LAKEWOOD, Ohio - On Tuesday, Oct. 17, Lakewood native Abby Feyedelem will see herself on TV for the first time.

The 12-year-old girl will be featured on the Food Network show "Chopped Jr.," as she faces off against other kid chefs to create the tastiest dish for a panel of judges. The episode, titled "Play Nice With Spice," was filmed back in December 2016 and will be released as the seventh episode of the show's current season.

"We've been waiting for so long, thinking about it," said Abby. "It's going to be so cool."

"Chopped Jr." is a kid-friendly version of the show "Chopped," where contestants receive a mystery basket of ingredients and have a limited amount of time to create a meal. Though "Chopped" draws head chefs and gourmet experts to the table for a challenging competition, "Chopped Jr." is more for the fun of it, and gives kids less-complicated ingredients in their baskets.

Abby Feyedelem remembers "helping" in the kitchen as a toddler. (Photo courtesy Kristy Feyedelem)

Abby has been around a cooking lifestyle for much of her life; her father, Jude, is the director of dining for Michael Symon restaurants. She learned how to cook from him, and regularly puts together meals for her family.

Even as a toddler, Abby would "help" in the kitchen, usually by making messes that her parents would have to clean up. But those moments of being involved were important, she said. "I think those are the fundamental building blocks, doing things when you're smaller," she said. "Even if it's nothing big, it helps you with the experience when you're growing older."

Abby enjoys watching Food Network shows, especially Alton Brown's "Good Eats."

Last year, she asked her dad to help her fill out an application for "Chopped Jr." Later, they received an email asking for an interview for the show, and after several months of waiting and additional interviews, Feyedelem was accepted to participate in a filmed competition in New York City in December 2016.

Training time

Then, it was time to practice. Abby looked up cooking tutorials and memorized recipes in preparation for the competition. Her dad put together mystery baskets for her to practice creating dishes with. "That told me that I could do it, and it gave me some confidence for the future," she said.

Despite all of her preparation, Abby was still nervous when she and her father left for New York City in December. But after exploring the city and trying some NYC-style pizza, she felt prepared.

When she and the other contestants arrived at the set for the show, she said they were all amazed. "It was so cool being on the set. I grew up watching that same set, and seeing it in real life was unbelievable," she said.

Abby competed against the other chefs in the spicy pepper-themed episode. The contestants needed to use hot peppers in an appetizer. For the entree round, chefs had to make a dish out of chili peppers and goat meat. Spicy jam appeared as an ingredient in the dessert round.

Hosting as judges in the episode were chefs Ching-He Huwang and Geoffrey Zakarian, along with YouTube star Tyler Oakley.

The results of the show won't be revealed until the episode airs on Tuesday.

After "Chopped Jr.," Abby is looking to pursue cooking in the future and has set some high goals for herself.

"The experience in New York makes me want to cook there," she said. "I think I'm going to start out my career here and build myself up, then move to New York and become an executive chef."

The episode of "Chopped Jr." will air on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on Food Network.