Kardea Brown Gets Candid About ‘Nasty’ Food Network Fans, Married Life & Duff Goldman

It was no doubt a big 2025 for Kardea Brown. The Food Network staple won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Delicious Miss Brown. She also took over from Valerie Bertinelli as co-host for Season 13 of Kids Baking Championship alongside Duff Goldman. The two are also set to host and judge Baking Championship: Next Gen. 

Premiering January 5, the spin-off welcomes 12 teams of siblings, ranging in age from 8-14, to compete for a sweet cash prize of $25,000 and the title of next generation of baking champions. Brown and Goldman will help guide these young culinary prodigies in their pastry journeys. 

The field of a dozen duos thin out when two are eliminated in the first super-sized episode. Teams made up of sisters, brothers, and twins from across the country have to first earn their spot by serving cupcakes and pies from scratch. Future episodes will include “breakfast dessert imposters,” “cream puff friendship bracelets,” and “animated cakes.” 

We caught up with Brown to set the table for what’s to come and reflect on her milestone year. 

You’ve done other shows with kids before. How does this compare? 

Kardea Brown: When you walk into the set itself, the set is absolutely amazing. It really feels like we’re in the middle of a real baking school. It’s set in what I felt like a suburban New Jersey neighborhood. It was really fun. Having teams of siblings work and the dynamic between each sibling was really fun. You kind of get to know the bakers based on the relationships with their siblings. As the season and filming went on, you really got to know them as individual kids and how they work together and how their family dynamics work .Maybe it’s my social services and psychology background, but I really kind of dug into their personalities and home settings and watched their dynamics with their siblings. It’s really fun. 

Hosts Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown, Contestants Taanvi and Kavya Bhenderu, Harper and Holland Carroll, Cameron and Abby Bellezza, Genesis and Akbar Brooks, Abigail and Kenneth Wolf, Leia and Kiera Sievert, Amelia and Clara Friesenhahn, Emmett and Maci Sheets, Jovie and Lenore Byler, Michael and Liam Nelson, Norah and Olivia Tatum, and Melody and Leila Nouri, on Baking Championship: Next Gen, Season 1. (Food Network)

They come from all walks of life, but also range in ages. How do you feel that plays out? 

Even with their baking styles and family stories that come out a lot. . Emmett and Maci [Sheets], the sibling pair, stood out to me a lot when it came to family stories. How their Nana, who passed away, influenced all their baking that they do today. It really pulls on the heart strings. You’ll see it throughout the season how their family dynamics and upbringing play a huge role in the kitchen and also there are young between 8 and 14. As you can imagine, it’s pretty much 24 kids to start off with, and we’re all in this huge one set. You’re seeing all the dynamics playing a part. You’re seeing normal sibling bickering and things you’d see at home with them. To see it come to life in the kitchen is hilarious. I think that’s one thing I really enjoyed about it. It was really funny. 

There are some Food Network in the making here with their personalities. But they are also very talented at such a young age. Talk about what goes into your judging approach. 

We give constructive feedback. It’s necessary for children to have that. We didn’t sugarcoat anything. We definitely expressed it in ways children would understand. But we definitely felt it was necessary to explain things to them in a way like, “Hey, you made a mistake here and have to do better here.” They receive it very well. I feel like the children receive criticism and constructive feedback much better than adults do because there is no ego involved. If anything, they want to make us happy. There were some bakers you know this is what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Then there were some that were like, “I like baking. It’s one of the five things I like to do.” They are like that kid in college still trying to figure it out and undecided for their major. There were bakers who genuinely love doing this and have their own businesses. They do treats and cupcakes and cakes for their families and communities. There were some that I kind of like doing this with my older sister or younger brother, but I’m not sure this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. 

How is it working with Duff and getting to know him over the years? You both have been open about your weight loss and overall health journeys. Do you motivate each other with each other’s stories? 

For sure. We’re actual friends in real life. That makes the job so much easier when you have a genuine connection with somebody and their families. I’ve been working with Duff now going on six years. The Spring Baking Championship was the first time we started to work together. From the moment I met Duff in person to where we are today, I feel like we definitely have a wonderful working relationship as well as a personal bond. I love his wife Johnna [Colbry]. I’ve watched Josephine grow up in the blink of an eye. Now that they’re expecting their second, which is so amazing. Duff and I have both been on this weight-loss journey. 

Duff started a few years ago. I remember noticing the drastic change in his appearance one day. I came back to set, I think it was two years ago, and say, “Duff, wait, you’re like half a person. What’s going on?” He’s like, “Dude, I just stopped putting stuff in my mouth and hit the weights.” That’s exactly what he said. He is always like, “Come up to the house and work out with me and invite my husband and I to work out and hang out.” He has been very encouraging in this journey beyond just weight loss. Duff is like the older brother I never had. He gives me the best advice. I’m such an emotional wreck sometimes, especially when it comes to the kids. He is like, “Kardea, let’s reel it back in.” He always gives me that tough love. It has been really great working with him for the last six years. 

You mentioned your husband [Bryon Smith]. How is newlywed life? 

I married my best friend. So, it has been absolutely amazing. I feel like we’re still newlyweds. We got married back in March. We’re still in the newlywed phase. It has been really great. I also work with my husband. He is my brand manager. You kind of have to like someone a lot to be with them all the time. We really are best friends. I tell everyone he calms my nervous system. He is like the best person to have around. I’m very happy to do life with him. 

Hosts Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown sample Contestants Genesis and Akbar Brooks’ dish, Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, as seen on Baking Championship: Next Gen, Season 1.

You wrapped your first season this year on the Baking Championship. After sharing a promo for Next Gen social media, you responded to “nasty” comments about you taking over for Valerie. Why was it important for you to do that? 

What I’ve learned over the years, and it’s not necessarily me responding to the trolls to give them any type of platform to do what they do. I know the children and the bakers that participate in these shows. They follow me online. They follow me on socials. I have a very family-friendly social media platform. I like to keep it that way. So, you have sometimes very miserable adults that just find comfort in making other people miserable. I can ignore that all day, but I don’t like the fact that children and their parents, who have nothing to do with anything aside from being participants on the show, are reading these types of comments. 

I read my own social media, so I try all day to block people and delete comments before they get to the kids and the kids can see it or parents see it. I don’t have enough time in the world to do that, so I finally said enough is enough. You guys can target me all day long. I can’t change what the network has decided, but what I can do is stop the negativity on my page because this is a very family-friendly platform, and I’d like to keep it that way. Please take your grievances and nasty comments elsewhere. I think it was a moment where I wanted to stand up not only myself, but the innocent children and people involved. This was a moment of enough is enough. 

 

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Has Valerie reached out to you about it? 

I spoke to Valerie when I was on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier last year. She is like “I’m passing the baton on to you. You’re great, lovely. I’m so glad you are in this position.” It’s all love and positive things that were said. But I have not talked to her recently. 

You also won two Daytime Emmy Awards, making history as the first African-American to do so in these categories. What does all that mean to you? 

It has really been something where every day I pinch myself about the moment and ask, “Did this really happen?” Representation is so very important because we live in a world where sometimes, especially in recent years, a lot of voices and diversity have been silenced. For me, to be able represent people that have felt silenced whose voice have not been heard. I think it’s an amazing accomplishment and heavy torch to carry. I wear it proudly and am just happy I was given the opportunity. I didn’t think honestly I would win. But when I did win, it didn’t just give conformation for myself but the young women coming up under me that this is possible. 

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When it comes to the Next Gen siblings concept, how do you think you would do with your siblings? Is there one you’d want more over the other in this scenario? 

I have half-siblings. My sister Monica is an excellent cook and baker. She is a little bossy, but she is bossy in the best way possible So, she would definitely be the sibling I would compete with. 

What are you looking forward to viewers seeing in terms of the challenges this season? 

I think this season with the siblings, you get to see two sides and two perspectives of how these bakers approach baking. You’re going to see a lot of teamwork, challenges that are really challenges. It’s not just simple things. They’re really making next-level, highly skilled desserts. I know with this new season, there will be some surprises and challenges that are really going to push our bakers to the next level. This is where teamwork really plays a big part. I think viewers are going to have a lot to look forward to. 

Baking Championship: Next Gen premiere, January 5, 8/7c, Food Network