Chuck Hughes challenges kids to get creative in the kitchen

Celebrity chef Chuck Hughes is best known for his lobster poutine and his popular Food Network show, Chuck's Day Off.

But now the Montrealer and Iron Chef winner has another project up his sleeve: a French-language cooking show that challenges kids aged 10 to 14 to get creative in the kitchen.

La Relève is co-hosted by Hughes and fellow TV chef Hakim Chajar, and features weekly challenges to put the kids' skills to the test.

Working with kids makes it a lot more fun, and a little bit more honest and real.- Chuck Hughes, Chef

"I got to travel Quebec and find 20 of the best kids between 10 and 14 who love to cook, who are passionate," Hughes told CBC's Homerun.

"We had somewhere around 1,500 kids apply."

As the youngest Canadian chef to win the Iron Chef competition and a judge on the Food Network's Chopped: Canada, Hughes knows his way around a TV kitchen.

"I've done a couple competition shows in my day," said Hughes. "Working with kids makes it a lot more fun, and a little bit more honest and real."

Hughes, who co-owns popular Montreal restaurants Garde Manger and Le Bremner, got his own start at a young age, cooking with his mom in their kitchen at home.

"My mom is a typical French chef, she's a hoarder of food," he said. "She doesn't throw away anything."

A Chopped-style challenge for Chuck

Homerun tried to put Hughes to the test Thursday, asking him to invent recipes using unlikely ingredient pairings suggested by listeners. 

Calamari and vodka? Strawberries and pork chops? Pickled beets and cheese? 

But Hughes isn't so sure there's much to be gained by the so-called "mystery basket" approach.

"You know what, you could probably make something up, but I just don't want to. To respect food, we need to move on."