Kelli Ferrell laughed when I asked her if she was intimidated to join the 16th season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

“Girl, I’m from Baltimore,” she said. “No one can intimidate me.”

The Randallstown native and chef made her Bravo debut Sunday night with the return of the reality television show’s Georgia iteration. This season will show Ferrell going through a tumultuous divorce and “building her brand” — but more on that later.

Though she moved away from Maryland in the early 2000s, Ferrell has family in Baltimore and considers it her hometown. She also thinks we have the “best” food, which may have inspired her career in the restaurant industry. She’s made appearances on shows such as “Good Morning America” to promote her Georgia restaurant, Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles, and her cookbook, “Kooking with Kelli.”

As The Baltimore Banner’s unofficial resident Bravo beat writer, I wanted to ask Ferrell about her love of Baltimore and what viewers can expect from the newbie this season on “RHOA.”

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

You’re a chef, so I know what I have to ask you: What are some of your favorite restaurants in the Baltimore area?

Every time I come home, I definitely want blue crab. So some of my favorite restaurants, of course, will always be seafood. My brother and sister have a restaurant called Angie’s Seafood. I love their food, and I always visit. I used to always love going to Mo’s Seafood, too.

And a snowball. I have to have a snowball when I come home. I always like a custard snowball with extra marshmallow.

Besides eating, what are some things you always do when you’re back in Baltimore?

Visiting family and friends, of course, and going to the harbor just to hang out and have an ice cream or snowball. I just love the harbor and family time.

How has your Baltimore upbringing influenced your cooking career?

I learned to cook from my mom and my grandmother; I think they are some of the most amazing cooks ever. My grandmother was from the Eastern Shore, and my mom is an amazing cook. I think with their cultures from the Eastern Shore, a little bit of Philly, with Baltimore kind of bringing it all in together, I’ve learned a lot in regards to culture and diversity and good flavors. I feel like you can do a little bit of anything if you’re from Baltimore.

What do you wish more people knew about the Baltimore area?

We have the best food. We have amazing food. For certain, I think we have the best accents. I think we’re so culturally diverse, too. I feel like people don’t understand that you can go in any neighborhood and get good food. It’s always an amazing culture. I wish people didn’t know us so much for the crime. So many amazing, talented people have come out of Baltimore. I think we should be known for fashion. I think B-more girls are some of the most fabulous fashion girlies that you will ever see.

Moving on to your experience on “The Real Housewives,” what made you want to do the show?

This was my third time interviewing with “The Housewives.” I think this is probably one of the best times for me to be on “Housewives of Atlanta.” I think it was the perfect era of my life where it was just, you know, divine timing.

It was pretty amazing, especially with me going through my divorce. I’m in this space where I am really just showing my true reality.

What was the process of filming this season like?

It was fun! We had a great time. We had a great season; pretty much the entire summer we filmed. It was intense, but it was fun.

You’ll get to see a lot of luxury, a lot of events, a lot of fashion, a lot of food, a lot of people. I think that fans are really going to be surprised about seeing the newbies bring it. We brought a lot of good fashion, a lot of food, a lot of experiences, a lot of events. We had a ton of fun.

Were you intimidated at all? “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” is one of the biggest shows on Bravo and has a cultlike following.

Girl, I’m from Baltimore. No one can intimidate me. I’m a girl’s girl at the end of the day, and you can put me in a room with anybody and I can work my way to where I need to be. And some of us were friends prior to the show, so it wasn’t intimidating. I think it was an amazing group of women and we were able to maneuver and get to know one another.

What can you tease to viewers about your storyline for this upcoming season?

You get to see my divorce, which is not something that you usually want to show to the world, but I think viewers get a reality of what that looks like. So many people get to see me cooking and things pertaining to my restaurant and my brand, but I never really show what my real life looks like on social media. I think you get to see that kind of work-life balance. You get to see a little piece of what it looks like to build an empire, what life looks like after divorce.

What do you wish more people knew about a show like “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”?

I want them to be able to see how much of a sisterhood it is. It’s not just a show about drama, but it really is a true friendship and a true sisterhood, with us really building together and supporting one another. It’s not always perfect — you know, sisters fight, they fuss — but at the end, it’s all about supporting one another.