You can start an application on line at their web site. I started an application at one time for a different show, but then I learned that I would have to be in New York for the entire month of February, and I would not be able to handle the weather there at that time. Also, I would have had to take off from work for four weeks, but I might have been doing freelance work at that time.

Some shows advertise on Craigslist, at least in Los Angeles - not sure about East Coast shows. We need a West Coast food network. I call the Food Network the Salt & Pepper network, and the West Coast version could be Soy and Chili Chili Sauce.

Yeah, I fully expect one of Annie's kids to be on the show! Wouldn't that be cool.

I love the junior competitions.

LOL, I wondered too, because the Monkey Princess wants to be famous for cooking, and she thinks she could be on one of those shows. I told her to just figure out how to start her own YouTube channel and she could get famous and people would watch her every week! Madi could be sous chef and Bud and Maci could be official tasters, LOL.

Anie

It
is very expensive to produce a TV show. The producers cannot take any chances.

I think the kids on the shows are
very talented, but I am not sure everything is that spontaneous.

I think everything is coached,
rehearsed, practiced, tried, edited, ---- many times.

When the kids run to the pantry, it
seems that they know exactly where everything is. They know exactly how all the
appliances work, the buttons, the knobs.

Do you really think that every kid
can plate their food better than many famous chefs?

dcarch

I think that every contestant who walks onto the Chopped set gets a full tour of the appliances and the pantry before they start, and I'm not sure that ruins the intent of the show at all. As for plating, well, some of the adults on the show don't always nail the mark, and all the kids don't all excel either. There are precious few dcarch's in the world!

Of course there are things that go on behind the scenes, but that doesn't diminish the kids' talent. Not to mention how entertaining some of them are! Dcarch, you sound a little jealous. ;)

"Birdsong and her culinary team of as many as 26 people teach the kids
cooking classes in between episodes, walking them through the
techniques they need to succeed and giving them safety training. The MasterChef
classroom is identical to the set — same ovens, same food processors —
so the contestants can get familiar with the equipment. The culinary
team squeezes in as many classes for the kids as they can given the
short amount of time children are legally allowed to be on the Paramount
lot every day. “The kids are here to learn as much as they can the
whole time,” she says.

Birdsong says she doesn’t teach the kids
exactly what to do for a challenge, but rather shows them a basic and
(most importantly) the fastest way to accomplish things like make a
sauce or filet a fish. There are lots of different ways to make a
piecrust, for example, but one way is probably best when you’re racing
the clock. The kids have the option of writing down and memorizing
anything from class.

“We teach a very basic application that works
in our environment and that’s what they tend to stay with, and it’s
their choice if they go off that mark [during a challenge],” she says,
adding that the adults who receive the same classes are more likely to
revert to their personal cooking methods."

source: Behind The Scenes Of The Cutest Cooking Show On Television

That explains a lot, Cindy. Sometimes when a contestant on one of those shows gets eliminated, they thank the panel for the opportunity to learn so much. I've wondered how they learned anything just in the competition, other than the comments from the judges. Now I know.

It makes perfect sense that the contestants on any of those shows be given a tour of the kitchen, pantry, and appliances.

(a little OT) What I've wondered is if they're given pots of boiling water to begin with, or if they have to wait for the water to boil? Or the oven to pre-heat, or the oil to heat up in the deep fryer.

Sally

Yes, I've read that the ovens are going and so is the fryer. Not sure about boiling water, tho. Maybe induction hob? Or heated water?

When they say, " you have 30 minutes to make this dish and the time starts now!"

They probably give the contestants 2 hours actual. the 30 minutes and the final count down is just for drama.

Drama is what they want.

dcarch