America's Culinary Cup

America's Culinary Cup

America's Culinary Cup is an American reality competition cooking show television series that premiered on CBS on March 4, 2026. The series is hosted and judged by Padma Lakshmi.

Production

America's Culinary Cup

On April 17, 2025, it was announced that CBS had ordered the series with Padma Lakshmi as the host, judge, and executive producer. It is a production of former NBCUniversal chairman Susan Rosner Rovner's AHA Studios, making Rovner's return to network television following her departure from NBC in 2023. On November 17, 2025, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 4, 2026. On January 23, 2026, the judges, Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne, were announced. On January 27, 2026, the chefs were announced.

Chefs

America's Culinary Cup

<table><thead><tr><th>Contestant</th><th>Age</th><th>Accolade</th><th>Hometown/Home country</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Rochelle Daniel</td><td>TBA</td><td>Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame</td><td>Flagstaff, Arizona</td><td>Eliminated March 4</td></tr><tr><td>Russell Jackson</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>New York City, New York</td></tr><tr><td>Philip Tessier</td><td>TBA</td><td>Bocuse d'Or silver medalist</td><td>Napa, California</td></tr><tr><td>Sol Han</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>New York City, New York</td></tr><tr><td>Kim Alter</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>San Francisco, California</td><td>Eliminated March 11</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Diaz de Leon</td><td>TBA</td><td>Michelin-starred chef</td><td>Denver, Colorado</td><td>Eliminated March 18</td></tr><tr><td>Malyna Si</td><td>TBA</td><td>Michelin-starred chef</td><td>Jackson, Wyoming</td><td>Eliminated March 25</td></tr><tr><td>Katie Button</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard winner</td><td>Asheville, North Carolina</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Keith Corbin</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>Los Angeles, California</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Diana Dávila</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>Chicago, Illinois</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Beverly Kim</td><td>TBA</td><td>Michelin-starred chef</td><td>Chicago, Illinois</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Buddha Lo</td><td>TBA</td><td>Michelin-starred chef</td><td>New York City, New York</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Chris Morgan</td><td>TBA</td><td>Michelin-starred chef</td><td>McLean, Virginia</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Matt Peters</td><td>TBA</td><td>Bocuse d'Or gold medalist</td><td>Austin, Texas</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Cara Stadler</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>Madison, Connecticut</td><td>Participating</td></tr><tr><td>Emily Yuen</td><td>TBA</td><td>James Beard nominee</td><td>New York City, New York</td><td>Participating</td></tr></tbody></table>

Elimination table

America's Culinary Cup

Place	Contestant	Episodes
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
TBA	Katie	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Keith	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Diana	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Beverly	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Buddha	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Chris	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Matt	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	WIN	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Cara	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA	Emily	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
10	Malyna	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
11	Michael	WIN	SAFE	OUT
12	Kim	WIN	OUT
13	Sol	OUT
14	Philip	OUT
15	Russell	OUT
16	Rochelle	OUT

•   This cook won the competition. •   This cook finished as a runner-up in the finals. •   This cook won the challenge. •   This cook was safe from elimination. •   This cook lost the challenge. •   This cook was eliminated. •   This cook won the elimination challenge.

Episodes

America's Culinary Cup

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Title</th><th>Guest Judge(s)</th><th>Original release date</th><th>U.S. viewers (millions)</th><th>Rating/share (18-49)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"Spoiled for Stroganoff"</td><td>N/A</td><td>March 4, 2026 (2026-03-04)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"Meat the First Commandment"</td><td>Pat LaFrieda</td><td>March 11, 2026 (2026-03-11)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"Nice Big Squash"</td><td>N/A</td><td>March 18, 2026 (2026-03-18)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Lets Get Saucy"</td><td>N/A</td><td>March 25, 2026 (2026-03-25)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"The Roots of Success"</td><td>Suzette Gresham, Stefano Secchi, Tim Flores, Genie Kwon, Priya Krishna, JJ Johnson</td><td>April 1, 2026 (2026-04-01)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"Good vs Evil"</td><td>Nina Métayer</td><td>April 8, 2026 (2026-04-08)</td><td>TBD</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>"The Gastronomic Gauntlet"</td><td>N/A</td><td>April 15, 2025 (2025-04-15)</td><td>N/A</td><td>TBA</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>"Consistency Is Key"</td><td>N/A</td><td>April 22, 2025 (2025-04-22)</td><td>N/A</td><td>TBA</td></tr></tbody></table>