Lights, Camera, Cook!

by Charise Mericle Harper, Eddie Leader (Illustrator)

Overview

A zesty series for fans of MasterChef Jr. and Kids Cook-off! In episode one, four talented tween chefs step into the spotlight to prove that they have what it takes to become the Next Best Junior Chef.  Who will have the grits to get through week one of the competition?

A zesty new series for fans of MasterChef Jr. and Kids Cook-off! It's “lights, camera, cook!” for four tween contestants—energetic Tate, charming Rae, worldly Caroline, and hyper-competitive Oliver—who are all about to enter a televised cooking competition.

What will the kids cook up? How will they all get along on and off camera? Which junior chef will have the grit—and maybe the grits—to make it through each elimination challenge? And which junior chef will have to hang their apron up for good?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328507013
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Series:	Next Best Junior Chef Series , #1
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	266,796
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Charise Mericle Harper is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including the Just Grace series and the Next Best Junior Chef series. Charise lives in Oregon. Visit Charise at chariseharper.com and on Twitter at @ChariseHarper.

Aurélie Blard-Quintard studied classical drawing in Paris and earned a Master of Communication Media degree, specializing in stop-motion animation, in Bristol, England. She lives with her family and their cat in Strasbourg, France.

Read an Excerpt

Friday—The Arrival
Chapter 1

The filming studio was a hive of activity. And then . . .
     “BOOMS!”
     “LIGHTS!”
     “CAMERAS!”
     “ROLLING!”
     There was silence. Everyone waited.
     “Welcome to Next Best Junior Chef, where all the action is in the kitchen!” The announcer’s voice filled the air with energy and excitement. “This week, four young chefs will battle it out in a series of challenges that will test their culinary skills, knowledge, and creativity. Thursday’s challenge will send one chef home, and the three remaining contestants will be one step closer to the final elimination round. Pick your favorites now, because one of these talented chefs WILL BE the Next Best Junior Chef!
     “Our esteemed judges include Chef Vera Porter of the famous Porter Farm Restaurant, renowned pastry chef Aimee Copley, and Chef Gary Lee, restaurant proprietor and host of the award-winning show Adventures in Cooking. Make no mistake, the judges will be watching our competitors very closely. Everything counts, and will be taken into consideration, when we get to the final elimination round.
     “Our young chefs will be mentored by Chef Nancy Patel, the 2013 recipient of the Golden Spoon Award.
     “The winner of Next Best Junior Chef will receive two life-changing prizes: a food truck specially designed for the winner and a guest spot on Adventures in Cooking when it begins filming this summer in . . . the beautiful countryside of Italy!
     “Our four young chefs have survived countless interviews, taste tests, and chopping challenges. They can purée, sauté, broil, bake, and fry with skill beyond their years. They’re the cream of the crop, and they can’t wait to get cooking. So, let’s meet our competitors.”
     The junior chefs were lined up and ready outside the big doorway of the filming studio. As soon as the announcer called their names, they’d come in, one at a time, for a grand entrance. Chef Nancy had prepared them, because once the cameras were rolling, everything had to be perfect.
     The announcer continued: “Next Best Junior Chef invites contestant Caroline to the table. Caroline is from Chicago, Illinois.”
     Chef Nancy tapped Caroline on the shoulder. “Go.”
     Caroline took a deep breath and walked through the door and down the ramp toward the front of the room. She passed the workstations, one of which would be hers, but she didn’t look. Her eyes stayed glued to her destination. The judges, Chef Gary, Chef Aimee, and Chef Porter, stood next to one another behind a long table, smiling and waiting.
     Chef Gary stepped forward. “Welcome, Caroline. Please tell us: How did you get to be such a good cook?”
     The cameras, the lights, the judges—these made Caroline nervous, but not the question. She knew exactly what to say. Chef Nancy had helped them practice their answers.
     “I’m lucky—I’ve been around good food my whole life. My family owns a French bistro and my mother is a chef, so I speak French, English, and food. It’s like a third language for me. Cooking is a way to express myself.”
     “Wow!” Chef Gary took a step back. “How old are you?”
     “Eleven.”
     “Well, I can’t wait to see what your food is going to tell us.”
     Caroline blushed. “Thank you, Chef.”
     The interview was over. Tate was next. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief.
     “Next Best Junior Chef invites contestant Tate to the table. Tate hails from Seattle, Washington.”
     Tate couldn’t wait to get to the front of the room. It was hard not to run, and then when he got there, it was hard to stand still.
     Chef Aimee smiled and leaned forward. “Welcome, Tate—I know I’m supposed to ask you a cooking question, but first I have to know . . . how old are you?”
     Tate swayed back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Nine.”
     Chef Aimee shook her head. “Unbelievable! You’re our youngest contestant ever. Congratulations! Was it difficult to become one of the four junior chefs in this competition?”
     Tate chopped the air with his hand. “Not really. I’m good with a knife, and I like cooking, so it was fun. People are always surprised when they see what I can do in the kitchen.”
     Chef Aimee smiled. “Ooh, I like surprises. Well done, Tate. I can’t wait for you to surprise me, too.”
     Tate nodded and grinned until he heard the announcer’s voice.
     “Next Best Junior Chef invites contestant Oliver to the—”
     “CUT! CUT! CUT!” A man brushed past Oliver and ran down the ramp. “Take five! Camera problem. We’ll start up again in five minutes tops.”
     Chef Nancy called Oliver back from the ramp. “I’m sorry, Oliver. We’ll start again when Steve gives us the signal. He’s the producer, so if he says it’s only five minutes, I’m sure he’s right.”
     Oliver nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He could wait. He was the King of Calm.

Editorial Reviews

"[Lights, Camera, Cook! is] an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at ambitious foodie kids doing what they do best; readers should be eager to discover who will be forced to hang up their aprons in the next book." –Publishers Weekly

"A mouthwatering read for all foodies. Be sure to save room for the next two volumes." –SLJ

"...a must-read for all junior foodies!" –Kirkus

From the Publisher

06/26/2017
Four food-savvy kids face off in the first round of a TV cooking show in this snappy launch title in the Next Best Junior Chef series. Eleven-year-old Caroline is coolly confident, army kid Tate has energy to spare, nervous Rae faints when she first takes the stage, and brazen Oliver has “two missions: to win and look good on TV.” Fans of Top Chef Junior and other TV cooking competitions will be right at home with the trappings Harper liberally draws on: celebrity chefs’ demanding yet supportive demeanors, contestants’ off- and on-camera anxieties, and meticulous descriptions of their gastronomic concoctions. Blard-Quintard’s chic b&w spot illustrations capture the children’s emotional ups and downs as they wrestle with surprise ingredients, plan their dream food trucks, and try to negotiate partnered challenges. It’s an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at ambitious foodie kids doing what they do best; readers should be eager to discover who will be forced to hang up their aprons in the next book. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

A kids’ reality show comes alive when four diverse children, Oliver, Carolyn, Tate and Rae, take the stage in preparation for a television show featuring kid chefs. Chef Nancy is in charge of the kids. She knows her job well as she takes the kids through several days of different cooking challenges to get them ready for the final contest. Tate, the youngest child, loves to come up with unique new dishes because, as he says, he’s “an inventor.” Rae is a girl who is always trying new things, and Carolyn thinks her strong points are combining spices and putting together different cooking skills. Oliver is always telling how cool, calm, and collected he is and appears to just expect to be the best. When Chef Nancy presents the first mini-challenge, the children are expected to find a list of items from the pantry and return to their work stations before anyone else. This gets them all going and focusing on what they have to do. Throughout the week, there are more mini-challenges; and every time someone wins he or she can select a cooking gadget from the gadget wall. By the time the kids are ready to film the real junior chef segment for production, they have all matured and developed exceptional skills. Suspense mounts as real chefs prepare to judge the junior chefs. This book does a good job of showcasing the kids and bringing the characters to life. All challenges and skills are ones to which readers can relate. Those who read this well-paced story will come away knowing a lot about what it takes to work together, how hard it is to always do well, and what makes real winners. This book is the first of “Next Best Junior Chef” series. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Nancy Garhan Attebury

05/01/2017
Gr 2–5—Food-infused fiction that combines celebrity chefs, reality TV, and a focus on healthy eating. This first installment in an anticipated series is about a lively televised cooking competition featuring four talented tweens: energetic Tate, charming Rae, worldly Caroline, and hypercompetitive Oliver. Through numerous interviews, taste tests, and chopping challenges, readers get to know each character. The black-and-white illustrations complement the story and add humor. There is a bonus in the back matter that includes techniques for aspiring young chefs. VERDICT A mouthwatering read for all foodies. Be sure to save room for the next two volumes.—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN

School Library Journal

2017-05-31
The first in a three-part series, this follows four diverse preteen contestants who grapple with their hopes, fears, and dreams as they cook their ways through a reality TV contest. On arrival day, the contestants meet one another—and their judges—for the very first time. Calm and confident, Oliver is also extremely competitive. Sweet Rae is inspired by her grandma and her multicultural neighbors, and she isn't afraid to try new flavors. Cooking is in Caroline's blood—her family owns a French bistro, and her mom is the chef. (She is also the only obviously nonwhite contestant.) Last but not least, Tate is the youngest at 9. He's a bundle of energy and a little brash, but he has some mean knife skills. During the first round, the contestants take on several challenges, including small warm-ups such as a pantry race to more defining tasks such as creating a vegetable "dessert." In the beginning, the contestants are cordial to one another and are on par skillwise. However, as elimination day approaches, the pressure mounts and rivalry sets in. Before long, deep-seated emotions are revealed both on and off camera. In the end, this is not just a story about cooking, but also about friendship, discovering one's strengths, and valuing what matters most—and it's not always winning. While difficult to track at times, the characters Harper has created are distinct and plausible. Plus she cleverly weaves her amusing storytelling with real cooking techniques for the aspiring young chef. A fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at a reality cooking show; a must-read for all junior foodies. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews