By: By: Nick Edsall
Jenna Kloner is a force to be reckoned with in the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR kitchen — and on the golf course.
When she isn’t whipping up restaurant-worthy meals in her family’s New York City home, the culinary whiz kid enjoys hitting up the greens with her father and brother.
“I am really into golf,” she reveals in an exclusive interview with TheTVPage.com.
“It is just a whole family thing. It is a really great way for me and my family to spend time together. And I am not that bad at it either!”
Jenna — and eighth grader from New York City — is one of 19 culinary cuties featured on the third season of chef Gordon Ramsay’s kiddie cooking competition.
“Ever since I was little, I was always watching cooking shows and saying “Why don’t they have one for kids?’” she says.
“I swear I said that! And I was like, ‘I just want to grow up so I can be on one of those.” Then I saw MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, so I found the casting website and I signed up.”
Here’s a few more things Jenna had to share…
* The series was filmed last summer — even before season two aired.
“It wasn’t hard to keep the show a secret, because a lot of my closest friends now are from the show. I made such god friends on the show. So I could talk to them about the show whenever I wanted to. Whenever I wanted to tell my friends from school something, I would just call my friends from California, from the show.”
* The judges weren’t nearly as scary as she imagined.
“I expected it to scarier than it was and I expected to be really intimidated by the judges. But I just felt really welcomed. So I was more excited than scared. I just made friends with so many of the other kids and the judges were so nice. It was such a fun place to be, whereas I thought it was going to be very competitive and nobody talks to each other.”
* She wants to open a restaurant one day — but has a backup plan.
“I am going to go to college and then culinary school. That way, just in case my restaurants don’t work out, I can be something boring like a lawyer.”
Check out Jenna’s complete interview at TheTVPage.com.
MASTERCHEF JUNIOR airs Tuesdays on Fox.