‘America’s Culinary Cup’: Meet the 16 Chefs Competing in CBS Cooking Show

Padma Lakshmi and chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne serve as judges on the new competition series premiering March 4

Host, judges, and contestants in CBS Original Series AMERICA'S CULINARY CUP, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jackie_Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Meet the 16 chefs competing for $1 million in “America’s Culinary Cup.”

CBS unveiled the lineup of award-winning chefs tapped for their new cooking competition series on Tuesday ahead of the show’s March 4 premiere. Emmy nominee and culinary expert Padma Lakshmi will host the series and judge alongside Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne.

“These standout chefs will battle through a season of signature challenges for the biggest cash prize in culinary television history — $1 million,” a description from CBS reads.

The lineup of chefs involved in the competition series already includes a slew of award winners. Among the selected participants are six Michelin-starred chefs, two Bocuse d’Or medalists, two James Beard Award winners and 14 James Beard Award nominees, among other notable accolades.

Here are the 16 chefs competing for $1 million in “America’s Culinary Cup.”

Josh Silberman serves as showrunner for “America’s Culinary Cup.” The competition series is produced by Lakshmi for Delicious Entertainment and Susan Rovner for Aha Studios.

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