Since she was 8, Josie Burkhardt has always had a passion for grilling. Now, at age 11, her favorite hobby has led to her selection to compete on the Food Network’s new series, “Kids BBQ Challenge.”
Eight kids between the ages of 10 and 13 were selected to compete on this show for a grand prize of $20,000 and a feature in Food Network Magazine. Josie, who moved to Medford from Mississippi at age 2, was the only contestant residing in the Northeast, while other participants flew to the filming location at the Saddleback Winery in California’s beautiful Napa Valley from Florida, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi.
Throughout the episodes, the young chefs have their BBQ expertise tested on the grill as they are put through a series of sizzling challenges. Led by celebrity hosts Camila Alves, founder of the lifestyle website Women of Today, and Eddie Jackson, the winner of Food Network Star season 11, challenges range from a Hawaiian luau competition to a cowboy campfire challenge.
“About two or three years ago, my uncle Tom started his competition team, ‘Tom Tom Bob-a-que.’ I go to all of the competitions and I help them out, but I wanted to start doing it on my own,” Josie said.
The pre-teen’s journey to the Food Network competition officially began last year at the “Kids Que,” a BBQ competition for kids ages 8 to 14 in Wildwood. There, she won the event and was soon after contacted by The Food Network to interview for its Kids BBQ Championship show. After submitting a cooking demo and multiple interviews, Josie found out she made the cut.
“When I found out I was selected, I almost passed out with excitement. I couldn’t even speak when my mom told me I made it,” Josie said. “The first thing I did was call my grandma who was just about as excited as I was.”
The phone call to her grandmother, Jonie Womack, was so immediate because she has largely influenced Josie’s dishes with her New Orleans roots and cooking style. This traditionally spicy way of cooking is utilized by the competitor in many of her dishes both on the show and off. It also helps make up her signature dish, spicy jarred chorizo sliders, which can’t be found in any cookbook on the market.
While Josie possesses a unique cooking style, what she admittedly loved most about participating in the show was being able to witness the cooking styles of her competitors and learn from them. Despite Kids BBQ Challenge’s mere six-episode tenure, the young grill master wishes she could do it all over again and believes she may want to eventually make a career out of BBQ’ing.
“I love BBQ. It’s definitely my favorite type of cooking because it’s more fun than being in the kitchen and you can use flavors and rubs to make each dish your own,” she explained.
Although the show initially premiered on Monday, May 23, highlights from the first three episodes of competition can be viewed at FoodNetwork.com/KidsBBQ. Fans are also encouraged to weigh in on their favorite moments on Twitter using the hashtag, #KidsBBQ.
Don’t miss Josie’s appearance on the show every Monday at 8 p.m.
