Zac Kara is a talented cook who has already accomplished so much at the age of 14.  Zac made it to the top 4 of Gordon Ramsay’s MasterChef Junior cooking competition. He also has his own Youtube cooking shows, “Cooking with Zac” , “Cooking with Zac LIVE” (Periscope stream),  and “Kickback with Zac”.  Zac will also be a part of the MasterChef cruise in November.

Check out our recent interview with Zac!

upfrontNY:  How did you get involved with cooking?

Zac Kara: For my family, the kitchen really is the centre point of our lives. I always remember being in the kitchen, but hanging out or doing homework. My mom always used to get us involved from whisking the flour for warm and delicious cookies to picking cilantro leaves off the stems. I have to tell you that I hated that job. I always used to watch cooking shows and one day I started to wonder, why can’t I be one of those chefs? And that was it. I started to wonder how my mom made food everyday and before you know it, I enrolled myself onto an online culinary school, and next thing you know, my mom is staring at me in wonder as I broke down a whole chicken, made dinner, and made homemade chicken stock.

 

upfrontNY: Do you remember when you first knew you wanted to be a chef?

Zac Kara: I love cooking. I love that you have endless possibilities and you get to create not only food, but memories and experiences. I have always associated cooking with this and the look I get on people’s eyes and their smiles made me realize that I could do something exciting so that is when I started to think I could really enjoy this!

 

upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your experience on Master Chef Junior and what was the best part of this experience?

Zac Kara: My experience on MasterChef Junior was an incredible journey that truly made me grow not only as a chef, but as a person. I made so many great friends, and met some incredible people from the staff, to the crew, and of course the judges.

 

upfrontNY: You will be a part of the MasterChef Cruise in November. Can you tell us about the cruise and what you are looking forward to most?

Zac Kara:  The MasterChef Cruise is a 7 day crazy fun adventure, full of amazing stops all over the Caribbean. There will also be challenges where previous MasterChef contestants will not only be battling between themselves but the passengers.

 

upfrontNY: You have several YouTube Cooking Shows, what has it been like to share your love of cooking with others?

Zac Kara: Sharing my love for food, has truly been a heart warming experience that I can’t describe. I get messages almost every day, saying how they started cooking because of me, and how I am inspiring them. So that truly is so amazing that I can reach out to people young and old. So many of us are not learning to cook and it’s important to learn how to fuel your body! So for something as easy and fun as making and editing a video on how to cook, can be so inspiring to people It’s an amazing feeling.

 

upfrontNY: At only 14 years old you have had so many amazing experiences. What advice do you have for other teenagers who are interested in learning to cook or becoming a chef?

Zac Kara: My best advice truly is to be free. That’s it. The first thing to do if you want to learn how to cook is to just do it. Start off with something easy and that you enjoy eating. Maybe it’s a burger, a steak sandwich or chicken, whatever that may be, learn how to cook that. Start with something you enjoy to eat so it will be fun to cook. Have fun cooking, experimenting!

 

upfrontNY: If you could cook for any 3 people, who would they be?

Zac Kara: Ooh that’s a tough one…They would probably have to be Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Stephen Curry.

 

upfrontNY: What do you like to do when you are not cooking?

Zac Kara: I actually love to direct, edit and film YouTube videos. I also love playing tennis and video games.

 

upfrontNY: What is next for you?

Zac Kara: I actually have a few really exciting and upcoming projects. I am also filming my new cooking show for YouTube. I am also going to be dropping a new cookbook on delicious meals that I can’t wait to share with everybody. Lastly, I am going to keep cooking, and doing what I love. I don’t know what that bumpy road ahead of me has planned, however I’m excited to learn and look forward to new adventures.