CELEBRITY CHEF MARCUS SAMUELSSON JOINS ABC'S "THE TASTE"

Celebrity chef, restaurateur and author Marcus Samuelsson has joined ABC's cooking competition show "The Taste" as its newest mentor. Chef Samuelsson joins chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain, British food star Nigella Lawson and chef and author Ludo Lefebvre as they begin production on the show's second season (airdate TBD).

"The Taste" is an exhilarating two-hour cooking competition program that puts 16 culinary competitors - from professional chefs to home cooks alike - into a pressure cooker of a kitchen where one blind spoonful of their culinary creations are served to four of the world's most notable chefs and food experts to determine who stays and who is eliminated from the competition.

"Marcus is a world-renowned chef with an infectious passion for food," said Executive Producer Chris Coelen. "He's a perfect fit to work with and compete against Anthony, Nigella and Ludo on Season Two of 'The Taste.'"

"I am thrilled to be joining 'The Taste,'" said Chef Samuelsson. "I'm looking forward to working alongside such an esteemed group of culinary figures and discovering new talents."

ABOUT "THE TASTE"

In this pressure cooker contest, the taste of a single spoonful can catapult a contender to the top or send them packing. The series features no-holds barred chef Anthony Bourdain, British food star Nigella Lawson, chef and author Ludo Lefebvre and chef, restaurateur and author Marcus Samuelsson. These four culinary superstars will each coach a team of four competing professional and amateur cooks chosen from a nationwide casting call, as they vie to create the best tasting dish in a state of the art kitchen. In each episode the groups will face team and individual challenges with a variety of culinary themes through various elimination rounds. At the end of each episode, the mentors will have to judge the competitors' creations blind -- with no knowledge of whose food they're sampling, what they're eating, how it was prepared or whom they could be sending home.

ABOUT MARCUS SAMUELSSON

Marcus Samuelsson is the award-winning chef and restaurateur of the internationally acclaimed Red Rooster Harlem, Ginny's Supper Club, American Table Cafe and Bar by Marcus Samuelsson and Uptown Brasserie. He is The New York Times-bestselling author of Yes, Chef. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the following from The James Beard Foundation: Rising Star Chef (1999), Best Chef: New York City (2003), Best International Cookbook (2007) and Best Television Program (for "Chopped" - 2012.)

"The Taste" is from Kinetic Content and is executive-produced by Chris Coelen, Matilda Zoltowski, Emma Conway, Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson and Brian Smith who is also the director.

For more information on "The Taste," visit ABC.com/The Taste.