Oprah explains awkward TV moment from 2006

'Where's the salt and pepper?' Photo / YouTube

Oprah Winfrey has released a video explaining what she was thinking in a classic clip from her talk show that recently went viral.

Buzzfeed's Spencer Althouse recently tweeted a clip from a 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in which the iconic TV host threw subtle shade at an amateur chef.

Anna Ginsberg was invited onto the show to cook her Chicken and Spinach Stuffing recipe which had won her $1 million in a nationwide cooking competition — but Oprah couldn't hide her displeasure when sampling the dish, reports news.com.au.

"Do you like it? I hope so," the nervous chef said to Oprah in the episode. "Just say yes."

After a long pause, Oprah replied, "I do like it; I like it very much," even though her face suggested otherwise.

"Did we add salt and pepper?" Oprah asked Ms Ginsberg. "I think we needed salt and pepper."

I often think about the time Oprah did a cooking segment with a woman whose chicken recipe won $1 million, and Oprah's jaw dropped when she tasted it and realized the lady didn't even add seasoning pic.twitter.com/rfs7PS1Jc3

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) December 9, 2018

With the studio audience in fits of laughter, you couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the amateur cook whose recipe had just been dissed by the Queen of daytime TV.

After Spencer Althouse's tweet went viral, Oprah released a video addressing the clip and explaining exactly what was going through her head at the time.

"OK Spencer, I don't know whatever made you pull that tape out of the vault, but it made me laugh," she said.

The face you pull when Oprah doesn't like your recipe. Photo / YouTube

"Here's the deal, this is what I was thinking. I always wanted anybody who came on the show no matter what they did to have a good experience. And I also wanted to stay in my own truth while also allowing them to have a good experience.

"So I was having a moment of trying to decide, 'Do I want her to have a great time, what is my real moment of truth?' Because the truth, for me, was that I am used to having salt and pepper on my chicken. That's just the truth. That's what I was thinking, 'This chicken needs some salt and pepper!'"