By Mitchell Clarke
At just six-years-old, Jaxon Shaw is one of the country’s absolute best on the barbecue.
The Kooweerup kid grew up in the kitchen as his father’s shadow so it was a given that he’d grow to love cooking.
When Jaxon’s father, Ash Shaw stumbled across Kids Que Nation on Facebook, he knew it was the perfect program to get involved in.
Kids Que Nation, which was founded two years ago, is an initiative which aims to provide kids with basic cooking skills by also removing a significant amount of “screen time” from the lives of children.
Over the last two years, the program has grown into a national series which will see more than 20 competitions held across five states throughout the year.
“In 2019, Jaxon finished in the Top 10 nationally and he is also already ranking in the top two for our 2020 series,” Kids Que Nation founder Matt Staunton said.
“At each competition the kids are given two steaks and an hour and a half to cook them on charcoal grills or smokers before handing in to a table of judges.
“At only six-years-old and in his second year of competition, Jaxon has worked hard to be at the top of his game.”
In his second ever competition, Jaxon managed to place third at the Sydney International.
He’s currently sitting second in the Australian championship, following three tournaments this year where he came first in Geelong, second in Morwell and within the top 10 in Adelaide.
“We have three New South Wales trips planned including this year’s invitational, another South Australian trip and a couple more competitions in Melbourne to keep us busy,” Mr Shaw said.
“Matthew Staunton and the guys at Kids Que Nation are mostly unsung heroes but his tireless work in organising and attending these events is incredible.”
Mr Shaw said watching on as his young son took out third at last year’s invitational event was a truly “surreal” moment.
“To see him up on stage next to some much bigger kids, I couldn’t have been prouder especially after seeing how hard he worked in the weeks leading up… it was certainly well deserved,” he added.
And as for Jaxon’s absolute specialty?
“My favourite thing Jaxon has cooked for me was steak tacos with pico de gallo salsa – they were incredible but steak alone is his specialty,” Mr Shaw said.
“My favourite food is definitely steak but I like cooking pork belly as well,” Jaxon added.
If you want to keep up to date with Jaxon’s future cooking quests, visit www.facebook.com/MoistBBQ/.
