What was your biggest achievement when you were ten years old? I know for me it was keeping my hair under control and not being totally awkward at the new school I had moved to. Not many children can say that at the age of ten, they have won a national cooking competition took home the trophy and the prize. That is, of course, unless you are Addison Osta Smith, then ten (almost 11) year old chef who took home the prize in last season’s MasterChef Junior competition.
Addison attended the International Home and Housewares Show last week to help debut the new MasterChef Junior cooking sets as well as other great products. During her time at the show not only did she do a cooking demonstration using the cooking tools, but took the time to sit down with me and talk about the show, her goals and cooking.
What did you make in your cooking demonstration?
Dark Chocolate cappuccino crepes and smoked ham and Gouda crepes.
When did you start cooking?
I started cooking when I was very young, probably 3 or 5. Around that age. Actually, no, I started whisking things at two and maybe even younger.
So your parents got you in the kitchen?
Oh yeah, definitely, they got me in the kitchen very young.
What was your first meal you cooked?
It was eggs! The first real meal I cooked was pasta with homemade pesto and that was at six.
What made you try out for MasterChef Junior?
Well, I love to cook and my mom saw and open call audition. She was like “Addison, do you want to go to this?” and I said “yes” I kind of went crazy and was really excited.
We all know Gordon Ramsey yells on his shows, but not usually at kids. He’s really good with you guys, what was it like working with him?
He does yell a little bit. But that should be expected from a chef.
You love cooking – what is your favorite meal to make?
I love making my cakes and cupcakes. I love doing those all the time. But I love to make my four cheese ravioli with pesto.
And what is your favorite meal to eat?
Sushi. Salmon nigiri sushi. I make it also, but it’s my favorite to eat.
Do you want to be a chef when you grow up?
Well, I have many ideas. I want to be some kind of sports player, an astronaut, a singer, a dancer, a model, and actress, a chef, a baker – yeah everything.
What was your most memorable experience filming the show?
The most memorable experience for me was when Gordon Ramsey says “The winner is” and just pauses. I remember not breathing, not thinking, I don’t even know if my heart was beating. I was literally frozen in time. And when I heard him say my name it took me a minute and I was like “oh my goodness” and I was floating on air.
The show and the tools are going to get more kids in the kitchen – we have some MasterChef Junior sets at home and they are professional but more geared towards older kids and teens. They’re mid-range.
Yes, there all these fake sets for kids made of plastic and don’t actually cook. But when you’re my age and teenager there aren’t really sets for you. If you don’t really want to be a chef and you don’t have the adult utensils, the sets are for the middle ages where it’s not plastic baby things, but very expensive expensive knives. They’ll get things done very well, they’re right in the middle.
If a kid wants to be a cook or be on MasterChef Junior what word of advice do you have?
Just to have fun and compete. Make friends and have fun. But in the end if all you want to do there is have fun, great, but you have to remember it’s a competition. You need that sense of “I want to win” to make it far and actually win. As soon as I got on the show, I knew I wanted to win this. All of my competitors probably thought the same thing. But I believe if you think you can do this – you will.
You can find Addison on Instagram to keep up with her success and future career!
Check out all of the MasterChef Junior Sets including Breakfast, Burgers, Baking, Pizza, Plating (coming soon!), Pasta (coming soon!) and Cooking Essentials. 
Great job babys