Christina Tosi judges in “MasterChef”

Just who is this Christina Tosi anyway? Wait, we may be getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's start at the beginning (I've heard that it's a very good place to start).

It's that time of the year again: the ovens are getting fired up, white aprons are being neatly folded and thousands of home cooks from across the country are holding their collective breath.

Fox's "MasterChef" is back for a sixth season starting Wednesday, May 20, and fans of culinary competitions are champing at the bit to see chefs Gordon Ramsay and Graham Elliot, along with restaurateur Joe Bastianich, back where we love to see them: judging the dishes put out by the nation's best home cooks before finally crowning one of them with the MasterChef title.

Except that the trio of judges won't all be there this time around. After five seasons of asking people to leave the MasterChef kitchen, Bastianich has shown himself to the door to move on to other things. While he'll be missed, a fresh and exciting face is taking his place.

Which brings us at last to Christina Tosi. She may not have the recognition that more established TV chefs do, but anyone who's been watching PBS's "The Mind of a Chef" since its inception should definitely be familiar with her. She was featured in several episodes of that series' first season, and it's her skills that were on display then that she'll be bringing to the MasterChef kitchen.

And just what are those skills? Well, Tosi is an absolute fiend when it comes to desserts. As co-owner of Momofuku Milk Bar with chef David Chang, her inventiveness and creativity with desserts know no bounds. She's earned one James Beard Award and was named a finalist for another -- clearly, Bastianich's spot isn't being filled with a lightweight.

"MasterChef" has never had a pastry chef as a judge before, and while dessert challenges have never exactly been a rarity in past seasons, the home cooks this time around will really have to step up their games.

Each new season of "MasterChef" is exciting, but with a new judge to check in on, this sixth season has even more reason to get checked out. "MasterChef" premieres Wednesday, May 20, on Fox.