Kids Baking Championship's Upcoming Season Now Has a Premiere Date and an 'Amazing' Theme

Mar. 15, 2025

Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown on ‘The Elf on the Shelf: Sweet Showdown’.Photo:Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc

Things are about to get furry, fuzzy, and feathery in the new upcoming season ofKids Baking Championship.

Along the way, our contestants will receive visits from friends of the fluffy, furry, and feathery kind, who will hop, crawl, or fly in for live appearances over the course of the season.

“Kids Baking Championshipis a celebration of the amazing things kids can do in the kitchen, not only with their baking and decorating skills but also in how they support each other even while competing,” said Betsy Ayala, head of content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a press release. “With animals as the inspiration the creations are adorable, and the kids are exceptional in the most heartwarming way.”

Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown taste contestant Arielle Yang’s tart on ‘Kids Baking Championship’.Food Network

Food Network

In the premiere episode, a “gorgeous” parrot named Chicken and a “lovable” cockatoo named Teva will “make quite the entrance” as Goldman and Brown kick off the 10-episode season.

This season’s young contestants include: Noah Azeez (Toronto, Canada), Brooklyn Barrett (Orlando, Fla.), Ella Hayek (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Aria Karayil (Danville, Calif.), Piper Lowe (Kansas City, Kan.), Micah Parsons (Stephenville, Texas), Pierce Sario (Atlanta, Ga.), Carter Siporin (Perkasie, Penn.), Ellvie Smith (Attalla, Ala.), Carly Van Pelt (Lake Geneva, Wis.), Jack Whalen (West Richland, Wash.), and Arielle Yang (Sandy, Utah).

On Oct. 2,PEOPLE exclusively revealed Brown’s new deal with Food Network, which included her serving as the new host ofKids Baking Championship.

The Charleston-based cook replacedValerie Bertinelli, who announced in January that she wouldnot be returning to the show.Goldmanco-hostedKids Baking Championshipwith Bertinelli since season 1 and will continue to co-host alongside Brown, who previously made guest-judge appearances onKids Baking ChampionshipandSpring Baking Championshipand co-hosted seasonal specials such as theKids Baking ChampionshipThanksgiving special in 2023.

Judge Kardea Brown, portrait, as seen on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ Holiday, Special 13.Food Network

Kids Baking Championship: Amazing Animalsmarks Goldman and Brown’s first full season as co-hosts. They were most recently seen together inKids Baking Championship: Frosting the Snowman, a one-hour holiday special which aired on Dec. 2.

“Kardea has been so much fun as a co-host. She is absolutely killing it. She is so good with children,” Goldman previously told PEOPLE regarding his new full-time co-host. “She has such a huge heart.”

“Her culinary chops are great. She knows what she’s talking about,” he adds. “But seeing her with kids, she has just absolutely blossomed. She is so natural and easy with them. The kids just implicitly trust her. It’s lovely. It’s really, really great. I am so excited about it.”

Kids Baking Championship: Amazing Animalspremieres on Monday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.

source: people.com