Valerie Bertinelli Reflects on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ Exit: ‘In Excellent Hands’

Valerie Bertinelli reflected on her shocking exit as the cohost of Kids Baking Championship, while gushing over Kardea Brown, who stepped in as the new face of the competitive series.

The TV hosts appeared on the Monday, November 4, episode of the Drew Barrymore Show and they couldn’t stop fangirling over each other.

“Val, you were the host of the Kids Baking Championship,” Drew, 49, said to Valerie during her introduction.

The Golden Globe winner, 64, chimed in, “And it’s now in excellent hands.”

During the live segment, Kardea, 36, taught Drew and Ross Mathews how to cook fish tacos alongside Valerie. Kardea revealed that she learned how to master the dish from Valerie, who replied, “Oh, stop it you did not.”

“Oh, absolutely! Look we’re not going to talk about how much I’m going to fangirl but I’ll fangirl backstage,” Kardea gushed to Valerie.

The Hot in Cleveland star shocked fans when she announced that she was not returning to Kids Baking Championship after she faced the brunt of budget cuts within The Food Network.

“I wanted to sleep on it because it really hurt my feelings, and I know it’s not supposed to. Logically, I know that it’s business, budget cuts, right? But it really hurt my feelings to know that I’m not going to be asked back to be on Kids Baking Championship,” Valerie said in a video via Instagram on January 20. Later in the video, Valerie gushed over her eight-year gig in the series.

“Oh my God, these people work so hard to give you an amazing show. And all of those kids bakers that I got to watch grow up: I feel so lucky,” Valerie confessed. “And to all the bakers [who] are coming in for the new season, even though I won’t be there, I’ll be with you in spirit. I just want you to remember this: You are there for a reason [and] you’re some of the best bakers in America right now and if you don’t make it to the next round, please always remember [that] it’s not because you’re not a good baker, you just had a bad day.”

The following day, Valerie revealed that she wasn’t in talks with the network to renew her contract.

“I got an inkling I might not be asked back when I saw I was not in the holiday specials. I got a text by a third party on Friday that told me I would not be back,” she wrote via X at the time. “LOL I was basically ghosted.”

Valerie’s manager Marc Schwartz backed her story days later in a statement to Variety.

“Her deal expired, they opted not to renew it. They could have come to me with an offer just for Kids. They never did. Simple as that,” he told the publication on January 23.

Kardea was announced as the new cohost of Kids Baking Championship in October, and she shared how “thrilled” she was to join the series in a statement.

“I look forward to celebrating the holidays with fans and celebrating these extra special and talented bakers, big and small, and all their incredible creations,” Kardea said.