If you want to be a contestant on Outchef’d, your best bet is to look out for casting calls that look like they might apply to the show.
Where other cooking competition shows may give their chefs time to prepare in advance, appearing on Outchef’d usually means that you have gone in blindly.
Unfortunately, the surprise element that the show is based on makes it incredibly difficult to know when it is casting. But there are a few casting call details that you can look out for.
What makes Outchef’d different from other cooking shows?
Cooking competition shows come in all shapes and formats. While you may have seen some shows challenge amateur chefs to cook at a professional level and others pitting accomplished professional chefs against each other, Outchef’d has an entirely unique premise.
This show, hosted by Eddie Jackson, challenges unsuspecting home chefs to face off against several skilled, professional chefs in order to put their natural talents in the kitchen to the test.
How to be a contestant on Outchef’d
The main thing that makes Outchef’d so compelling to watch is the fact that the contestants who compete in the show go in blindly.
Unlike other cooking shows in which chefs may get some time to prepare or work out recipes before they have to show up to be filmed, the entire Outchef’d premise is built on the fact that contestants have no idea what they are getting themselves into.
Every episode, the competing amateur chef is told that they are auditioning to be on some sort of cooking show. Only for Eddie Jackson to reveal that they have actually been entered into a competition, instead.
Although this premise makes for excellent television, it does mean that getting onto the show can be quite tricky.
Usually, responding to specific casting calls would be the best way to get on your favorite cooking competition show.
But, since the Outchef’d producers need to be particularly secretive about which show they are casting for to avoid spoiling the big surprise before the cameras are rolling, the best thing to do is to apply to casting calls that seem like they might be for Outchef’d.
Some of the key details to look out for when you are searching for these casting calls include:
- Look for casting calls from JS Casting (Food Network’s main casting agents) which specifically call for confident home chefs or who are not associated with a specific Food Network show
- Look for casting calls that specify that auditions will be held in Food Network’s New York studios (where Outchef’d is filmed)
- Look for casting calls naming Eddie Jackson as the star or host of the program (especially if the call does not specify one of his other Food Network shows)
Being on the lookout for the details (and following some clever tips to help you get chosen) could just help you to get on Outchef’d. It fact, it may even help you win the competition’s grand prize.
When will Outchef’d be casting again?
Outchef’d has not yet officially been renewed by Food Network, so it is difficult to know exactly if and when the filming of this season will take place.
However, the second season of the show started airing only six months after the first season ended.
This means that if Food Network is planning to air another season of Outchef’d (even unofficially), the show will likely start filming within the next few months.
What you can win by competing on Outchef’d
Getting cast on Outchef’d is difficult enough, so actually winning your episode will be even more challenging.
In order to win an Outchef’d episode, one of the randomly-selected, ‘average joe’ judges needs to choose your dish above the dish that the skilled celebrity chef prepares on the day.
This is quite the feat, but if you do pull it off, you will walk away with a $5,000 grand prize.
Tips for getting cast on Food Network shows
Food Network cooking shows may involve more skills in the kitchen than your run-of-the-mill reality television show. But at the end of the day, the casting directors are still looking for television-ready personalities and stories.
If you really want to be on Outchef’d (or any other Food Network show), it is always a good idea to ensure the following:
- Join the JS Casting mailing list to get the first updates about new casting calls
- Try to reach out to someone who has been cast on Outchef’d before
- Make sure that you have compelling answers prepared for questions like “what does winning Outchef’d mean to you?” or “Why do you love cooking?”
- Be yourself, but also be confident and entertaining
