Get ready for more young contestants to enter the MasterChef kitchen and come face to face with Gordon Ramsay. FOX has announced that spin-off series MasterChef Junior is being renewed for season 4.
But that’s not the only big news surrounding the cooking competition franchise. Pastry chef Christina Tosi is joining Ramsay and Graham Elliot on the judging panel for both MasterChef and MasterChef Junior. She is the owner and founder of Milk Bar in New York City, which has another location in Toronto and soon-to-be in Washington, DC. She won the James Beard Rising Star Chef Award in 2012 and was a finalist for the James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef Award in 2014.
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“Christina is one of the most exciting, dynamic and inspirational people in food today, whose brilliant ideas and incredible work ethic have resulted in a meteoric rise in the culinary world,” Ramsay said in a statement. “I have tremendous respect for her opinions, and she’ll be an incredible judge and phenomenal mentor to the best home cooks in America.”
Tosi added, “MasterChef has been one of my favorite shows since it began, and like so many others, I fell in love with MasterChef Junior. I’m incredibly humbled by the opportunity and excited to pay forward all that I owe to learning what you’re made of in the home kitchen, and putting your neck on the line to show what you’ve got to the rest of the world!”
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Christina joining the franchise marks the first time a female judge has been on the panel. She is replacing Joe Bastianich, who has been on both shows since the beginning. The current season of MasterChef Junior will be his last with the franchise.
MasterChef is currently filming for season 6, which will air this summer, and MasterChef Junior will begin production on season 4 in the spring, presumably to air next season.
Are you excited that MasterChef Junior has been renewed? And what do you think of Christina Tosi replacing Joe Bastianich?
MasterChef Junior airs Tuesdays at 8pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
