Tamera Mowry-Housley on Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge

This holiday season, Prime Video is making magic (and maybe a little bit of a mess) in the kitchen with its Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge. Set in the magical City of Seuss, host Tamera Mowry-Housley puts nine teams’ creativity and resilience to the test. With a $50,000 prize on the line, they bake their best in some of the quirkiest baking challenges you’ve seen yet.

In each episode, teams are hit with a Seuss-themed challenge inspired by some of the most beloved characters – think, “The Cat in the Hat” and “Horton Hears a Who.” Judges Clarice Lam and Joshua John Russell size up their creations based on taste, creativity and storytelling.

The Root caught up with Housley to talk about the show and her love for all things Seuss.

For Housley, hosting a Dr. Seuss-themed baking show was the perfect opportunity to merge her love for baking and Dr. Seuss’ classic books. “To be able to host a show about the things I actually love and taste these amazing treats, I literally get to play every day,” she said.

“I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember. ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ was one of my first books in kindergarten. I knew I was going to love my teacher and my class because we read [the book], but she also had green eggs and ham in our classroom. It was so cool to read a book and actually experience it.”

But if you think you’ve seen it all, Housley promises that this baking show has plenty of surprises. For starters, the competing teams start off as complete strangers. “You have two people as a team competing, but they don’t know each other at first. The pastry artist focuses on decorating the cake, while the pastry chef focuses on the taste,” she said. “They have to be matched well, and then they have to learn how to get along and compete well.”

Viewers will also be able to bake their own versions of the creations seen on the show. Each episode’s winning “Best Bite” recipes will be in Amazon’s Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge store. And customers can purchase all of the ingredients on Amazon Fresh.

“You may not have necessarily won the competition or that particular category, but you can win the Best Bite of the day. And that’s something that judges absolutely love the taste of and thought was really cool,” Housley said.

For Housley, her husband Adam and their children, Aden (10) and Ariah (7), the holidays are a special time. “We always like to bake on the 22nd or the 23rd. You have to have cookies for Santa. We love baking sugar cookies, and I love baking peach cobbler and apple pie,” she said.

“We also have a Christmas card tradition where we have the photo shoot and send it off to loved ones with a letter about what has happened throughout the year. I’ve been doing that for about 10 years,” she said. “I think of the theme for the next year right after we finish the photo. That’s just how much I love it.”

While there is plenty of holiday fun happening in the Housley house, Tamera admits that as her children get older, motherhood gets a whole lot tougher. “We’re in the thick of it. We’re parenting the mind and how they’re going to contribute to this world. We’re not just trying to keep them alive,” she said. “I always say, having children and marriage will mature your behind quickly. It will humble you.”