Mother and daughter from Virginia compete on FOX’s ‘Crime Scene Kitchen’

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - It’s not their first time in the national spotlight and probably won’t be their last.

Tarsha Joyner and Kristy Gardner are a mom-and-daughter duo from Virginia, putting both their detective and baking skills to the test on FOX’s “Crime Scene Kitchen.”

The bakers have two minutes to investigate what treat was cooked by looking at clues and scraps before trying to recreate the dish themselves. Six sets of self-taught bakers are going head to head with six groups of classically-trained bakers. If they don’t come close to baking what the original dish was, they’re out of the kitchen.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why are they being so stupid? Why didn’t they see that thing on the refrigerator? I can do this show way better than them,’” Joyner, the owner of Mrs. Joy’s Absolutely Fabulous Treats, said. “I would like to apologize now to all the people that were on that show.”

If they win, they could take home $100,000.

“Don’t even get me started! My heart just got palpitations just thinking about it,” Joyner said.

This mom-and-daughter duo has a bit of leverage; they’ve cooked together for years.

“I went to school for cosmetology, and that was something I was dead set on doing,” Gardner said. “But guess what happened?”

Gardner worked at her mom’s Lynchburg bakery until she moved to Richmond. It wasn’t long before Gardner opened Joy Jr. Treats in Glenn Allen.

“(Gardner’s) strong,” Joyner said. “I should’ve realized that wasn’t going to be a problem for her.”

The two are familiar with the spotlight. They were also on “Project Bakeover” in 2020.

As with any mother-daughter relationship, things can get a bit heated in the kitchen, but they don’t mind setting their differences aside if it means coming out on top.

“I think that (Gardner knows) me better than anybody else, which is why I wanted (Gardner) on the show,” said Joyner. “She’s almost like psychic at this point. We could look at each other and not speak a word, and she knows exactly what I want to say.”

You can watch them make more magic in the kitchen Monday, June 19, at 9 p.m. on FOX Richmond.

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