Abigail and Kenneth Wolf have made it through the semifinals in the Food Network’s Baking Championship: Next Gen.
The two siblings have had sterling performances in each of the first eight sessions. Their baking has been judged as delicious, clever and well done, with a couple of “perfects” from judges Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown.
Dan and Erica Wolf of rural Geneseo are their proud parents, and they have a sister, Lucy, who is a competitive gymnast. Dad Dan farms and Mom Erica homeschools all three children. Each of the kids help with farm chores and tend the large garden that produces fruits and vegetables for freezing and canning.
The sister and brother team, ages 14 and 10, often led the others as they met each week’s challenge. From a decorated cake that symbolized their farming roots to Monday night’s Cat in the Hat themed dessert, they met each assignment head on.
Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat was selected by Goldman and Brown as the theme. Each team was to create an animal, give it a clever name, rhyme and helpful skill, and create it in just two and a half hours. The teams chose names such as “a frog on a log”, “a bee with a key,” and “a yeti with confetti.” However, the Wolf team chose “Blake the snake on a cake, with a rake,” and he became their winning mascot.
Abigail made a no bake lemon cheesecake as the base. For the helpful reptile, Kenneth made his famous pâte à choux and filled them with a creamy strawberry filling. The small puffs were then dipped in melted chocolate and arranged on the cheesecake to resemble a snake. Abigail decorated each to resemble the scales on a snake. Kenneth added a forked tongue, a slender tail and a rake, all from colored fondant.
Judge Brown gave Abigail kudos for her cheesecake crust, saying it had the right crispness and flavor. Both Brown and Goldman differed just slightly on Kenneth’s puffs, but in the end, they agreed they were great.
The baking contest is Food Network’s first involving young siblings, and the teams spent a large part of last summer in Bakersfield, Calif., being filmed and making friends with the other contestants. They are not allowed to tell anyone who the winners are, but they have been on local TV and a Chicago radio station talking about their experiences.
The contest will soon come to a close, with the winning team receiving a $25,000 prize and recognized as the baking contest champions for 2026.
Next Monday’s episode will be featured on the Food Network at 7 p.m. Central time. It’s a sweet deal.
