| WHO WILL CLAIM THIS SEASON'S CULINARY CROWN?
 SEASON SEVEN OF "MASTERCHEF" PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, ON FOX
 NATIONWIDE SEARCH BRINGS 40 OF THE BEST HOME COOKS 
TO LOS ANGELES TO COMPETE FOR THE "MASTERCHEF" TITLE  
 Elementary School Teacher, Professional Poker Player, DJ, Nail Technician, 
Yoga Instructor, Pool Lifeguard, Investigator and Three Firefighters 
among the 40 Hopefuls
 Award-winning chefs Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi welcome 40 new home cooks into the MASTERCHEF kitchen for Season Seven, premiering Wednesday, June 1 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), on FOX. The contestants will not only have to impress Chefs Ramsay and Tosi, but throughout the season, will compete for the approval of culinary greats and special culinary guest judges, including Wolfgang Puck, Aarón Sánchez, Edward Lee, Kevin Sbraga and Richard Blais.   
 Thousands of hopefuls auditioned at MASTERCHEF's open casting calls in Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Jackson, MS; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA;  Louisville, KY; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; San Diego, CA; and San Francisco, CA. However, only one talented home cook will join MASTERCHEF winners Claudia Sandoval (Season Six), Courtney Lapresi (Season Five); Luca Manfe (Season Four); Christine Ha (Season Three), the first-ever blind contestant; Jennifer Behm (Season Two); and Whitney Miller (Season One) in the elite group of MASTERCHEF titleholders. 
 Representing 15 states across the country, this season's 40 contestants - including a professional poker player, DJ, web designer, yoga instructor, pool lifeguard, investigator, three firefighters and more - take time away from their busy day jobs in hopes of turning their culinary dreams into reality. 
 In the season premiere episode, 40 of the best home cooks in America travel to Los Angeles to compete in the MASTERCHEF Battle of the Apron challenge, during which they will attempt the to earn a coveted white apron and move forward to compete for the MASTERCHEF title, a cookbook deal and the $250,000 grand prize. Judging the battle rounds will be Ramsay and Tosi, who will taste for flavor, creativity and presentation. In order to move to the next round of the competition, the home cooks must display culinary skills, as well as an immense passion for food, and be determined to out-cook their rivals.
 
 Once the MASTERCHEF Battle for the Apron concludes, the top home cooks will be put through their paces in a series of challenges designed to test their palates, food knowledge, passion and culinary skills. Later in the season, the hopefuls set out to cook appetizers and entrees for a very special wedding of a previous MASTERCHEF contestant, steak dishes for over 100 veterans and a group of sweet 16-ers. They also will face the infamous MASTERCHEF tag team and restaurant takeover challenges. With each new challenge, the pressure will mount as the home cooks compete for the coveted MASTERCHEF title. 
 
 Below are the hometowns, names and professions of the Top 40 Home Cooks who participated in the MASTERCHEF Battle for the Apron: 
 State/Hometown	Name	Profession
 California 		
	Long Beach	Gina Ruccione	Food Blogger
	Los Angeles	Samson Kohanski	Mixologist
	Pauma Valley	Ashley Travers	Small Business Owner
	Pauma Valley	Bill Travers 	Retired
	San Diego	Diamond Alexander	Web Designer
	San Diego	Tricia Crivello	Insurance Broker
 Colorado		
	Denver	Barbara Savage	Investigator
 Florida		
    Miami	Alejandro Toro	Voice Over Artist
    Miami	Andrea Galan	Student
    Orlando	Manny Washington	Firefighter
 Illinois 		
	Chicago	Caitlin Meade	Nutritionist
	Chicago	Cassie Peterson 	Bakery Clerk 
	Chicago	Corey Rice	Computer Tech & Hotel Front Desk Representative 
	Park Forest	Takeila Peebles	Nail Technician
	Plainfield	Diana Bilow	Server
 Kentucky		
	Irvington	Brandi Mudd	5th Grade Teacher
	Newport	Shelby Reid	Pool Lifeguard
 Michigan		
	Belleville	Zack Wilson	Construction Worker
	Detroit	Neco Washington	Nail Technician
	West Bloomfield	Brian Schneble	Senior Business Manager
 Mississippi		
	Hattiesburg	Katie Dixon	Personal Trainer & Retail Associate
 Nevada		
	Las Vegas	D'Andre Balaoing	Bartender
	Las Vegas	David Williams	Poker Player
	Las Vegas	James Woods	Truck Driver
	Las Vegas	Shaun O'Neale 	DJ 
	Las Vegas	Shawn Norris	Restaurant Manager
	Las Vegas	Will Staten 
	Karate Instructor
 New Jersey 		
	Gillette	Lisa-Ann Marchesi	Insurance Manager
 New York 		
	Brooklyn	Joe Russo	Firefighter
	Long Island	Terry Mueller	Handyman
	New Hartford	Brittany Craig	Server
	Queens	Eric Howard	Firefighter
 North Carolina 		
	Charlotte	Dan Paustian	Server
 Pennsylvania  		
	Philadelphia	Joe Pickens	Sales Rep
	Slippery Rock	Nathan Barnhouse	Tuxedo Salesman
 Tennessee		
	Chattanooga	Tanorria Askew	Credit Union Coordinator
	Knoxville	Zac Fallon	Musician
 Texas		
	Austin	Taylor Waltmon	Digital Marketer
	Dallas	Jessica McPhaul	Yoga Instructor
 Wisconsin		
	Milwaukee	Freddy Coleman	Firefighter
			
					
 MASTERCHEF is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Endemol Shine. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Michael Brooks, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers. "Like" MASTERCHEF on Facebook at facebook.com/MasterChef. Follow the series on Twitter @MASTERCHEFonFOX and join the discussion at #masterchef. 
 Follow the judges on Twitter: Gordon Ramsay - @gordonramsay; Christina Tosi - @christinatosi; and the guest judges on Twitter: Wolfgang Puck - @WolfgangPuck;  Aarón Sánchez - @Chef_Aaron; Edward Lee - @ChefEdwardLee; Kevin Sbraga - @KSbraga; and Richard Blais - @RichardBlais.
 About One Potato Two Potato
 Renowned for award-winning original programming, One Potato Two Potato produces high-quality TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including the smash-hit HOTEL HELL, the blockbuster MASTERCHEF, irresistible spin-off MASTERCHEF JUNIOR and MASTERCHEF CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN, all for FOX; as well as "Best New Restaurant" and competition series "Food Court Wars." In the U.K., OPTP produces "Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars" and "Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape," for Channel 4; food biography and nostalgia series "My Kitchen," for UKTV's Good Food Channel; and "Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch," starring Tilly Ramsay for U.K. children's channel CBBC. OPTP has also produced two instructional cookery series featuring Gordon Ramsay, "Ultimate Home Cooking" and "Ultimate Cookery Course," both of which have sold all over the globe. 
 About Endemol Shine North America
 Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the newly launched global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world. Endemol Shine Group's companies in North America are behind such hit series as "Big Brother" (CBS), "The Biggest Loser" (NBC), "Hell on Wheels" (AMC), "Ink Master" (Spike), "Kingdom" (DirecTV), MASTERCHEF (FOX), MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (FOX), "Restaurant Startup" (CNBC), "Swamp People" (History), "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" (Bravo), "Steve Harvey" (NBCU), "T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle" (VH1), "Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge" (CMT) and "Billion Dollar Buyer" (CNBC), as well as the upcoming "Hunted" (CBS), SUPERHUMAN (FOX), The Almost Impossible Game Show" (MTV) and "I'm Dying Up Here" (Showtime).
		 
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