FOX has yet to officially cancel or renew MasterChef for an eighth season but the network will be airing a Masterchef Celebrity Showdown special on January 2nd. Participants will include Trai Byers, Grace Gealey Byers, Nene Leakes, Gregg Leakes, Cheryl Hines, Kal Penn, Ronde Barber, Tiki Barber, Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Anthony Anderson, Jordana Brewster, Chef Christina Tosi, and Chef Gordon Ramsay.
Here are the details:
STARS COMPETE IN A CULINARY BATTLE FOR CHARITY ON AN ALL-NEW “MASTERCHEF CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN,” MONDAY, JANUARY 2, ON FOX
Celebrity Competitors Include EMPIRE’s Trai Byers and Grace Gealey Byers; TV Personalities Nene and Gregg Leakes; SON OF ZORN’s Cheryl Hines; SUPERHUMAN’s Kal Penn; NFL Legends Ronde Barber and Tiki Barber; and Rock Music Icon Twins Joel Madden and Benji Madden
Plus, Anthony Anderson (“black-ish”) Partners with Chef Gordon Ramsay to Take on LETHAL WEAPON’s Jordana Brewster and Chef Christina Tosi
Get ready for the ultimate snack-down when Michelin Star Chef Gordon Ramsay and renowned pastry chef Christina Tosi invite celebrities into the MASTERCHEF kitchen to show off their culinary skills in exciting head-to-head contests for charity on the all-new MASTERCHEF CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN, airing Monday, Jan. 2 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
The two-hour special puts each celebrity competitor to the test in the kitchen, and also features the first-ever battle royale between MASTERCHEF’s own Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi! In each face-off, more than bragging rights are at stake – the winners earn donations to the charity of their choice.
Here are the MASTERCHEF match-ups:
Trai Byers and Grace Gealey Byers vs. Nene and Gregg Leakes
Two cooks are better than one in the couples’ duel. Find out who rules the kitchen when EMPIRE stars Trai Byers (@JustTrai) and Grace Gealey Byers (@LadyGracebyers) represent Saving Our Daughters (savingourdaughters.org/), while TV personality Nene Leakes (@NeNeLeakes) and her husband, Gregg (@GreggLeakes), compete for Broadway Cares (broadwaycares.org/).
Cheryl Hines vs. Kal Penn
SON OF ZORN star Cheryl Hines (@cherylhines) cooks for United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida (ucpcfl.org/), while SUPERHUMAN host Kal Penn (@KalPenn) represents the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (unrwausa.org/#tagline).
Ronde Barber and Tiki Barber vs. Joel Madden and Benji Madden
It’s a test of the twins when former NFL superstars Ronde Barber and Tiki Barber (@TikiBarber), representing Kulture City (kulturecity.org/), go up against Good Charlotte founding members Joel Madden (@JoelMadden) and Benji Madden (@Benjimadden), who help provide assistance for musicians in times of need via MusiCares (grammy.org/musicares).
Anthony Anderson and Chef Gordon Ramsay vs. Jordana Brewster and Chef Christina Tosi
In the final face-off, it’s Emmy Award nominee Anthony Anderson (“black-ish”) with MASTERCHEF’s own Chef Gordon Ramsay vs. LETHAL WEAPON’s Jordana Brewster, paired with Chef Christina Tosi. Fans have seen them in the MASTERCHEF kitchen and as judges before, but now Gordon and Christina go head-to-head and have to answer to the harshest critics of all – MASTERCHEF Season Seven winner Shaun O’Neale and two contestants from the upcoming fifth season of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR. Anderson will cook to support Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club (wwbgclub.org/), while Brewster competes for No Kid Hungry (nokidhungry.org/).
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, 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. Follow the judges on Twitter: Gordon Ramsay – @gordonramsay; Christina Tosi – @christinatosi. See photos and videos on Instagram by following @masterchefonfox.
ABOUT GORDON RAMSAY
Renowned for highly successful and award-winning original programming, multi-Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay produces TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, seen by audiences worldwide, including his FOX shows, HOTEL HELL, MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, MASTERCHEF CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN and the upcoming THE F WORD, 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,” starring Tilly Ramsay for U.K. children’s channel CBBC, all under his One Potato Two Potato banner. His next-generation multi-media production company, STUDIO RAMSAY, has a joint venture with All3Media to develop and produce both unscripted and scripted television shows, creating new formats and innovative programming that includes a scripted arm focused on food-related themes, and development of new talent on a global front. The catalogue 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.
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 newly launched 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 Studios division develops and produces original scripted television programming in the U.S. for global exploitation and Endemol Shine Latino oversees all Spanish-language sales and development in both the U.S. and now across all of Latin America. Subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Original Media, True Entertainment and 51 Minds Entertainment. In addition, Endemol Shine North America has a strategic partnership with Ryan Seacrest Productions. Endemol Shine Group’s companies in North America are behind such hit series as “Big Brother” (CBS), “The Biggest Loser” (NBC), “Hell on Wheels” (AMC), “Ink Master” (Spike), “Kingdom” (AT&T Audience Network), MASTERCHEF (FOX), MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (FOX), “The Almost Impossible Game Show” (MTV), “Swamp People” (History), “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), “Steve Harvey” (NBCU), “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” (VH1), “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” (CMT), “Billion Dollar Buyer” (CNBC) and upcoming “Hunted” (CBS), SUPERHUMAN (FOX) and “I’m Dying Up Here” (Showtime).
What do you think? Does Masterchef Celebrity Showdown sound like a fun special? Will you be tuning in?
