The bad boy of British cooking — and U.S. cooking shows — is bringing an iconic UK staple to American TV.
Fox has given a series commitment to Reveille’s MasterChef, which Gordon Ramsay will appear on and co-produce. The original series, in which judges whittle down a pool of amateur cooks vying for the title of MasterChef, began airing on the BBC in 1990.
Fox is expected to order 12-15 hour-long segments of the series, with production to start in the near future.
“A huge reality format that works great in other countries plus Gordon Ramsay guarantees success,” Fox president of alternative, Mike Darnell, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Gordon is like our CSI.”
An Australian version of the show has been an American Idol-style hit for Network TEN and will be used as a template for the U.S. marketplace, The Wrap reports.
It is as-yet unclear what Ramsay’s on-screen involvement will be. The UK show’s former long-running host, Lloyd Grossman, was known — and often mocked — for his trademark refrain of having “deliberated, cogitated and digested” before pronouncing a winner.
“This is a huge, nationwide search for the best amateur chef in America,” executive producer Howard T. Owens of Reveille told THR. “It’s about people who are lawyers, construction workers and stay-at-home moms but whose real passion is to make great food. This is their shot to prove they have what it takes.”
Along with Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, this will be Ramsay’s third show on Fox.
