ANEW judge is joining Junior MasterChef. The series returns with Irish television cook, food writer and photographer Donal Skehan joining MasterChef judge John Torode to present the second run of the Bafta-nominated series.
Born into a family of foodies, 25-year-old Skehan soon saw food as a way of life.
He developed a passion for capturing pictures of deliciouslooking dishes working alongside some of Ireland’s top food photographers and food stylists.
He started his blog in 2007, now based on his website, where he writes about his food adventures and recipes every day. After only six months blogging, he was approached to write a cookbook based around the recipes on his blog, and Good Mood Food was released in 2009.
Described as “Ireland’s answer to Jamie Oliver”, Skehan has since appeared as a presenter in two series of RTE One’s Kitchen Hero and his third cook book, Kitchen Hero: Great Food For Less launched in May this year.
Creative director of MasterChef Karen Ross says Skehan’s energy, enthusiasm, humour and absolute passion for what he cooks and eats made him a natural choice for the role as junior judge.
“The fact that he and John Torode also hit it off immediately with a shared love of food and an instant cheeky banter is a bonus. We are extremely excited to have him on board,” she says.
The series will give some of Britain’s best young cooks the chance to follow in the footsteps of 2010 champion, Georgia Bradford, and be crowned Junior MasterChef 2012.
Based on the hugelysuccessful MasterChef series, the competition will once again aim to find and encourage talented young cooks who have a flair for making exceptional food from scratch.
The format will feature 15 half-hour episodes, consisting of eight heats, two quarterfinals, four semi-finals and a final cook-off.
The budding gastronomes, aged between nine and 12, will have the chance to wow the judges with their culinary magic, learning tricks of the trade along the way.
Among the tasks of the previous finalists were cooking for the likes of the cast of Doctor Who, children’s writer Jacqueline Wilson, and boy band JLS.
Junior MasterChef will be broadcast on CBBC later this year.
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