We already knew who the contestants were for “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars,” but now The Wrap can exclusively reveal its special guests. Prepare for a mashup of old and new as MrBeast enters Gordon Ramsay‘s world.
Most viewers are used to seeing Ramsay in the kitchen, but “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” will showcase him as a CEO. According to Fox, “A select group of food and drink industry professionals will be challenged in all aspects of running a food enterprise, including creating, marketing and selling to real customers.” Their progress will be evaluated by Ramsay, guest judges and curated focus groups. The winner will receive $250,000.
TheWrap can confirm the guest appearances for the first four episodes in the upcoming series. Up first is the May 24 premiere. In this first challenge, competitors will be split into teams and will have to create a food shack on the beach. Together, they will have to come up with a menu all while delivering excellent customer service and making a profit. The team with the most profitable shack will win, and a contestant will be voted off the losing team. But there’s a twist: these teams won’t know that one of their customers will be Christopher Tompkins, founder of the California staple Broad Street Oyster Co. Tompkins will use his secret intel to help determine a winner.
Next up will be Chris Boysen, the senior vice president of field development and experiential programs for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This time around, competitors will have to host a themed charity gala for St. Jude. Fun atmosphere, food, drinks and an impactful presentation are musts, and the team that raises the most money wins. Episode 2 will premiere on May 31.
That will be followed by Episode 3, which will ask contestants to curate a themed-wine box and make their own wine from Chimney Rock Winery in Napa, Calif. Everything about the package, from its branding and marketing down to its contents, has to be cohesive. Special guest Elizabeth Vianna, the winemaker at Chimney Rock, will judge the blended wines. Meanwhile, the overall boxes and presentations will be judged by Erica Davis and Catherine Carter of the Sip Society. Episode 3 will air on June 7.
But the biggest names in this new series will be found in Episode 4, which is set to air June 14. Contestants will have to create a ghost kitchen, meaning a delivery-only restaurant that doesn’t have a storefront. Expert panelists will include Dara Khosrowshshi, the CEO of Uber and Uber Eats, Debbie Roberts, the COO of Panera Bread, and MrBeast, the YouTube influencer and founder of MrBeast Burger. MrBeast capitalized on the ghost kitchen model around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
