Well, it’s about time. After numerous editions worldwide, Asia is finally getting its own Masterchef program. A+E Networks Asia has greenlighted a pan-regional Asian version of the global hit reality cooking format, which will debut on Lifetime later this year.
Endemol Shine Group’s Singapore based production company, Endemol Southeast Asia, has been commissioned to produce the 15-episode series, which will film in Singapore. MasterChef Asia will feature three judges, to be named at a future date, alongside contestants selected from across Asia. Amateur cooks who aspire to be the first ever MasterChef Asia can submit their audition videos on masterchefasia.com from now until 5 March.
“MasterChef Asia marks an important milestone for A+E Networks Asia,” said Prem Kamath, Deputy Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, A+E Networks. “The series is our most significant local commission to date and is a sign of our commitment to the Asian production community.” The program will be presented by the Singapore Tourism Board and Knorr, in association with Panasonic and Changi Airport Group.
Lynette Pang, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are excited to support this wonderful opportunity together with Changi Airport Group at a time when our dining scene has never been more exciting. Even as we celebrate our multi-cultural culinary heritage, this new series will help highlight a new generation of future Asian and Singaporean MasterChefs. Against the backdrop of our vibrant cityscape and culinary gems such as hawker centres and celebrity chef restaurants, viewers can look forward to a showcase of Singapore’s best culinary delights today.”
“At Knorr, we believe that crafting authentic flavourful meals for your family should be easy and achievable – for moms and MasterChefs alike,” said Jason Green, VP Marketing at Knorr. “We think that MasterChef is the perfect platform to inspire more people to inject more flavour into their own home cooked meals and in so doing, elevate the quality of food savoured across the subcontinent.”
Junichiro Kitagawa, Managing Director, Panasonic Asia Pacific, added “Panasonic aims to provide a better life by meeting the varied needs of our customers everywhere. We are excited to see how MasterChef Asia talents can put together healthy mouth-watering dishes with fresh premium crops locally harvested in our indoor farm and Panasonic cooking appliances.”
MasterChef is represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group. The show was originally revived as MasterChef Goes Large in 2005 by Shine TV in the UK and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam. Lifetime (Astro Ch 709) is the exclusive home in Asia for MasterChef versions from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
