‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ star Ben Bolton has impressed the judges and captured the hearts of Australians with his cheeky quips, can-do attitude and his love for bao buns.
Now the 10-year-old from Bendigo, Victoria will be sharing more of his adorable cooking skills beyond the reality TV kitchen, showing local seniors how to ace a scrumptious carrot cake.
The local government’s ‘City of Bendigo’ Facebook page has shared an event scheduled for Thursday October 15, which is called ‘Get Moving: Virtual morning tea and cooking tutorial with Junior MasterChef’s Ben Bolton’.
“Join our positive ageing officer Michelle and Ben Bolton of Junior MasterChef Australia fame for a virtual morning tea and cooking tutorial,” reads a message on the event page.
“Ben will run a virtual cooking class, baking a delicious carrot cake for us to join in and bake along with him. While the cake is baking, Ben will show us how to make cream cheese icing to top off the cake, as well as some fun marzipan carrots.”
Open to local community members over aged 65 and over, the event will also feature an online Q&A if time permits, though “he can’t tell us any show secrets”, say the organisers.
Ben was one of 14 contestants aged 9-14 who who were introduced to viewers on Sunday when ‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ premiered.
He said his grandmother encouraged him to audition for the cooking show.
“My gran’s actually a food tech teacher, so she really taught me to cook in the first place,” Ben recently told the Bendigo Advertiser.
While one of his first dishes he ever cooked as a “five or six-year-old” was a “plate of sausage rolls made into a circle with pineapples and sesame seeds”, he said his palate has since evolved and he’s experimented with different cuisines.
Steamed bao buns with pork and pickled vegetables are now his favourite to cook.
“The first time I ate them was in Albury and I’ve been developing my recipe ever since I ate them,” he said. “My recipe definitely has changed a lot.”
On Tuesday night Ben impressed judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo when he cooked his special bao buns.
Viewers took to social media to gush over the young cook, not only because of his culinary skills, but his undeniable cuteness and positive energy that makes him the antidote to 2020.
The show also farewelled three budding cooks, Ryan, Porsha and Etka on Tuesday in its first triple elimination.
The remaining contestants include Ben, Carter, Dev, Filo, Georgia, Laura, Phenix, Ruby, Salvo, Tiffany and Vienna.
‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ airs on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10.
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