Daphne Oz

As the author of Eat Your Heart Out, what is your current go-to dinner?

Our current favorite is spatchcock chicken – I LOVE how much faster it roasts up than when cooking the bird whole, plus you guarantee yourself juicy, perfectly cooked thighs and breast and maximum surface area for crispy skin. I rub the chicken all over with olive oil and salt, plus whatever herbs and spices I’m feeling – it’s been cracked coriander, paprika, oregano, and onion powder recently.

I serve it alongside a giant leafy green salad with Red Wine vinaigrette I always have on hand that I make with Dijon mustard and lots of fresh herbs like tarragon, chives and mint. And I love throwing sweet potatoes (or sweet potato fries!) in the oven with the chicken while it’s roasting for a little something extra.

What has been the proudest moment for you in your career?

Winning an Emmy Award as a talk show host and being named to the New York Times Best Seller list for my cookbooks were major highlights in my career. I will forever be grateful and exceptionally proud to have been a part of such creative and deeply fulfilling enterprises that I hope helped inspire a lot of joy and confidence in our audience and readers.

But as a working mom who frequently wishes I had a clone so I would never have to miss a single one of the special days in my children’s lives, the proudest moment in my career was actually having my kids become major MasterChef Junior fans with me. It’s an amazing feeling to have them excited about and invested in something I’ve worked hard on that we can share together.

How would you describe your personal style?

Dolce vita.

What motivates you when you need an extra push?

I remind myself how incredibly lucky I am to get to do what I do, and that good luck only pays off with consistent work.

As a host on MasterChef Junior, what are your tips on staying confident while being broadcasted to such a large audience?

I learned early on in my career that trying to please everybody is a certain path to being vanilla. Meaning, everyone thinks you’re fine, but you aren’t what they came for. My hope for all of us is to be pistachio. Lean hard into what makes you unique, what gets you passionate and interested (which inevitably is what makes you your most interesting), and be ok with the fact that being all of you means you won’t be for everybody. But you’ll be some people’s favorite, and they’re the ones you want anyway.

Who are the women that inspire you?

My mother and grandmother. And my daughters. And my friends. I learn so much from the amazing women in life.

As a mom of four, how do you juggle motherhood, business, and a social life?

LOL I cannot juggle, and I worry that giving ourselves the goal of keeping all balls in the air at all times can be, frankly, distracting and dooms us to fail. Instead, I really try to focus on the ball I have at any given time. Ultimately, I want my husband and kids to know how much I love and adore them, and how much fun I have with them!

I want to be able to fill my memory box with a thousand amazing things that keep me growing and connecting. I definitely want all the delicious, joyful, easy, pleasure-filled moments, and also the deep, intense, meaningful work that makes falling asleep so lovely and waking up even better. I believe in phases of intensity. I believe in saying yes to everything I can (and want) to figure out how to do well and no to everything else.

If you were a color, what color would you be and why?

GREEN. It’s always been my favorite!