| Kids cooking show the first of its kind |
  Chicago will get its first home-grown, independent PBS TV series in 30 years – a kids’ series at that – when the “Jr. Cuisine Cooking Show” premieres Aug. 28 on PBS outlet, WYCC-20 at 11 a.m.The premiere episode will tape this week with the 15 permanent cast members who were selected from among some 1,000 youngsters from 36 states who auditioned for the show. The show is targeted to children 7 to 14 and their parents. Stars of “Jr. Cuisine” are bright, talented eight-to-14 year olds who love to cook, sing and dance and who, as it turned out, come mainly from far Chicago suburbs. Producer and creators of “Jr. Cuisine” – the first kids-for-kids TV cooking show – are music producer D’Shaun of Red Dove Record Productions and his wife Cherise. The show is an extension of the Ragland’s USA Cooking Camps culinary workshops, made available to schools, children’s organizations, churches and municipalities. Ch. 20 is providing production services and will air the series twice weekly. The show is also headed for national PBS distribution and its 94 million households. On the show, five will cook, alternating with five field reporters who will accompany a camera crew to a location in answer to questions submitted via Emails, and five play in the Jr. Cuisine Band, says Jim White, Ch. 20 producer who is directing the series. Each week they’ll welcome a surprise guest chef, who will demonstrate a special dish, The producers received an overwhelming response to casting calls posted on Facebook starting last March. The well-organized auditions took place over four weekends at Macy’s State Street Culinary Studio “and went like clockwork,” White says. “The guidelines were, we wanted real kids, who were good on camera, natural and spontaneous. We made sure they were available to appear in all 13 episodes once they were selected. “The auditions were also a great experience for the parents, who were very supportive of the program,” says White.  “We had the first 120 callbacks at Ch. 20 and then brought back 40 and the final 15 two weeks ago. It was a very difficult choice because there were so many great, talented kids.” Making sure the cast was diverse was an issue at the very beginning, White notes. “We felt this was an ideal PBS show and we wanted it to be all-inclusive.” The audition winners fit the producers’ diversity goal: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian and Indian. Twelve of the children selected come from far Chicago suburbs; two are from Chicago; one from Traverse City, Michigan and one from Alexandria, Virginia. The producers are paying union fees for all 15 hosts. Taping the first show will take place Aug. 18-19 at the Sears-owned Kenmore Studios in River North. Often used by The Food Channel, the studio is equipped with all the latest Kenmore appliances. There’s room for a studio audience of 50, which will be comprised of the youngsters who auditioned for the show. “Everything is there. All we have to do is bring our cameras,” White says. —Ruth L Ratny |
