by Gina Scarpa

 

As we speak, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich and the creative minds behind MasterChef are looking for the next great amateur chef to compete on their show. They've already visited San Diego, Nashville, Minneapolis, Miami, and Chicago and now set their sights on Dallas, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Boston, Portland, and New York. What better way to get casting advice than to go straight to one of the judges themselves? We talked to Joe today in an exclusive interview to get the details on casting for Season 4 of MasterChef.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you stay in touch with many of the MasterChef contestants?
A. Joe: I hire them! I hire a bunch of them. We have a big company so we're always hiring them. They're talented. It's like a 3 month interview.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you looking for when casting the show?
A. Joe: I mean, obviously we're looking for people that are great cooks but because it's a reality show, we're looking for people who can communicate through food.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's the biggest mistake people make during the audition process?
A. Joe: I think the biggest flaw is people who try to overdo it, overcook, outdo themselves, cook out of their range.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How much influence do you, Graham, and Gordon have on the people who make it into the competition?
A. Joe: As much as we want! I'm going to go two of these castings. We just added another day for New York.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Are you going anywhere that you haven't been before for this round of casting?
A. Joe: Cleveland, I think.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What kind of food stands out to you during the casting process?
A. Joe: I always gravitate towards food I'm not so familiar with I love Korean and Indian. I'm more critical of Italian or Continental because it's what I'm familiar with.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's your favorite city to visit, in terms of cuisine?
A. Joe: New Orleans. I think it's kind of indigenous American tradition meets Europe in a magical way.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do contestants from the show have a good chance at continuing to be on tv, with cooking shows or cooking segments on morning shows? Or do you think they're ultimately more successful staying in restaurants and cooking there?
A. Joe: I think both! I think Christine from last year... I have to believe she's going to get her own show. She was very passionate about food and she'll probably be the most successful media person. It's a longshot but if you come and you're passionate and you can talk to the camera, you can be successful.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: There are so many cooking shows out there. What makes MasterChef stand out? Is it because it's the amateur chef doing such amazing things?
A. Joe: Yeah, I think it's aspirational because these cooks are not people who have gone to culinary school like every other home cook in the country. People watching are inspired!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you see yourself staying with the show for a long time?
A. Joe: Oh yeah, I do it in Italy as well . I host MasterChef in Italy. I've done China and Poland, too. It's very much a part of what I do now.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Are there differences between MasterChef here in the United States and in other countries?
A. Joe: The format is global so it's exactly the same. What changes are the cooks so in a place like Italy, one thing they don't have that that we have is ethnic diversity. They cook Italian food and variations of. Here, it's Indian, Mexican, Creole, and so on.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's the biggest piece of advice you can give someone auditioning for MasterChef?
A. Joe: Keep it pure, keep it honest, keep it simple.

 

 

To find out how to get on MasterChef casting, visit masterchefcasting.com!

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa