Someone’s cooking! Meet Molly Leighninger, a highly decorated chef at the age of ten. She even has a burger she created named the Molly Burger, of course!
Molly said “I probably got started cooking when I was 5 years old and I was inspired by my dad because my dad goes around the country and he cooks so that’s how I got into cooking. I come from a cooking family.”
They cooked together a lot and during one of the contests there was something called Kids Q. “It was basically the same thing that he did, but it was for kids.” Molly explained. Her dad said why don’t we put Molly in there, so they did. She got third place on her first contest. “I really loved to cook from then on, and I’ve been 
entering those contests not just around America anymore, but I’ve gone around the world.”
This little powerhouse has been cooking with stars – she has met celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali and talk show host/chef Rachel Ray during a performance on the Steve Harvey show where she made her famous Molly Burger. She has also spent time with Giadi De Laurentiis who is one of Molly’s favorite chefs besides her dad.
Molly does presentations at some of barbeque events especially for kids to introduce them to cooking. She noticed there are usually lots of adults who watch her too.
Molly says, “Me and my dad try new recipes a lot. It’s fun experimenting, trying a bunch of things and seeing what tastes good and what goes with which and make a new meal. It’s just really cool.”
Cooking is kind of like being a scientist; they invent all sorts of things. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Thomas Edison took 100 times to make the light bulb. What if he only did it 99 times? Then he wouldn’t have made the light bulb.
So even if what you are cooking doesn’t work; if you want to make something and it doesn’t taste the way you want it to, you can make something similar to that and just fix it a little bit. Just keep trying until you get something how you want it. Tweak it, find ways to make it better and eventually you’ll have the perfect dish.
Molly has been in about 50 different contests and has a goal of continuing to cook. When asked what her she wants to do when she grows up, Molly quickly answers that she “wants to take over her dad’s restaurants, Getting Basted, when she gets older.”
Other fun things Molly does besides cook is play a lot of sports in her free time. “I really like soccer, and I do swim team and do karate as well.
For all you kids who want to learn to cook, Molly’s advice for kids to start cooking is to “start simple, like a simple burger and work your way up. Whatever you do, don’t give up!”
Making the Molly Burger
Heat the grill to 145-150 degrees
Ingredients:
• Butter
• Wagyu beef
• Blue Hog Bold and
Beefy Seasoning
Directions:
1. Put burgers on grill for about 5 minutes
2. While burgers are cooking get the buns ready
3. Toast the buns for 30 to 40 seconds then add in layers:
Special Molly Sauce (we do know it has Worcestershire sauce in it)
Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, gouda cheese slices
4. Flip the burgers and cook for a few minutes, then add two slices of cheese on each burger.
Watch Molly make her famous burger at
To see our Onion Ring Burger recipe, click here!