Rural Missouri - February 2022 - 49

when he would let her add spices to what he was cooking.
" I guess the love of cooking kind of runs in the family, " Molly
says, adding her younger siblings, Elley and Hudson, have competed
but aren't as eaten up with competing as much as she is.
Her first competition was at the famed American Royal World
Series of Barbecue in Kansas City where dozens of teams vie for
the delicious win.
" She entered sliders in the Kids Que competition, " Brad recalls,
noting those competitions are for kids under the age of 16.
" Molly won fourth place which we feel was really good since she
was up against 75 or more competitors. "
Brad says he tries to make as many of the contests turn into
family trips. Most of those also host Kids Ques for young chefs
like Molly, so she competes whenever possible.
According to Brad, it was at the American Royal where producers
from the Food Network learned about Molly's culinary abilities.
" They called us and then held a Skype interview with Molly, "
Brad says. " She's outgoing and holds her own in a conversation,
so that along with her culinary interest got her an invite to
Alabama for the World Food Championships and later to film the
show 'MasterChef Junior.' "
Soon television talk show host Steve Harvey invited Molly to
be on his show to prepare her Molly Burger for the audience. For
Molly, the best surprise was that Steve invited TV chef Rachael
Ray to join them on stage as a guest and taste tester.
" She kept saying my burger was 'amazing' and even asked me
for the recipe, " Molly says of her 2017 appearance.
Steve also invited Molly to represent the show as a special
correspondent during the Food Network's New York Wine & Food
Festival. The experience allowed the confident young cook to meet
even more famed chefs, including Geoffrey Zakarian, Giada De
Laurentiis, Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fieri. Giada invited Molly to
film with her, and Molly jumped at the opportunity.
According to Brad, while the pandemic halted traveling to competitions
for the restaurant team or Molly, the events have started
opening up again this year. With too many wins to count, Brad
and the Gettin' Basted team's most recent win garnered them the
Grand Champion victory of the 32nd Jack Daniel's World Championship
Invitational Barbecue held in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
While the awards are great, Molly says not everything is a hit
with judges. One year Molly took a steak and turned it into tacos
and the judges weren't pleased. " They really wanted a grilled
steak, " says Molly. " Sometimes being creative doesn't get the win. "
These days, Molly is expanding her culinary repertoire to
include items like macaroons and making homemade pasta.
While a culinary track seems to be an obvious choice when
Molly graduates high school, she plans on studying business.
She's watched her parents run their restaurants and says, " I
know running the business is really the hardest part. "
She pats her dad on the shoulder and adds: " Besides, I've got
to be ready to take over the restaurants when you retire. Then
we'll add a Molly menu. "
You may contact the Leighninger family by emailing brad@
gettinbasted.com. Follow Gettin' Basted on Facebook or go to their
website, www.gettinbasted.com.
Top: Molly Leighninger chats with talk show host Steve Harvey as they film a
TV segment. He surprised the young chef by having Rachael Ray on the show so
the two could cook together. Center: Molly helps her dad spice things up as
they prepare for a competition. Bottom: Molly poses after turning in her food
at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue competition for kids.
FEBRUARY 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP XX
photos on this page courtesy Brad Leighninger
http://www.gettinbasted.com
Rural Missouri - February 2022

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