My kitten attacks and jumps on my leg in the kitchen

I have a 4-month old kitten who I adopted 5 weeks ago. He is a fun, confident and very playful cat. He is also very loving in the evening and morning when he wants cuddle time. There is one behavior though that I can't figure out and am afraid that it will get worse if I don't figure something out soon. When I go into the kitchen, he always follows me and he will begin meowing and meowing. After a few seconds, he will launch himself against my leg - literally jump and try to attach himself to my leg. If he has even a hint of claws, it's very painful. 

I have tried walking out of the kitchen when he does it but if I give him distance and then go back, he'll just do the behavior again.

I've tried touching his face and saying "no" - I'd read somewhere that the face nudge is what mommies do to their kittens but that's not working either. 

I know that he knows the kitchen is the "food" place so I'm wondering if there's something related to his food? He has plenty of food and water throughout the day. At dinnertime, I will give him soft food.

Any thoughts on what I can do to stop this behavior? 

When I raised 5 orphan kittens they would scratch my legs up so bad climbing up for food. They would leap, climb, paw and scramble. It certainly hurts, but is all in love. You can try changing this behavior by teaching your cat to be patient for food, wearing thick pants, feeding your kitten outside of the kitchen and other techniques. Kittens usually drop this behavior if it isn't rewarded with food, attention or treats. You can pick up the kitten when it comes so it doesn't feel the need to climb or you can teach it to get up on a counter or chair to be nearer to your level.

I hope this helps some. Hang in there! Kittens are prone to this behavior, but it can be worked with.   : )

Thanks for the tips. I've tried picking him up and putting him on a chair to mixed results. He still cries every time I go into the kitchen like he's begging for soft food. He doesn't jump every time but still too much for my liking. I keep hoping that I can change this behavior but it's getting hard!

On the good news, I think I've broken him of the habit of jumping on the countertop. He'd figured out a way to jump on a low window ledge then jump to countertop which just was not good especially with the stove and what not. 

Crossing fingers the jumping on my leg will stop...I'm tired of the scratches on my thighs!