January 16, 2026
Provided Image/The Food Network
Abby and Cameron Bellezza, of Plymouth Meeting, are competing on the Food Network's new competition, 'Baking Championship: Next Gen.'
Abby and Cameron Bellezza have spent their childhood watching cooking competitions on the Food Network and trying to create the dishes they've seen made. Now, they're getting a chance to display their skills on the same platform.
The siblings from Plymouth Meeting are contestants on the Food Network's new series, "Baking Championship: Next Gen." They are among 12 sibling duos competing for a $25,000 prize by baking pastries and delicacies. The contestants range in age from 8 to 14.
MORE: The Rocky statue is permanently moving to the top of art museum steps
"Be prepared for the Philadelphians," Cameron, 12, says in a promotion for the show. "We're very competitive people."
Hosted by celebrity chefs Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown, the nine-episode season includes baking challenges that align with various categories, including family traditions, summer vacations and breakfast dishes. The Bellezzas came prepared.
Abby, 14, was the first in the family to fall in love with baking, a hobby that clearly rubbed off on her brother. Cameron admitted to getting jealous at his older sister's skills at a young age, and joked that he set out to "steal her spotlight" by expanding the amount of recipes he could make.
"I started baking when I was about 4," Abby said. "... Just little things like cupcakes and cookies. But once (Cameron) started baking, I kind of wasn't able to as much. He was taking all of the opportunities."
Cameron's skills quickly developed. After weeks of begging his mom to apply him for another Food Network show, "Kids Baking Championship," Cameron submitted videos of him cooking as a young child ("in his prime," as he put it) in late 2024. When the producers informed him that they were interested in hiring siblings for a new spinoff, Cameron and Abby immediately accepted.
To prepare for the competition, the siblings began baking at home under a time constraint. They also credit their participation in their schools' theater programs with helping prepare them for the pressure of TV.
"I remember when I was younger I would always say that I was going to be on 'Kids Baking Championship,'" Abby said. "So that was really cool to be able to meet these people I always saw on TV."
Cameron and Abby Bellezza, shown at Citizens Bank Park and baking in their kitchen, are contestants on the Food Network's new series 'Baking Championship: Next Gen.'
For the season premiere, which aired Jan. 5, the contestants were put through a skills test that tasked them with creating the perfect cupcake and pie. The Bellezzas said they wish they had better executed that challenge.
"The pie part wasn't as perfect as you'd think," Cameron said. "To name a few, my crust was wrong, the apples were burnt, there was no 'goo,' the crust crumbled and it didn't hold."
Despite their apparent shortcomings, the siblings qualified for the next round in which they had to make a dessert that paid homage to a family member. Cameron chose blondies in the shape of a palm tree in honor of their family members in Florida.
This time, the judges gave the contestants an opportunity to earn an additional 5 minutes of prep time by putting them through a dance battle. Cameron handily won it, saying on the show that he "danced like the wind."
"I took one for the team," he told PhillyVoice. "Not to be cocky here toward my other great competitors, but I knew it was game over. I'm like the head of wedding dancing."
But it wasn't all sugar and spice. Goldman, the self-proclaimed "blondie king," had some reservations about the consistency of the Bellezzas' dessert, but the siblings made it to the third episode, which airs Monday.
As competitive as they may be, Abby and Cameron said the best part of their experience was improving their baking skills through the advice of the celebrity judges and meeting some new friends along the way.
"I think we're both just really grateful for the experience, because we got to meet a lot of cool people that we still talk to today," Abby said. "It was a great way to learn new things about baking and show people what we could already do."
Cameron and Abby's appearance on the silver screen has granted them quite the audience and, potentially a customer base, at their schools. Cameron attends Colonial Middle School; Abby is at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
"A lot of people found out about it and I think we got a lot more people to watch, which is good," Abby said. "When the show is done airing, our plan is to do a watch party. We're going to make a highlight reel and rebake all of the things we got to make. … I think it's good if we keep it going. People ask us to bake stuff for them a lot."
"Baking Championship: Next Gen" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on the Food Network. Episodes can be streamed the next day on HBO Max.
