channel Seven's Home and Away, which was on at the same time and had 11 per cent of viewers under 15.
Changes have been made to the format for the junior series - to screen on Ten over six weeks later this year - in an effort to increase that younger demographic. Exact details have yet to be announced but in Britain, where their junior version premiered two months ago, the pressure-cooker environment has been toned down.
A similar softening will be in place in Australia. ''In the eliminations, for example, four children go at a time so nobody is being singled out,'' Fennessy said.
''We'll be doing the Friday Masterclasses but they'll be more 'cook-along' rather than just instructional. The style of the judging is very positive and based on encouragement. This is more of a celebration of cooking. We're very mindful and sensitive of trying to encourage and support the kids.''
Much of the action will be based on the MasterChef kitchen but there will be off-site challenges. ''When we started MasterChef Australia we never realised the level of interest it would attract from younger viewers,'' Fennessy said.
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