Orlando’s own Brooklyn Barrett has recently made her TV debut as an up-and-coming culinary wunderkind baking her way through the newest season of Kids Baking Championship.

Moving halfway across the country is a lot to juggle and navigate, but Brooklyn Barrett still decided to go for her dreams amid her family’s relocation from the Midwest to Orlando.

That’s when she took the plunge and applied for Kids Baking Championship, a Food Network show where young bakers face off in an array of timed, themed challenges. With so much going on, though, she had forgotten all about throwing her toque into the ring to be considered for a show only accepting 12 young bakers for its 13th season—so when she got the call that she’d been selected as a contestant on her very first time applying, Brooklyn admits she was “super surprised.”

She’s also pretty excited to share her love of baking with a televised audience. And when the show premiered Jan. 6, she was surrounded by her equally excited family, who threw a watch party to celebrate a young baker on the rise. 

Of course, we can’t give you any spoilers about Brooklyn’s competitive-baking debut, but we are thrilled to help the precocious 12 year old tell her story. Read on to find out how she’s carrying on the family legacy of whipping up sweet treats, how she and her loved ones reacted to her big news, and how she’s already taking the steps to turn her dreams into a reality. 

Orlando Family Magazine: So how did you fall in love with baking? 

Brooklyn Barrett: I’ve been baking with my parents since I was 3 years old. When I got a little older in school, math became super hard. My mom bakes a lot, so she decided to teach me how to do math through baking and measuring ingredients. It made learning fun—and now I’m especially good at fractions because of it. [Laughs] I’ve definitely gotten way better since when I first started baking, and I also like the challenging stuff more than I like the easier stuff. 

OFM: Do you have a favorite thing to bake?

BB: Yes, so I like making macarons and cheesecake. I don’t really like cheesecake but I like macarons, and I am actually pretty good at making them. My favorite flavor combination is probably dulce de leche. 

OFM: What inspired you to apply for Kids Baking Championship?

BB: Sometimes I play this game where when they say what the kids are going to be making and what you have to do for the twists, I’ll make up my own flavor combos and see if anyone else does the same one as me. They haven’t [made what I thought of] on Kids Baking Championship, but on Chopped they did!

When I applied, we were moving from Indiana to Florida. I’d been watching Kids Baking Championship for so long and it was during the Christmas season, so I decided to turn it on. I was watching it and I just decided that I wanted to be on the show. 

OFM: What was it like for you and your loved ones when you found out you were accepted onto the show?

BB: I was actually super excited. I applied a year before they actually said I was going to be on the show so I kind of forgot about it because I’d thought, “Oh, I guess they didn’t want me to be on the show.” And then they called me! They were like, “Yeah, we want you to be on the show. You’re going to be on the show.” I was definitely super surprised. 

The first person I told was probably my mom. My friends think it’s really cool—they all set reminders to watch [the show]. For my family, we had a watch party. Everyone is so supportive, which feels really good.  

OFM: What did you learn from being on the show?

BB: It taught me to make sure I’m cleaning the kitchen as I go, and I learned that you have to be good at time management because if you ran out of time during a challenge, that’s it. 

OFM: Did having to work within certain guidelines and having those timed, themed challenges make you think more creatively? 

BB: Yes, I think that it helped me because sometimes I kind of have trouble with coming up with flavor combos by myself, and so when I had to have an ingredient in a challenge, that’s when I really feel like I get those gears going.

OFM: Do you have a favorite celebrity baker or chef?

BB: Probably Gordon Ramsey. I think it’s because he thinks out of the box and he can be extremely funny, and he goes to places all around the world and makes food that people really aren’t used to.

OFM: Do you also like to challenge the people around you to try new things? 

BB: Definitely, yeah. I’m always asking my family to try some new things that I bake. My sisters always eat it, I just have to get to my parents.

OFM: Do you want to be a baker when you grow up?

BB: Yes! My plan is to bake until I make it. Currently, my family and I own our own bakery bus, and I plan to take it over and perfect our craft while baking on the bus until I actually have my own Food Network show. 

We’ve had the bus—Just Cakin It—since 2017. It’s super cool working with my family: My uncle and I work on the bus during the summers sometimes, which is fun—and we get paid, too! Sometimes we have a bubble machine, which is a lot of fun. 

OFM: Do you have any advice for other kids who might want to take that competitive leap and audition for a baking show?

BB: I want them to know that they should always follow their dreams, no matter how hard or time-consuming it seems. And I think the parents should allow their kids to be kids and help them follow their dreams, because they’re only kids for a little while.

You can follow Brooklyn on social media @whiskitwithbrooklyn and her family’s bakery bus @JustCakinItLLC, and stream season 13 of Kids Baking Championship on the Food Network.