Cooking for Kids: 'Jr. Chefs of America'

FIFTEEN PERCENT OF children today are overweight and one of the major reasons is the easy access to unhealthy food and preconceived ideas that cooking is hard — and obesity, diabetes and liver disease are some of the consequences of kids not being comfortable in the kitchen.

But, hell, if Rachel Ray created a food empire without culinary training, regular kids can surely follow directions for a homemade mac and cheese.

The new Web series "Jr. Chefs of America" paves the way for kids to not just help in the kitchen but also to lead the cooking process. The program features confident teenagers giving live cooking demonstrations of their own recipes, showing that cooking is fun and easy — and one avenue to help stop the junkfood epidemic.

"Jr. Chefs" is both entertaining and educational for children — with delicious looking food and a catchy theme song — and creator/producer Michelle Green hopes to move the show to television and also come out with a line of "Jr. Chefs" merch: pots, pans, griddles, etc. And for even more interaction, there will soon be a submit-your-own-video option.

Express caught up with Thomas Minkowski — one of "Jr. Chef of America's" teen hosts — on IM to chat about the show, his favorite dishes and his biggest kitchen mishap.

» EXPRESS: When did you start getting into cooking?
» MINKOWSKI: I have been cooking with my mom ever since I was 5.
» EXPRESS: What was the first dish you ever made by yourself?
» MINKOWSKI: Well my first thing that I could make by myself was mac and cheese and any kind of eggs.

» EXPRESS: I have noticed your mac and cheese skills. Any secret tips ? I have trouble with the consistency of the cheese/sauce.
» MINKOWSKI: Put lots of extra cheese.
» EXPRESS: Cheese!
» EXPRESS: What's your favorite cheese? I see that it's your favorite food in your profile.
» MINKOWSKI: I really like mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is the best.

» EXPRESS: How did you get involved with "Jr. Chefs"?
» MINKOWSKI: Well ... I really like to act and I went to California to be an actor and stayed there for about a year and a half.
» EXPRESS: Wow. How old were you then?
» MINKOWSKI: I think I went to CA after the first quarter of 7th grade.
» EXPRESS: By your self?!?!
» MINKOWSKI: No. My mom came with me.
» MINKOWSKI: [Anyway] My mom found an ad for kids that love to cook and love to be in front of the camera.
» EXPRESS: Perfect for you.
» EXPRESS: Tell me more about the production of "Jr. Chefs?"
» MINKOWSKI: Well its a really cool concept. It's the first cooking show that is hosted by kids and it helps kids get into the kitchen and cook things for themselves. It will help them to cook healthy and to not go to fast food places all the time.

» EXPRESS: Do you watch a lot of cooking shows? Do you have a favorite cooking celeb?
» MINKOWSKI: Oh yeah. All the time. I can't really pick just one, but I'll name a couple: Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, Paula Dean.
» EXPRESS: Do you watch "Top Chef " and "Next Food Network Star"?
» MINKOWSKI: I LOVE THOSE SHOWS!! Me and my mom watched "Next Food Network Star" a lot.
» EXPRESS: I actually like "Top Chef" better — and it has Anthony Bourdain. Love him, although who doesn't.

» EXPRESS: Speaking of Bourdain, what would you NEVER eat?
» MINKOWSKI: I'm not a big tuna fan. But I do like a lot of things. I'm always trying new things. It's cool because watching cooking shows, you find out about a lot of different ingredients.
» EXPRESS: Yes — cooking shows are super informative. It's like mini-school. What's the best new thing you've tried? I'm really into pine nuts at the moment and yogurt from my farmer's market — but not together. Although…
» MINKOWSKI: Well the best new thing I've tried is panko bread crumbs.
» EXPRESS: What'd you make with that?
» MINKOWSKI: Well I made this really good fish and chips and homemade tarter sauce. I breaded the fish with the crumbs.
» EXPRESS: What's your hit dish?
» MINKOWSKI: My fish and chips. And for a desert, French toast Twinkies.
» EXPRESS: I need those recipes!

» EXPRESS: Tell me about your funniest kitchen disaster — we all have them.
» MINKOWSKI: Hahaha
» EXPRESS: So don't be shy!
» MINKOWSKI: Well, I was blending with a lot of milk and it overflowed when I turned it on and it got all over me and the counter. It was a big mess!
» EXPRESS: If that's the worst thing that happened to you, you're a far better chef than I.
» MINKOWSKI: Hahaha. Well what have you done that is worse than that?
» EXPRESS: I totally butchered hash browns — they were a mess and basically inedible! And if you can handle my cursing about the situation I can send you my blog post.
» MINKOWSKI: Sure.
» EXPRESS: But I don't want your mom to get mad at me for sending you something with swear words!
» MINKOWSKI: I'll ask her — 1 sec.
» EXPRESS: No! Don't ask! I won't send it!
» MINKOWSKI: I'm sure it's fine.
» EXPRESS: I don't want to get kicked off the interview trying to corrupt a teenager!
» MINKOWSKI: I'm in high school. I've heard it before.
» EXPRESS: Fine, here it is, but ... I warned you.

» EXPRESS: So what are you future plans for cooking? Will we see Thomas on TV soon?!?!
» MINKOWSKI: Haha. Hopefully. That would be awesome. Hopefully "Jr. Chef" will be a TV show because then I can do the two things I love to do: be in front of the camera and cook!
» EXPRESS: Are you treated like a celebrity at your high school — you're on the web in front of lots of people!
» MINKOWSKI: Haha. Well I'm just like every normal kid. Yeah, it comes up sometimes but other than that it's the same it has always been. And I think it's really cool like that.

» EXPRESS: Last words for the readers of Express?
» MINKOWSKI: To keep trying new dishes and experiment with different ingredients and just keep cooking!
» EXPRESS: Nice pitch. You're a natural.

Written by Express contributor Stefanie Gans
Photos courtesy "Jr. Chefs of America"