With 24,000 YouTube subscribers and her own TV show, five-year-old chef Jehan Razdan has already had a significant impact in the culinary world, inspiring thousands of would-be gourmets to don an apron and roll up their sleeves.

Her appearance at the 10^th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, which runs until April 28 at Expo Centre Sharjah,  lived up to her reputation as not only an accomplished chef but also as a star with a sensational stage presence.

As she worked through a series of recipes, including an apple and pineapple dessert, the mini-masterchef entertained the packed live cookery area with songs and stories while keeping them fully informed with a running commentary of her menus and mixing methods in the process.

With clear and concise instructions and demonstrations with the ice cubes in the mocktail and the ice cream in the dessert, Jehan broke away from her commentary and launched into what appeared to be a nursery rhyme beginning with “Once upon a time…”, but instead of a story of levity, the crowd were given the theory of gravity.

Using an apple as a prop, the young presenter relayed the tale of how Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree when an apple fell on his head. This, she informed the transfixed onlookers, made him think about why the apple fell down and not up and so he discovered the concept of gravity.