No. 15 Vol. 3
www.theblackrivernews.com
March 2017
Long Valley Third Grader Cooks Her Way To Chopped Jr. Show By Ann Marie Barron A nine-year-old aspiring chef from Long Valley fulfilled a personal dream earlier this month by appearing in a television cooking show, competing for a chance to serve as a Food Network judge.
Olivia Acosta appeared March 8 on, “Chopped, Jr., Make Me a Judge,” a kid-friendly version of the popular show, “Chopped,’’ where participant chefs are asked to come up with recipes on the fly, using surprise ingredients.
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Olivia survived the first two rounds, producing an appetizer and an entrée. She was eliminated in the dessert round, with the competition narrowed to just two aspiring judges. A third grader at the Benedict A. Cucinella Elementary School, Olivia learned her fate during the filming in December, but was sworn to secrecy until the show aired. She spent three days, or three rounds, filming in Manhattan with three other contestants. After each round, which required the four contestants to create either an appetizer, entrée or a dessert, one contestant is “chopped.’’ After the third round, the winner is presented with $10,000 and a chef coat. The contestants were charged with creating dishes with very unusual ingredients. After creating a burger salad with pickle cream dressing for an appetizer, Olivia explained: “I
thought a burger was pretty obvious and I wanted to think outside the bun.’’ She also created a burger kebob with cheese and shallot cream sauce and a dessert burger with a French toast bun. Ground venison, quail eggs, pickle pops, shallot marmalade, Texas toast, Sharon fruit, candied bacon and chocolate marshmallow cereal treats all made appearances in the inspiring ingredient lists. While competing on the show, Olivia – who was the youngest competitor in a group that ranged in age from nine to 13 – said she felt challenged by having to cook with unfamiliar ingredients and with very little time to prepare. “When I saw those ingredients, I only knew what one of them was,’’ she recalled. “I got really nervous. I was cooking really fast. It’s the fastest I’ve ever cooked. I’ve never been timed before.’’
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Her mother, Maya Acosta, had signed Olivia up online, having seen notice of open casting. A telephone call brought the good news that she’d
been selected for the contest, after several lengthy Skype phone call interviews, during which Olivia cooked, demonstrated and continued on page 4