Jeannie Mai Jenkins Reflects on 'America's Test Kitchen' Hosting Gig: 'Food Is a Great Connector'

Patrick Daly/Amazon Freevee

Jeannie Mai Jenkins has always had an affinity for cooking — and now she has an outlet to express that love.

The former The Real co-host appeared on Monday's episode of the PEOPLE Every Day Podcast and opened up to host Janine Rubenstein about enjoying time in the kitchen and her new gig as host of America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation.

"I have always loved to cook," she said in the podcast. "It's been something I've never actually been able to share because I never thought I was a good enough cook to even talk about it."

For Mai Jenkins, hosting the 10-episode series is changing that.

"When I heard about this show, that America's Test Kitchen scoured America for people at home in a basic kitchen with a basic budget, who just love to cook, I was like, 'Wait, that's me!'" she said.

Premiering on Amazon Freevee on Dec. 9, the series follows 11 home chefs from around the nation, who will compete in various challenges. At the judges panel are ATK veterans, including Dan Souza, Elle Simone Scott, Jack Bishop and Julia Collin Davison. The best part? The winner will "become the newest face" of long-running America's Test Kitchen, get the chance to pen their own cookbook and win $100,000 to fund their own culinary business.

Patrick Daly/Amazon Freevee

Mai Jenkins says watching the contestants hone their craft was the most rewarding part of the hosting gig.

"I really love that food was such a great connector of all of us," she said of meeting so many home chefs and tasting their creations. "If we just love to eat, then we can all join the table."

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Patrick Daly/Amazon Freevee

The Emmy Award-winning host revealed some of the craziest things she learned while hosting the new series.

"I thought I was going to get people like myself that can whip out, you know, basic, easy recipes. And then I saw Robbie over here putting a waist trainer on a chicken to make it prettier," she said of one of the chefs. She recalls thinking the chicken looked "sexy," like it could be "on the front of a magazine."

Another contestant, who is vegan, blew Mai Jenkins' mind when she put "beets into hummus" and turned it hot pink. "I was like, 'Oh, I didn't even know we could do that!" she said.

She also learned about the proper way to cut steak — "along the grain" — and that there is an art to how to present a meal. "I shopped for so many more dishes after I understood that all of it matters. All the details matter to make your dish just look like it's jumping off of the plate to be in your tummy," she added.

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The show also gave Mai Jenkins and the competing chefs a chance to learn more about their collective backgrounds.

"Not only did I learn, not only was I inspired, but I was also filled in the heart, learning about everybody's culture," she said. "If you really think about it, we all cook based on either how we were raised or what our roots came from."

America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation premieres Friday, December 9 on Amazon Freevee.