10-year-old Madeira baker to compete in the Food Network's 'Kids Baking Championship'

A young Cincinnati baker will appear on Food Network and Discovery+ this month as she competes in the "Kids Baking Championship."

Ten-year-old Lucia Calonge from Madeira will be one of 12 young bakers competing in the dessert competition series, which will return at 8 p.m. Dec. 27 for the 10th season.

"Kids Baking Championship," hosted by Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman, will feature kids ages 8 to 11 in a variety of challenges, including kitchen sink sweets, cream puffs and dessert imposters.

The winning baker will earn a spot in Food Network Magazine and the title of Kids Baking Champion.

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Fifth-grader Lucia said she began watching "Kids Baking Championship" along with her aunt when spending more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. She then applied for the show after wanting to be like the kids she had seen on TV.

Her favorite thing to bake?

"Cake," Lucia said, "Because I love to draw and I love to decorate. It's like having a piece of paper that's actually cake and I can draw whatever I want on it."

The show was filmed in August at the Discovery Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Lucia said she loved meeting the other contestants and is still friends with them.

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Her mom, Vicki Calonge, said it was amazing to watch Lucia achieve her dream.

"This was the first thing she was passionate about that she flourished in," Calonge said. "It was also nerve-wracking: I knew how hard she had worked, how much she had practiced and baked. It's a lot for a 10-year-old, but she handled it so amazingly and I was so impressed."

The finale will feature the four remaining contestants in a two-hour episode and will air Feb. 21.

Competitors include:

• Nadya Alborz: 10, Knoxville, Tennessee.

• Joseph Bostick: 10, San Diego, California.

• Lucia Calonge: 10, Cincinnati.

• Santiago Corso: 11, Huntington Beach, California.

• Caroline Gross: 10, York, Pennsylvania.

• Summer Haque: 10, Yorba Linda, California.

• Ellora Martinez: 9, Yorba Linda, California.

• Sarah Patel: 10, Knoxville, Tennessee.

• Riya Shah: 11, Fort Meyers, Florida.

• Finley Sheers: 10, McLean, Virginia.

• Benjamin Steinhauser: 8, Hillsborough, New Jersey.

• Ava-Leigh Wright: 10, Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information on the "Kids Baking Championship," competitors and episodes, visit www.foodnetwork.com/shows/kids-baking-championship.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Food Network's 'Kids Baking Championship' to feature Cincinnati baker