The show premieres on Tuesday, March 12.

Eleven-year-old Jaala Smith of Pawtucket has been cooking and baking since she was in kindergarten. Now she’s getting a chance to show off her culinary skills on national television as a contestant on the Fox program "MasterChef Junior," which premieres on Tuesday, March 12.

“She started watching us [my husband and I] cook when she was 5, and always asked to help," said Jaala's mother, Jessica Smith. "Then she sort of started to take over.”

Judged by celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Christina Tosi and Aarón Sánchez, the show lets kids between the ages of 8 and 13 compete in a series of cooking-related challenges for $100,000 in prize money.

“I started watching the adult version [of "MasterChef"], and then the kids’ one, and I thought maybe one day I could be on this,” said Jaala, a student at Samuel Slater Middle School.

She sent in an application describing how she likes to cook for her parents and five siblings, and after being chosen to participate, went to Los Angeles last April to film alongside kids from throughout the country.

“When you go there, it’s so real seeing the tables and the judges,” Jaala said. “I was like, oh my God. It’s like being in a famous world.”

In the premiere episode, Jaala and the 24 other top contestants participate in a breakfast “mystery box” challenge. Then they are tasked with elevating three classic school lunches into restaurant-quality dishes.

“Yes, there was fierce competition with the challenges, but the best part was the friends I made,” Jaala said.

One of the most difficult aspects, she added, was making sure that she didn’t make too much food. “I’m used to cooking for eight, so making just a small portion for the three judges was tough,” she said.

Her advice for other kids who want to learn how to cook: “Be creative and try to use a lot of color, and no matter what, if you think that you failed, use your mistakes as an influence for next time,” she said.

When she’s old enough to work, Jaala said she wants to operate her own food truck and bakery. Right now, her signature dish is pasta with mushrooms Alfredo. She also likes to cook chicken and waffles, chicken and rice, and various baked goods.

But her go-to dinner to make for herself? Well, that’s a bowl of cereal — because she’s still a kid, after all.

The season premiere of "MasterChef Junior" is Tuesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. on Fox. Jaala's family will host a viewing party during the premiere at Snookers, 53 Ashburton St., Providence, (401) 351-7665, snookersri.com. Admission is free.

