LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Carly Van Pelt, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Lake Geneva, is heading to TV screens across the country.
Van Pelt is a competitor on the new season of Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship,” (KBC) which premieres on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
It’s a perfect season for Van Pelt to make her television debut: Season 13 of KBC is animal themed and Van Pelt is a huge self-proclaimed animal lover.
In fact, baking animal treats is one of her signature specialties. She’s the owner of VP’s treats, which makes baked goods for dogs, horses and humans.
“I’ve always loved to bake — for a while — but also I love animals. So I was like, ‘How about I combine the two, baking and animals?’ So I decided why not make some dog treats. I made a couple batches and I realized, ‘You know what? My dogs like them. A few other neighbors’ dogs like them. Maybe I could sell these,’” she said.
“So me and my family went to a farmer’s market and we started selling horse treats, dog treats and human treats — like chocolate covered pretzels. And then people were like, ‘Can you make this cake for my 40th birthday?’ So that’s kind of where it started.”
The young entrepreneur said her dog treats are different from others on the market because they are all fresh, made with organic ingredients.
“Something that kind of makes my dog treats or horse treats a little bit different is because a lot of the time when you look on the back of a dog treat package or whatever, there’s a lot of just unnecessary things like corn syrup, food coloring,” she explained. “It’s really nice to know that everything that’s going into the treat is organic. It’s not going to be super processed or anything like that.”
Van Pelt loves animals so much that she wants to be a veterinarian when she is older. An homage to her passion for animals, she sports signature leopard print glasses, too.
She already has two dogs and loves reptiles. Recently, she said she’s been begging for a horse. Her family did gift her a new puppy, Leo, as a welcome home gift when she returned to Wisconsin after filming.
While she’s passionate about animals, baking brings her just as much joy. She started baking when she was about 2-years-old.
One of the things that inspired her to get into the kitchen was watching KBC. It’s a full circle moment for Van Pelt to now be a part of the show.
“I’ve always seen lots of videos and I’ve been watching KBC for quite a while and since I’ve been pretty young. I’ve been watching and been like, ‘Wow that’s so cool,’ and ‘Those are so pretty,’ and ‘I can’t believe someone would eat that,’” she said.
Van Pelt said her favorite things to bake are custom cakes and macarons.
But her favorite thing about baking isn’t necessarily the end result — even though she had to admit that her older cousin’s sugar cookies are some of the best she’s ever tasted, while she herself loves to play with fun food coloring to make a perfect presentation.
Instead, she sees baking as a way to cultivate happiness.
“How something can make someone so happy. A dessert can really help make people feel a certain way,” she said.
Seeing their rising star on TV is an equally happy moment for Van Pelt’s family. She said her grandparents, aunts and cousins are all especially excited. After all, “Kids Baking Championship” has been a family affair for as long as Van Pelt can remember.
“Kids Baking Championship has kind of been something that my whole family has enjoyed watching since quite a while ago. Me and my mom would always be like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool one day if I could be on that show.’ But, we were like, ‘It’s kind of crazy. There’s probably no way. There’s a lot that has to go into it,’” she said. “And then, a couple years later, I was like, you know what, let’s just try.”
And then, she landed a spot.
The experience, she said, certainly met and even exceeded her wildest dreams.
“The experience was amazing, especially meeting all of the people. It’s definitely a huge thing. All of the friends I’ve made and all of the people that I still am in touch with and stuff is just an amazing experience. Just like, the pantry and all of the different things, you could do anything in that kitchen,” Van Pelt said.
Even though the contestants from Season 13 are scattered around the nation, Van Pelt said they all keep in touch. She often does video calls with Food Network friends, and they spend time making cookies and creating new concoctions in their kitchens.
She finds time to bake with her hometown friends, too.
“I have a couple friends at school who love to bake and I’ll come over and teach them something new that they have never ever made before and it’s really fun,” she said.
Van Pelt herself has gotten one-on-one baking support from local bakers Julie Michelle Cakes and Pastries by Chad.
And, of course, her family supports her, too. Some of them even hold the same love of baking.
Van Pelt said her Italian grandma bakes “all of the time.”
“She loves to make food and she never buys anything store-bought. It’s always homemade,” she said.
The family’s appreciation for a sweet treat is often seen at their Christmas dinner table. Van Pelt said there’s always a new dessert to try, since they like to mix it up. But usually, she said, there’s a variety of Italian desserts.
“Sometimes we’ll have cannolis. We always have tiramisu, which is one of my personal favorites, and we have these little rainbow cookies that have three different layers of kind of like a sponge with chocolate and then a jam in the middle,” she said.
This year for Christmas was extra special for Van Pelt. She received a new electric mixer as a gift. Plus, her brother got her a hand mixer.
That electric mixer is her favorite baking tool for a totally relatable reason, too.
“I definitely like to use my electric mixer. That makes my arms not work as hard,” she said.
Van Pelt earned a bit of break. She worked hard on KBC.
While she couldn’t reveal how the show ended and if she won, she said she has walked away with a lot. She’s got great memories, incredible friends and valuable lessons.
“I’ve learned a lot on the show. One thing that I’ve really learned, especially with baking, is that you really just have to trust the process,” she said. “A lot of the time I was like, ‘I can’t do this right now. I feel like I can’t do it.’ But then I kept going and it would actually turn out. And it would usually turn out actually pretty good.”
She hopes as kids watch her compete, learn and grow on KBC that they feel inspired, just like she felt inspired by previous seasons of the show.
Van Pelt said she wants people to recognize that she comes from a small town, Wisconsin family. She was not born into a legacy of professional pastry chefs.
Nevertheless, she’s worked hard and tried her best. She’s been herself and that has been more than enough.
“You just try and dreams really can come true,” Van Pelt said.
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