There’s an exciting new cooking show on the horizon, and it features two of the culinary world’s greatest stars. On February 13, NBC announced that world-renowned chef José Andrés and iconic entertainer Martha Stewart will host and executive produce Yes, Chef!. The cooking competition show will premiere on Monday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
The news joins a long list of career achievements for the duo — Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen and owns over 30 restaurants worldwide, while Stewart cemented her role as an American icon through hosting Martha Stewart Living and The Martha Stewart Show. Both personalities have published multiple cookbooks and won Emmy Awards for their previous work on television.
In a press release revealing the new show, NBC details that Yes, Chef! will showcase 12 chefs as they compete in a series of culinary challenges to win a grand prize of $250,000, provided by Purely Elizabeth granola.
In addition to its world famous hosts, Yes, Chef! has one other unique twist. The chefs vying to win — who NBC notes have been nominated by their bosses, coworkers, friends, and family — are talented in the kitchen but have emotional and personal barriers that have hindered their careers. According to NBC, these issues could include “egos, intensity, stubbornness or short fuses [that] are holding them back from reaching their full potential.”
This means that the final winner doesn’t just need to prove that they can cook the best food — they’ll also need to demonstrate personal growth and improvement in their behavior. The challenges that the contestants face will aim to cultivate this change, with Andrés and Stewart shepherding them through tasks that test their ability to maintain a healthy, positive attitude.
A combination of high-stakes cooking challenges and trials that may prompt hot-headed responses presents a unique opportunity to show audiences exactly how intense working in a professional kitchen environment can be and how easily it can provoke emotional reactions. It also brings the possibility of more drama, and who better to handle it all than the always-funny Andrés and exacting Stewart, both of whom will have high expectations and the experience needed to manage big personalities.
Yes, Chef! is brought to life by Magical Elves, the same production company behind Emmy Award-winning and fan-favorite cooking show Top Chef. In addition to Andrés and Stewart, the new show is executive produced by Casey Kriley, Jo Sharon, Jimmy Fox, Kevin Lee, Doneen Arquines, Paul Storck, and Richard Wolffe.
The 12 chef contestants for the upcoming debut season have not been announced yet, but we’re eager to find out who they are, and whether they can handle the heat of the kitchen.
