JamesG
01-23-2026, 09:26 PM
CBS Reveals "America’s Culinary Cup" Judges
by Peter White
Jan. 23, 2026
CBS is cooking up its first food competition series in many years and has set the judging lineup for its attempt.
Padma Lakshmi is hosting "America’s Culinary Cup" and will be joined by chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne. The pair will serve as judges on the show, which will kick off with a 90-minute episode on Wednesday, March 4 after "Survivor", which launches its 50th season on February 25.
"America’s Culinary Cup" will feature a cast of the nation’s most decorated chefs as they compete in the kitchen.
Chefs will be tested against the competition’s 10 culinary commandments – meat, vegetables, sauces, dessert, innovation, flavors, sustainability, world cuisine, consistency, culinary science and technology and will be competing for a $1M prize.
Cimarusti is a three Michelin-starred chef, who is executive chef and co-owner of Providence in Los Angeles.
He has previously appeared on "Top Chef", "MasterChef" and "Hell’s Kitchen".
Dufresne launched New York City restaurant wd-50, famous for deep-fried mayonnaise and shrimp noodles, and has been responsible for cake doughnuts at Du’s Donuts and Coffee and New York-style pizza at Stretch.
He has been parodied on SNL and has appeared on series including "Treme", "Billions" and "The Bear".
https://deadline.com/2026/01/cbs-americas-culinary-cup-chef-judges-1236694535/
by Peter White
Jan. 23, 2026
CBS is cooking up its first food competition series in many years and has set the judging lineup for its attempt.
Padma Lakshmi is hosting "America’s Culinary Cup" and will be joined by chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne. The pair will serve as judges on the show, which will kick off with a 90-minute episode on Wednesday, March 4 after "Survivor", which launches its 50th season on February 25.
"America’s Culinary Cup" will feature a cast of the nation’s most decorated chefs as they compete in the kitchen.
Chefs will be tested against the competition’s 10 culinary commandments – meat, vegetables, sauces, dessert, innovation, flavors, sustainability, world cuisine, consistency, culinary science and technology and will be competing for a $1M prize.
Cimarusti is a three Michelin-starred chef, who is executive chef and co-owner of Providence in Los Angeles.
He has previously appeared on "Top Chef", "MasterChef" and "Hell’s Kitchen".
Dufresne launched New York City restaurant wd-50, famous for deep-fried mayonnaise and shrimp noodles, and has been responsible for cake doughnuts at Du’s Donuts and Coffee and New York-style pizza at Stretch.
He has been parodied on SNL and has appeared on series including "Treme", "Billions" and "The Bear".
https://deadline.com/2026/01/cbs-americas-culinary-cup-chef-judges-1236694535/