Chopped Junior

The junior chefs must integrate the mystery basket ingredients into taco-inspired dishes, starting with pork and tropical flavors in the appetizer basket. A prickly plant must find its way onto the plates for the entree, then a cake in the third basket contains a sweet surprise! Chef Scott Conant, Food Network Star finalist Martita Jara and actress Kym Whitley serve as judges.

The junior chefs get to cook three meals -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- for the judges, actor J.B. Smoove and chefs Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian. In round one, the basket contains Middle Eastern pancakes and special cotton candy. For lunch, they have to try their hand with frozen fast food and raw burgers. Then, the finalists must make dinner with a tender cut of lamb and an Arabic dessert.

A new batch of kids celebrate mac and cheese in all three rounds, beginning with appetizers containing the ready-to-make version. A bright orange snack and fancy cheese must work their way into entrees, then in the final round, even the judges -- actress Betsy Brandt and chefs Marc Murphy and Nguyen Tran -- are surprised to see how mac and cheese can be interpreted in dessert form.

In this grilling competition judged by singer Jessie James Decker, food writer Jed Portman and chef Geoffrey Zakarian, a new batch of precocious junior chefs must use a classic cornmeal dish in the appetizer round. The grill pans continue to get a workout in round two, where the kids must combine a marshmallow treat with white barbecue sauce. Then, the dessert round delights the finalists when they find a magnificent cake in the basket!