Like many children on the autism spectrum, Chase Bailey grew up as a picky eater.

As an infant, he refused to take a bottle. When it came to baby foods, he rejected bananas and everything else except green beans, potatoes, chicken and rice.

“Jell-O freaked him out. He didn’t like ice cream,” recalled his mother, Mary Bailey of Irvine. “One of the symptoms of autism is extreme food aversion. I thought, ‘This is insanity. He’s not just a picky eater. It’s so much more than that.’”

Chase’s tastes were so specific that his mother could count on one hand what he would eat: Trader Joe’s-brand chocolate chip cookies; pizza, but only from Little Caesars; chicken stars with french fries from Carl’s Jr.; and five-layer dip with tortilla chips.

“It was pretty scary. It was affecting his health, his nutrient intake. We tried all these different therapies,” Bailey said. “It was just a struggle.”

Then, at around age 8, Chase stumbled across the Food Network.

“He started watching the cooking channels, eventually filling up the DVR with cooking show after cooking show. It introduced him to food in a safe way,” Bailey remembered. “Then it was, OK, I want to try this.”

Mother and son began cooking together at home, and Chase became more daring about what he would eat. He became interested in the food truck movement and announced that he wanted to be a chef, food blogger or cooking show host when he grew up.

But at the same, Bailey recalls, he was struggling in his traditional special education class, despite having a shared aide assigned to help him. Observing Chase in class, Bailey saw how distracted he was, and how he seemed to simply rely on his peers to guide him.

“His academics were suffering. I figured I had four or five good years before he turns 18, and if we don’t do something, he’s going to get lost. Maybe we should look at home-schooling,” she said.

So Bailey asked her son what it was next year that he really wanted to learn.

“I don’t care, Mom,” Chase answered, “as long as it has to do with food.”

So Bailey quit her corporate job to home-school Chase.

Today, she writes his curriculum to revolve around his love of cooking. One unit was themed colonial cuisine and incorporated American history with visits to Riley’s Farm in Yucaipa and to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

“With cooking and with food, there’s a whole world to draw upon,” said Bailey. “There’s math in going to the grocery store, budgeting, weights and measures, time. And there’s geography, learning about different cultures. It really is a great basis for him to learn.”

Now, the 13-year-old kid who as a toddler would not speak or make eye contact, chats on camera in an online cooking show he hosts called “Chase ‘N Yur Face.”

He introduces each segment by smiling at the camera, snapping the fingers on both hands, and pointing at the audience as he cheerfully says, “Now, it’s time for Chase (snap), ‘N Yur Face.” The family has even heard from teachers from as far away as South Dakota who have incorporated his videos into their life-skills curricula.

“This, for me, it’s a miracle,” Bailey said. “You’re talking about a kid who didn’t speak, didn’t properly play with toys. Now, thanks to incredible early intervention, therapists and having great support, he’s come so far.”

Chase and his mother taped their early segments in a friend’s kitchen. But now the show has gotten more high-tech, with a professional cameraman whom the Baileys first met at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders in San Juan Capistrano. The first chef to appear on one of Chase’s shows was famed Kogi BBQ truck owner Roy Choi, who agreed to tape a segment after Chase asked him in an email.

“Chefs are very giving by nature, and they’ve been so generous with Chase,” said Bailey.

Chase taped a segment with chef Greg Daniels at his Orange restaurant, Haven Gastropub, in honor of Autism Awareness Month in April. Daniels taught Chase how to cook a macaroni and cheese recipe modified with some special ingredients, such as bacon and habanero chilis, suggested by Chase.

“It’s fun to see kids excited about cooking, especially in this way when they’re using it to overcome their own challenges,” said Daniels. “He’s just really into it. You can see he’s getting something out of it.”

Daniels said he relates to the Bailey family’s struggles with food because his 3-year-old daughter, Madeleine, has a rare condition known as Treacher Collins syndrome, which required her to use a feeding tube. For her first two years of life, she would throw up anything she ate and developed serious food aversions, Daniels recalls.

“Just in the past four months, we’ve been getting her to eat with her mouth, and we’ve gotten her excited about food through cooking. We’ve used it as a form of feeding therapy,” said Daniels.

Under Daniels’ tutelage, Chase made a roux and then a béchamel sauce, combining it with cheese before adding the macaroni.

After sprinkling on a generous helping of bacon and some habanero seasoning, the pair cooked the dish.

When it came out of the oven and cooled, Chase said to the camera: “Now it’s time for my favorite part, the taste test.”

“Mmmm,” Chase loudly exclaimed. “That is good.”

Walter Pridgen, an acting coach who has worked with Chase for six months, said he has seen Chase progressively come out of his shell and become more confident in front of the camera.

“When we first started, he was locked onto the script. Now he’s gotten more confident to where he’s improvising some of the dialogue,” said Pridgen.

Though Chase is uncomfortable around large groups of people, he enjoys being in front of a camera because he knows if he makes a mistake, there can be another take, he said.

Cooking has also dramatically improved his fine motor skills, which have always been a struggle, said Bailey. Now, Chase is trying to master a new challenge of multitasking: socializing with someone at the same time that he’s cooking.

For his part, Chase said he just loves doing the show and hopes to run a food truck – perhaps called Demon Burger – someday.

Mary Bailey said she knows cooking isn’t for everyone, but hopes that their story might inspire other parents of autistic children to find out what most interests their children and create their own life curricula around those passions.

“It’s meant to encourage parents and kids to look outside the box,” said Bailey.

“What is it my child needs? What kind of support system do I have? What resources are available to me? Am I willing to make changes myself and learn something new to help my child?”

Chase Bailey’s cooking show segments – and Mary Bailey’s blog – can be found online at chasenyurface.com.

Mac ’n’ Chase (‘N Yur Face)

This recipe is a modified version of Haven Gastropub’s

mac ’n’ cheese recipe served in the restaurant

April 14 to raise awareness of autism.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

1 cup grated Fontina cheese

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 ounces butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups cold whole milk

1 ounce minced black truffle peelings, see cook’s notes

1 pound elbow macaroni pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions, drained

1/4 teaspoon habanero seasoning (dehydrated and ground habanero chilies – can substitute your favorite hot sauce)

1 cup panko breadcrumbs or coarse fresh breadcrumbs

2 slices bacon, crisp

1 green onion, chopped

Cook’s notes: Black truffle peelings are sold in small cans. They are available at upscale supermarkets, Surfas Culinary District in Costa Mesa and online at amazon.com.

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cheese blend: mix grated cheeses in large bowl. Set aside.

2. Prepare sauce: Melt butter over medium heat in large saucepan. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is cooked but not browned (it will smell nutty). Add milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Stirring, bring to a simmer and immediately reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until raw flour taste is gone, about 10 to 15 minutes. Pass mixture through a strainer into a large bowl. Add minced black truffle, mixing thoroughly. Stir in 2/3 of the grated cheese mixture and habanero seasoning (or hot sauce), allowing cheese to melt and incorporate.

3. Add pasta and mix thoroughly. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Top with remaining grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle bacon, green onion and habanero seasoning on top.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated, being careful not to burn the top. If top starts to over-brown before mixture it heated through, tent loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.