Sear-iously High Steaks: Freshman Amelie Wong grills competition barbeque

KC Strip steak with a homemade garlic barbecue rub, roasted potatoes, skillet-fried mushroom and caramelized onions with freshly crushed peppercorns  — another Tuesday night dinner at the Wong’s.

The chef of the house was still wearing school clothes. Freshman Amelie Wong’s apron covered her East sweatpants, with heavy-duty tongs and a meat thermometer poking out of her back pocket. 

It was the same meal that Amelie has been submitting to judges at the American Royal Kids’ Barbeque competition for the past four years. 

She cooked without being asked, and the dishes would disappear from the sink later without saying. She was used to her mom bringing her siblings home from lacrosse and hockey practice just in time for dinner.

Amelie might grill “the #1 perfectly-cooked steak” in her sister Izzy and brother Travers’ eyes, but she takes them to serious competitions for the official verdict.

Every 11 to 15-year-old who competes is required to have a sponsor who’s a registered, competing adult. For Amelie, that was professional pitmaster and Chopped champion Megan Day — one of her mom’s good friends.

“We’ve sponsored all kinds of kids who have competed because it was something fun to do,” Day said. “We’ve gotten a couple of kiddos over the years that’ve been very serious. But Amelie stands out 100% as the most serious competitor we’ve had.”

For all the time Amelie spends barbequing, it’s frequently assumed that she wants to be a professional chef. She doesn’t really — putting full-effort into the task at hand is just part of her personality, as a straight-A student who can play three instruments and runs her own photography business.

“Amelie’s very motivated when it comes to something she wants to do,” Izzy said. “She only took like three guitar lessons before teaching herself how to play the rest of the way off YouTube. I think that’s why she’s so good at barbequing.” 

Amelie grew up baking and cooking, much to her family’s delight. Apple pies for holidays. Chocolate chip cookies that stayed crispy-but-soft for days, according to Izzy — she’s yet to taste better. Chicken orzo soup. Homemade fettuccine alfredo so delicious that Travers once bribed her with $7 to make.

Izzy raves about how Amelie can make anything with a recipe and the right ingredients — she and Travers would never have the patience.

When the Wongs were little and Izzy and Travers left for practice, Amelie preferred to stay in and bake cookies. Izzy’s knee-length boy shorts and unevenly slashed bob clashed with Amelie’s pink dresses and long “girly” hair hiding her face. Amelie always liked to be different from her siblings, spending her summers splashing in the Milburn pool while Izzy and Travers played video games in the clubhouse. 

Amelie played lacrosse for three years too but didn’t love it — she hadn’t found “her sport.” When her mom signed her up for the Kid’s Barbeque competition, she agreed because it was at least something different. Fourth-grade Amelie thought, I’ll go down and grill some steak and just have fun. 

“Fun” ended up being crowned 38th out of 39 chefs — almost dead last. 

“Let’s just say, it was not my greatest year,” Amelie said.

She vowed to improve, spending spare weekends behind the grill and sometimes barbequing multiple times per school week. Day tracks Amelie’s progress through her Instagram posts which show her trying new techniques, kitchen gadgets or flavor combinations, noting Amelie’s most admirable trait in her opinion — enthusiasm to practice. 

Maybe Amelie’s “sport” had more to do with aprons than shin guards.

“Just like when her siblings lose a sports game, she was a little disappointed in herself,” Amelie’s mom Heather said. “But when we got home and I asked if she wanted to do it again next year, Amelie was like, ‘Absolutely.’ You could tell she had made up her mind to get good.”

At family friend get-togethers when Izzy, Travers and the other kids played frisbee and tag, Amelie stood quietly by the Weber with the adults, mesmerized by the steaming steaks. Her parents’ friends began requesting her New York strip steak when they came over. Steak rubs were kept in regular stock in the Wong pantry.

Competition year two: 36th out of 50. 

Year three: 10th. 

Ask Amelie what she wants to do when she grows up, and she’ll smile and shrug. Day hopes Amelie will go into cooking, but her family can see her succeeding in any field. Whatever she decides, she’ll always be able to grill a mean steak.

“When I come home and the whole house smells good, that’s when I know Amelie’s cooking,” Izzy said.