Tiffany Derry on judging ‘MasterChef: United Tastes of America’ and representing the South: ‘It is so close to my heart’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I grew up in the South, my family is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” says Tiffany Derry, guest judge on the Wednesday, June 14 episode of “MasterChef: United Tastes of America.” “Southern cuisine is all I knew growing up. It is so close to my heart. To be able to come on and represent the South was so special. I love all things Southern and I view it as so much more than what we often see.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
In the season’s fourth installment, home cooks from the South audition for a spot in the Top 20. They’ll need three of the judges to say “yes” to their dish in order to move on. Derry will judge this episode alongside series regulars Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez and Joe Bastianich.
Derry reveals that in these auditions, she simply looks for who can fundamentally cook. “There are a lot of things that can go wrong, especially your first time,” she explains. “You’re on camera, you’re nervous, you’ve got this live audience. The energy is insane. Not to mention, you have all these judges! If you can hold it together and cook a delicious plate of food, then most likely, you really can cook.”
SEE Everything to know about ‘MasterChef’ Season 13, titled ‘MasterChef: United Tastes of America’
The guest judge rose to prominence herself as a contestant on Season 7 of “Top Chef” in 2010. She didn’t walk away with the top prize, but she did win over America’s heart on her way to fourth place. “I won Fan Favorite,” she recalls. “Which goes to show that you could not win the entire show, but still walk away as a winner in peoples’ hearts. One of the most important things you need to do is be true to yourself. If you’re not yourself and you do these types of things, when you walk away you don’t feel good. You don’t feel like you’ve represented yourself. People don’t get to know the real you. If they get to know the real you and you’re true to who you are, you fell good about that.”
Derry goes on to share more memories about her own experience in reality TV cooking competitions, what her worst fear would be in a Mystery Box Challenge, and what it will take to succeed on Season 13 of “MasterChef.”
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