LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Wisconsin’s very own rising culinary star made it to the semifinals and season finale of a Food Network competition show, catapulting her and her baking abilities into the spotlight.
Carly Van Pelt, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Lake Geneva, made it to the semifinals of Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship” (KBC). She placed fourth overall in the first episode of a two-part season finale.
Carly Van Pelt and her family had a watch party Monday night to watch the two-part finale with her friends and family.
“It’s pretty exciting, to be honest, watching it back,” Carly Van Pelt said. “Because a lot of the things I didn’t really see, because when you’re baking, you’re just focused on you and yourself, so you’re not really worrying about what other people are doing. It’s been really fun to just see what other people made.”
Nearly her entire class from school came to the watch party her family hosted to cheer her on.
There were also tons of strangers cheering her on, too.
Carly Van Pelt’s mom, Tricia Smith Van Pelt, said her daughter has become a role model for kid bakers.
It’s a full circle moment. Carly Van Pelt grew up watching “Kids Baking Championship” and said when she was little, she looked up to the competitors on the show.
“I think the other really surprising thing about this whole process is the number of little kids that have reached out to Carly, whether it be an old college roommate or a family member’s niece or nephews, so-and-so. Like, my cousin’s boss sent us a video last night of his three-year-old son cheering Carly on [while watching the finale],” Tricia Smith Van Pelt said. “So these little strangers have just come out of the woodworks. They send her videos, fan mail. We’ve gotten Instagram reach outs from all these young bakers so — I get like a little emotional talking about. She’s inspiring this next generation of bakers, just like the kids on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ did for her. And I wasn’t expecting it.”
Despite that fan mail and those Instagram followers, Carly Van Pelt has stayed true to herself, and even after making it to the semifinals, she’s stayed humble.
“Something I’ve probably learned from the show is how to stay humble,” Carly Van Pelt said. “Also to just kind of like trust process and go with it. You can just, like, try your best and whatever comes out will be what it needs to be.”
And when she tried her best, it certainly paid off.
Her favorite challenge was a partner challenge, where teams of two worked on a half-human, half-dog cake. Carly Van Pelt and her partner, Jack Whalen, made a half-doctor, half-poodle, cake.
“My favorite one was probably the ‘Dog Man’ cakes [that we did in episode three], when me and Jack worked together,” she said. “I thought it was really fun working with a partner, and Jack was really easy to work with. He made it fun … and the ‘Dog Man’ cakes were fun because I like making cakes and I got to do the doctor half. That’s why I was really excited.”
Carly Van Pelt’s half of the cake was a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and a bacon jam. While they didn’t win the challenge, the judges admitted they were big fans of the duo’s creation.
“The judges were like very nice in real life. They were all really kind and they’re different than how you would think they were, because they’re like a real person,” Carly Van Pelt said. “They’re really nice.”
Another one of her favorite episodes was the fourth one, when contestants were tasked with making a beach- or ocean-themed dessert. She made coconut, white chocolate blondies with a salty crunch. When she won that challenge, she also won a Disney Cruise Line vacation for her and her family.
The win, she said, was totally unexpected at the time.
The fifth-grade baker is still riding the high of being on “Kids Baking Championship.” She’s using that momentum to get to work on her next project.
“We’re talking to a couple of book publishers and things,” Carly Van Pelt said. “I really want to do a cookbook in the future because I have some really fun recipes that would be nice to share with everybody.”
From sweet treats to healthier snacks, Carly Van Pelt wants to put her favorite creations on paper for everyone to enjoy.
“Some of my favorite recipes, I really like my blondies. I also like making protein bars. So I have a really good protein bar recipe that’s really good,” she said.
Regardless of where life — and baking — takes her next, (Carly Van Pelt shared she dreams of being a veterinarian when she grows up) her family said they are so proud of not only how well she did on KBC, but of Carly Van Pelt herself.
“I don’t even think pride is the right word. That’s an understatement. Our hearts are busting,” Tricia Smith Van Pelt said.
“It’s just been such an awesome ride for her and like I said, we couldn’t be more proud and the community has just been so supportive. It’s been all positive.”
Aly Prouty - Digital Media Producer
Aly Prouty is a digital producer for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky. An award-winning, multimedia journalist, she holds an honors B.A. in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in journalism and media studies from The University of Alabama.
