MASTERCHEF Renewed for 10th Season, to Air During 2018-2019 Season

FOX ORDERS 10TH SEASON OF TELEVISION’S NO. 1 COOKING SHOW, “MASTERCHEF,” TO AIR DURING THE 2018-2019 SEASON

Season Nine Finale of MASTERCHEF Airs Tonight @ 8/7c on FOX

Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) has ordered a tenth season of hit cooking competition series MASTERCHEF, it was jointly announced today by FOX, Endemol Shine and Gordon Ramsay. Season 10 will air during the 2018-2019 season. In addition, multi-award-winning television producer Natalka Znak has been added as executive producer.

Now in its ninth season, MASTERCHEF is television’s No. 1 cooking show and is averaging 6.4 million multi-platform viewers. 

On tonight’s two-hour season finale of MASTERCHEF, the three remaining home cooks will face their final challenge when they are each asked to prepare a three-course menu for the judges. The home cook with the best overall menu will be crowned the winner. Watch the top three compete for the prize of a quarter of a million dollars and the coveted title of MasterChef in the all-new “Finale Pt. 1/Finale Pt. 2” two-hour season finale episode of MASTERCHEF airing Wednesday, Sept. 19 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

MASTERCHEF is looking for the next batch of talented, passionate and skilled home cooks to compete for the coveted white apron. And, for the first time ever, Gordon Ramsay’s very own culinary team will be hitting the road with the casting team! They will be his eyes and ears, checking you out, and tasting your very own culinary creations. The nationwide casting calls have begun and will continue throughout September.

MASTERCHEF open casting calls will be held as follows:

CITY                                        DATE                                                             

New York, NY                         Saturday, Sept. 22

Chicago, IL                              Saturday, Sept. 22

Los Angeles, CA                     Saturday, Sept. 29

Dallas, TX                               Saturday, Sept. 29

 For additional casting information, please visit: http://masterchefcasting.com/ 

MASTERCHEF is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Endemol Shine. Elisabeth Murdoch, Georgie Hurford-Jones, Gordon Ramsay, Danny Schrader, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers. “Like” MASTERCHEF on Facebook at facebook.com/Masterchef/. Follow the series on Twitter @MasterChefonFOXand join the discussion with #MasterChef. See photos and videos on Instagram @MasterchefonFOX.

ABOUT NATALKA ZNAK

Natalka Znak is a multi-award-winning television producer who has created some of TV’s biggest hits, including “Hell’s Kitchen,” the international hit format “Love Island” and “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here,” currently in its 14th season in the U.K. She is currently the President of Znak & Co, the international production company she founded that specializes in entertainment, factual entertainment and factual formats, with offices in the U.K. and U.S. Most recently, the company produced MEGHAN MARKLE: AN AMERICAN PRINCESS, a two-hour special for FOX; and “Revolution,” an eight-episode physical gameshow for SKY UK and FOX. Prior to that, Znak was the Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Zodiak U.S. She ran the company’s Los Angeles and New York offices and worked with networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, History, Lifetime, A&E, Own, TLC and Spike, producing shows, including “Hardcore Pawn,” the critically acclaimed “Killer Karaoke,” the award-winning “Wifeswap” and “Secret Millionaire.” Znak started her career in the U.K. in politics before becoming Controller of Factual Entertainment for ITV Studios in London.

ABOUT ENDEMOL SHINE NORTH AMERICA

Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world.

Its Endemol Shine Latino division oversees all Spanish and Portuguese-language operations across Latin America, including newly launched studio Endemol Shine Boomdog, which produces original content for both the U.S. Hispanic and Mexican markets. Subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Truly Original and 51 Minds Entertainment.

Endemol Shine Group’s companies in North America are behind such hit series as “Big Brother” (CBS), “Ink Master” (Spike), “Kingdom” (AT&T Audience Network), MASTERCHEF (FOX), MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (FOX), “Swamp People” (History), “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” (VH1), “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” (CMT), “Page Six TV” (Syndicated), “Billion Dollar Buyer” (CNBC), “Fear Factor” (MTV), “Best.Cover.Ever.” (YouTube), “I’m Dying Up Here” (Showtime), “Trading Spaces” (TLC) and upcoming “Deal or No Deal” (CNBC), THE MASKED SINGER (FOX) and “Utopia” (Amazon).

ABOUT STUDIO RAMSAY

The next-generation multimedia production company Studio Ramsay was founded in 2016 by Ramsay and has a joint venture with All3Media to develop and produce both unscripted and scripted television shows, creating new formats and innovative programming that include a scripted arm focused on food-related themes and development of new talent on a global front. The catalog of programs that Ramsay has worked on historically with All3Media via One Potato Two Potato, together with new original content he’s currently developing, make for a unique and dynamic production and distribution partnership. Studio Ramsay’s first production, live “The F Word With Gordon Ramsay,” premiered last summer in the U.S. on FOX, and its second FOX series, “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” was one of the summer’s most-watched new series. Its first daytime cooking series, “Culinary Genius,” premiered on ITV in the U.K. and was syndicated on FOX stations in the U.S. last summer. His documentary series, “Gordon on Cocaine,” premiered in the fall on ITV to critical acclaim. “Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch,” starring Tilly Ramsay for U.K. children’s channel CBBC, is also produced by Studio Ramsay.

Renowned for highly successful and award-winning original programming, Emmy nominated, multi-Michelin-star chef Gordon Ramsay produces TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic that are seen by audiences worldwide, including his FOX shows “The F Word,” “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back,” “MasterChef,” “MasterChef Junior,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “MasterChef Celebrity Showdown,” as well as Bravo’s “Best New Restaurant” and Food Network’s competition series “Food Court Wars.” In the U.K., he’s produced “Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars” and “Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape” for Channel 4; food biography and nostalgia series “My Kitchen” for UKTV’s Good Food Channel; two instructional cookery series, “Ultimate Home Cooking” and “Ultimate Cookery Course” for Channel 4; and the first two seasons of “Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch,” all under his One Potato Two Potato banner.

WHO WILL CLAIM THIS SEASON’S CULINARY CROWN?

Award-winning chefs Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi welcome 40 new home cooks into the MASTERCHEF kitchen for Season Seven, premiering Wednesday, June 1 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), on FOX. The contestants will not only have to impress Chefs Ramsay and Tosi, but throughout the season, will compete for the approval of culinary greats and special culinary guest judges, including Wolfgang Puck, Aarón Sánchez, Edward Lee, Kevin Sbraga and Richard Blais. 

Thousands of hopefuls auditioned at MASTERCHEF’s open casting calls in Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Jackson, MS; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA;  Louisville, KY; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; San Diego, CA; and San Francisco, CA. However, only one talented home cook will join MASTERCHEF winners Claudia Sandoval (Season Six), Courtney Lapresi (Season Five); Luca Manfe (Season Four); Christine Ha (Season Three), the first-ever blind contestant; Jennifer Behm (Season Two); and Whitney Miller (Season One) in the elite group of MASTERCHEF titleholders. 

Representing 15 states across the country, this season’s 40 contestants – including a professional poker player, DJ, web designer, yoga instructor, pool lifeguard, investigator, three firefighters and more – take time away from their busy day jobs in hopes of turning their culinary dreams into reality.

In the season premiere episode, 40 of the best home cooks in America travel to Los Angeles to compete in the MASTERCHEF Battle of the Apron challenge, during which they will attempt the to earn a coveted white apron and move forward to compete for the MASTERCHEF title, a cookbook deal and the $250,000 grand prize. Judging the battle rounds will be Ramsay and Tosi, who will taste for flavor, creativity and presentation. In order to move to the next round of the competition, the home cooks must display culinary skills, as well as an immense passion for food, and be determined to out-cook their rivals.

Once the MASTERCHEF Battle for the Apron concludes, the top home cooks will be put through their paces in a series of challenges designed to test their palates, food knowledge, passion and culinary skills. Later in the season, the hopefuls set out to cook appetizers and entrees for a very special wedding of a previous MASTERCHEF contestant, steak dishes for over 100 veterans and a group of sweet 16-ers. They also will face the infamous MASTERCHEF tag team and restaurant takeover challenges. With each new challenge, the pressure will mount as the home cooks compete for the coveted MASTERCHEF title.

Below are the hometowns, names and professions of the Top 40 Home Cooks who participated in the MASTERCHEF Battle for the Apron:

MASTERCHEF is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Endemol Shine. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Michael Brooks, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers. “Like” MASTERCHEF on Facebook at facebook.com/MasterChef. Follow the series on Twitter @MASTERCHEFonFOX and join the discussion at #masterchef.