Host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, world-renowned pastry chef Christina Tosi and James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Aarón Sánchez welcome 40 of the nation’s best home cooks to the MASTERCHEF kitchen on the Season Eight premiere of MASTERCHEF, airing Wednesday, May 31 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
In the season premiere, the Top 40 travel to Los Angeles to compete in the Battle for a White Apron challenge, during which only 20 will move forward in the contest for the MASTERCHEF title, a cookbook deal and the $250,000 grand prize.
Hopefuls auditioned at MASTERCHEF’s open casting calls in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Oklahoma City, OK; Orlando, FL; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Washington D.C. to prove they have the culinary skills to be the next MASTERCHEF.
Only one talented home cook will join MASTERCHEF winners Shaun O’Neale (Season Seven), 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.
This season features 40 contestants from all walks of life, representing 18 states – including a debt collector, dentist, PE teacher, Harvard student, swimsuit model and two ministers – all with the hopes of turning their culinary dreams into reality.
Below are the hometowns, names and professions of the Top 40 Home Cooks who will participate in the MASTERCHEF Battle for a White Apron:
| State/Hometown | Name | Profession | ||||||
|
California |
||||||||
| Pacific Beach | Lauren Lawless | Sales Rep | ||||||
| Redding | Brien O’Brien | Magazine Ad Sales | ||||||
|
Florida |
||||||||
| Clearwater | Paola Annoni Patel | Dentist | ||||||
| Miami | Heather Dombrosky | Registered Nurse | ||||||
| Land O’Lakes | Danny Flores | Steel Supplier | ||||||
| Tampa | Jeff Philbin | Marketing Director | ||||||
| Hawaii | ||||||||
| Honolulu | Paige Jimenez | Swimsuit Model | ||||||
| Pahoa | Tom Ward | Draftsman | ||||||
|
Illinois |
||||||||
| Chicago | Caitlin Meade | Nutritionist | ||||||
| Eboni Henry | Addiction Counselor | |||||||
|
Louisiana |
||||||||
| Chalmette | Jennifer Williams | Debt Collector | ||||||
| New Orleans | Janice Scott | Tour Guide | ||||||
| Kelseay Reed | Events Planner | |||||||
| Vacherie | Lesci Oubre | Phys. Ed. Teacher | ||||||
|
Massachusetts |
||||||||
| Cambridge | Adam Wong | Harvard Student | ||||||
| Medford | Daniel Pontes-Macedo | Substitute Teacher | ||||||
| Newton | Jason Wang | High School Music Teacher | ||||||
| Springfield | David Smith | Wedding Singer | ||||||
|
Michigan |
||||||||
| Ann Arbor | Julia Huldin | Food Truck Promoter | ||||||
| Detroit | Yachecia Holston | Minister | ||||||
| New Jersey | ||||||||
| North Arlington | Michael Lertchitvikul | Former Startup COO | ||||||
|
New York |
||||||||
| Bensonhurst | Dino Luciano Ignacio | Dancer | ||||||
| Brooklyn | Mia Rivera | Grocery Clerk | ||||||
|
Ohio |
||||||||
| Cincinnati | Jenny Cavellier | Special Needs Therapist | ||||||
| Josh Cooper | Political Consultant | |||||||
|
Oklahoma |
||||||||
| Oklahoma City | Gabriel Lewis | Fast Food Server | ||||||
| Ty Hamilton | Model | |||||||
|
Oregon |
||||||||
| Myrtle Beach | Shasta Dring | Bartender | ||||||
| Portland | Mark Togni | Stay-at-home Dad | ||||||
|
Pennsylvania |
||||||||
| Pittsburgh | Caitlin Jones | Dancer | ||||||
|
Puerto Rico |
||||||||
| Carolina | Nilka Barbosa | Human Resources | ||||||
|
|
||||||||
| South Carolina | ||||||||
| Newberry | Necco Ceresani | Marketing Manager | ||||||
|
Texas |
||||||||
| Austin | Taylor Waltmon | Digital Marketer | ||||||
| Carthage | Reba Billingsley | Stay-at-home Mom | ||||||
| Lipan | Mike Newton | Ranch Owner | ||||||
|
Virginia |
||||||||
| Alexandria | Aakash Trivedi | Client Manager | ||||||
|
Washington |
||||||||
| Yakima | Shawn Niles | Pastor | ||||||
|
Washington, D.C. |
||||||||
| Angel Anderson | Spice Store Owner | |||||||
| Jessica Heath | Former Model | |||||||
| Sam Reiff-Pasarew | Creative Writing Teacher | |||||||