Daphne Oz Talks Taking a Seat at the Judge’s Table for ‘MasterChef Junior’

Daphne Oz has taken a seat at the judge’s table. The host of “The Good Dish” is joining veteran chefs Gordon Ramsay and Aarón Sanchez to dish out some compliments and some criticism on the latest season of “MasterChef Junior.”

Oz told TheWrap that she’s judged her fair share of cooking competitions — but none as refreshing as this one. “MasterChef Junior” takes kid chefs (ages 8 to 13) through a series of culinary challenges until one comes out on top, taking home the title of MasterChef Junior and $100,000.

“Kids come in there with no holds barred, totally fearless, like thinking of crazy combinations. You know, always willing to learn,” she said. “I think there’s such a playfulness on this show that goes hand in hand with the very real culinary critique that we’re doing. I’m blown away most of all by their fun and their eagerness to be taught while still really approaching food with a completely novel, unfiltered experience and perspective.”

Long before Oz received her culinary degree from The Natural Gourmet Institute, her love of cooking began when she was around the same age as the kids on “MasterChef Junior.”

Oz, who is the daughter of cardiothoracic surgeon and now Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, spent much of her childhood in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother, experimenting with meals for the whole family.

“I really deeply fell in love with what I saw from my mom and my grandma, [which] was the joy of cooking and the joy of eating — this fearlessness, this willingness to experiment and neither of them are professionally trained chefs but they both have this wonderfully developed palate,” she said. “And it was just a very loose and organic experience where I could tell that when they were in the kitchen creating these memories for their families, it made them feel confident and maybe it was as much about them feeling good and feeling capable and adventurous as it was about putting something really good for the family down at the end of the day.”

Now, Oz is hoping that her stint on “MasterChef Junior.” will help inspire other young chefs.

In a first look for the season, Ramsay called Oz “tough as nails.” While she doesn’t exactly agree with that assessment of her judging style, she admitted that she is always willing to dole out a healthy dose of constructive criticism, even to the kids.

“I was raised on a hearty dose of competition. I think I’m a very competitive person, and I have a lot of fun with that,” she said, adding: “I’m definitely not like doling out a heart wrenching critique here. It’s more just I really tried to talk to these kids and shepherd them along the way. I wish an adult with influence in my children’s lives would speak to them about stuff that they’re passionate about, about stuff that they’re trying to learn and get better at, to share that expertise but also to share that encouragement.”

The technique is one that she learned from Ramsay himself. “I think it’s a real sign of respect and belief in the kid’s abilities that he doesn’t sugarcoat what he needs to tell them,” she continued. “If they put a combination together that just doesn’t make any sense or disrupted their dish in a way, it’s important that they learn from that. So he’s not going to not tell them just to quote unquote be nice.”

“MasterChef Junior” airs Thursdays on Fox beginning March 17.