The Truth About Jaine Mackievicz From The Julia Child Challenge

The new Food Network competition show "The Julia Child Challenge" will focus on eight home cooks who are die-hard fans of the legendary chef. Contestants will prepare a wide range of dishes to impress the judges with their culinary skills and will even incorporate ingredients that have been used by Julia Child herself (via Food Network).

Celebrity chef and TV star Antonia Lofaso will appear on the show as head judge and will be joined by other culinary superstars such as Molly Baz, Brooke Williamson, and Cliff Crooks who will be making guest appearances as judges for the competition. Enthusiastic fans don't need to wait too long — the show will be available to watch on discovery+ and the Food Network starting on March 14. 

One of the contestants who'll be competing for top honors on "The Julia Child Challenge" is Jaine Mackievicz, a writer from Oceanside, California. Last month, she wrote about looking up to Julia Child in a moving post on Instagram. "Six years ago I decided to live my dream," the post began. "This dream was solely based on developing my love for food based on the cooking lessons Julia Child gave to the world."

According to her Instagram post, Jaine Mackievicz moved to Boston (where Julia Child used to stay) from the Amazon in a bid to hone her passion for food and focus on her dreams. "...I learned English enough so I could read Julia's books," she wrote, "then I became a food writer so I could definitely transform my passion into reality and maybe one day write my own cookbook, just like Julia did. In my dreams, all I wanted was just to be a little bit like her."

According to Cherry Bombe, Mackievicz was raised by Polish immigrants and attended law school but couldn't resist the world of food. She decided to chase her passion after receiving her degree and moved to the United States.

The Brazilian writer admitted on Instagram that she still can't believe that she was selected to compete on a show that pays tribute to her favorite chef of all time and thinks that it's "surreal" that she's working on recipes created by Julia Child herself. She added, "Dreams do come true. And I am SO happy! I will share everything with you...cheers to Julia, one of the loves of my life."