Jaala Smith, of Pawtucket, gets some advice from chef Gordon Ramsay on the set of Fox’s MasterChef Junior. Smith was eliminated after making it to the top eight contestants.
Jaala Smith, of Pawtucket, gets some advice from chef Gordon Ramsay on the set of Fox’s MasterChef Junior. Smith was eliminated after making it to the top eight contestants.
PAWTUCKET – Sixth-grader Jaala Smith says her lengthy run on Fox’s MasterChef Junior was “a great experience” and “really fun,” solidifying her goal of achieving a culinary career.
Smith, a Slater Middle School student whose picture now hangs in the school, says her fame within her school and in broader Pawtucket has been quite an experience, as people come up to her to say hi after recognizing her from the show.
Smith, daughter of Jessica Smith and Jason Smith Sr., was eliminated from the show along with another contestant during last week’s episode, leaving just six remaining contestants. That top-8 finish was everything she dreamed, Smith told The Breeze. She wanted to win, and expected to go far, and was proud of what she accomplished.
Smith, 12, hopes to attend Johnson & Wales University in hopes of one day being a chef. She plans to own her own bakery, making all kinds of different items as she travels around the world.
As for her experience working with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Smith said he is “really cool.” She said she appreciated how honest he was because he’s very smart and she learned a lot more because he was tough on her.
She said it was difficult keeping the secret of how she did on the show during the months since filming ended last year. She said she couldn’t even talk about the show with her parents and siblings.
According to Smith, her favorite challenge was the camp challenge. She won both that challenge and the cupcake challenge, earning the right to have her recipes published in Family Circle Magazine and the MasterChef Cookbook.
Smith said she was most proud of her winning barbecue chicken with chipotle butter corn dish in the camp challenge.
She was eliminated on a team challenge creating a tapas (small plate) platter, comforting her partner Matthew as he cried in response to Ramsay’s critique. She blamed the exit on miscommunication and the two contestants not being on the same page.
Smith said her parents have been so excited about her success and are supportive of whatever she wants to do in life.
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