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Whitney Miller is a Southern Miss senior. She is from Poplarville, and last year she
made big news and proved herself as a culinary master when she won the title MasterChef on
the FOX network reality show of the same name. She won $250,000 prize and the opportunity
to publish her own cookbook. Wow. This past year must, or past few months, must have been
quite a whirlwind for you so tell us about, first of all tell us about the cookbook.
The cookbook is something that I've always dreamed about doing. My mom and I have been
in the kitchen constantly testing recipes and making them, my dad's a taste tester so
he's loving his job. He has a good job, but it's been a lot of work, but I know it's going
to be very rewarding when I get to see the finished copy in my hands.
So when's the book coming out? In July.
Wonderful and you said you had been in New York doing the kind of the cover shoot for
that. Yes ma'am I got to see the pictures and how
everything's styled for the whole cookbook and it's coming together very nicely.
I don't think people realize how much is involved when we see the pretty pictures in a cookbook
and styling the food and making it look as delicious as it is.
There is a lot of work, and I'm glad I didn't have to do that part, but I got to oversee
it all and I'm very excited. You did the conceptual part. Tell us about
your plans for 2011. Do you have any television appearances or maybe a show of your own?
I'm actually making an appearance on season two for MasterChef. When they told me that
they wanted me to come out, I was very excited. I was a little nervous because when I was
on the show last, it was in a totally different position and it was very nerve-racking for
me but it was nice being on the other side and watching the competitors.
A little more relaxed? A little more relaxed, yes.
How has your life changed since winning the title?
I have met a lot of people that I've admired, Martha Stewart, Guy Fieri, Emeril, all these
people that I've idolized as the chefs on tv and I would hope to one day have my own
cooking show. That would be the ultimate dreams besides the cookbook.
Before you won the MasterChef title, had you ever thought about doing your own cookbook
or did that just sort of come up later? I had thought about it. The only problem was
that I never measure when I'm cooking so I said this is going to be a challenge so for
the actual cookbook part I didn't have recipes stored away anywhere. It was all in my mind
so to actually have to measure out everything was going to be a challenge, but it was something
that, in the back of my mind, I always thought, you know, this is something that I want to
do and MasterChef just presented this opportunity. Who has been your inspiration?
My 95-year-old great-grandmother. No matter anything that she's ever faced, if she's in
a wheelchair, she still has her hands, and she, you know, goes up to the stove and she's
cooking and she's taught me even, you know, a few months ago how to cook chicken and dumplings,
and just her hospitality. You were telling us a little earlier about
how your experience as a tennis player helped you on the television show. Tell me, tell
me that story again. It does. I played tennis all through high
school and then my first two years at a community college, and it's very much a mind game and
my competitive drive may not have showed so much on the outside on the MasterChef competition,
but it was very much on the inside, and when I dropped my chicken in the very last few
minutes of the show, that competitive drive just came back in me and I said you know what
I'm not forfeiting. I am going to finish this thing out strong.
Besides your grandmother, your great-grandmother, who are your other favorite chefs?
My mother is actually a very good chef and a home cook that can cook anything, and during
the hurricane, she definitely proved that as well. I think we were the best fed family
in that type of situation as possible, and our neighbors benefitted from it as well.
How old were you when you started cooking and what was the first dish that you mastered?
I think I was about 12 years old and that being by myself in the kitchen. My mom had
my sisters and I at a very young age in the kitchen, but pastries was the one thing that
I wanted to master because I thought I want to be a pastry chef. It just seemed so exciting
and I love sweets and profiteroles were actually probably something that I made at 12 years
old, and then I had the opportunity on MasterChef to think about, “how did I do this again
at 12?” to make them on the show. Now what's your favorite thing to cook?
My favorite thing is anything Southern-inspired. That's really my heart. I showed that on the
show. I wanted to show piece of me. I didn't want to get away from anything I wasn't comfortable
with, and southern food, I think, just speaks comfort and I see it in people's eyes when
they're eating the food. And that would include certain kinds of ingredients
that you always rely on? Yes I love using okra and black eyed peas
and fresh tomatoes and things that, you know, some people think turnip greens is such a
lowly type item, but I elevate it and make a pesto or a creamed collard greens and I
like to try to show people that you can use these southern ingredients and elevate them
to a new level. You said that being a student at Southern
Miss helped give you the confidence to go on national television and under the kind
of pressure that you were under. Tell us about that. How has Southern Miss helped you?
In my nutrition classes, there was very many opportunities to get in front of the class
and do presentations and the very first one I know it was probably more of a little nervous
tension but then after that I was like I want to be the first one because I want to set
the standard after me and really just having that support of the teachers to have these
presentations, get in front of the classes. One of the classes we did an interview skills
and that helped me in the very beginning of getting on MasterChef and you know something
that you never would have thought to get on a reality tv show would help you but it did.
So that brought out the best in you? It did.
Alright, I always ask if you could advise a brand new student at Southern Miss knowing
what you know about the university, what would you tell them?
I would tell them definitely get involved because the best thing that you can do is
meet people and share those experiences with others in the relationships that you build
and I've definitely felt like I've done that at USM and it's made my experience the best.
Whitney Miller, MasterChef and Southern Miss student.