Award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot return for Season Four of the culinary smash hit MASTERCHEF with a two-hour season premiere on Wednesday, May 22 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

More hopefuls than ever before auditioned at MASTERCHEF’s open casting calls in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Portland, OR; and San Diego, CA to prove they have what it takes to make a mark on the culinary world. Only one hopeful will join Season Three winner Christine Ha, the first-ever blind contestant; Season Two winner Jennifer Behm; and Season One winner Whitney Miller in the elite group of MASTERCHEF titleholders. The best home cooks in America were flown to Los Angeles to present their signature dishes to the judges and the chance to compete for the coveted title of MASTERCHEF, a cookbook deal and the $250,000 grand prize. This season will feature contestants representing 26 states from all walks of life– including an archaeologist, a high school gym teacher, a former pro-football player, a biochemist, a student, a firefighter, a paralegal and a delivery driver – all with the hopes of turning their culinary dreams into reality.

In the premiere episode, the hopefuls will prepare their signature dishes and present them to the distinguished MASTERCHEF judging panel: Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill), Bastianich (Del Posto, Osteria Mozza) and Elliot (Graham Elliot, g.e.b.). The judges will taste for flavor, creativity and presentation. In order to earn a coveted white apron and move to the next round, the home cooks must have an immense passion for food and be determined to win. Above all, they must convince the judges – who will taste for flavor, creativity and presentation – that they have the potential to out-cook all their rivals.

The auditions continue Wednesday, May 29 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), as the judges winnow down the competition by granting white aprons to the best home cooks. Only 40 hopefuls will move onto the next round and compete in an intense lamb challenge. By the end of the episode, only the top home cooks who impress the judges will advance to the MASTERCHEF kitchen and compete to become America’s next MASTERCHEF.

Below are the hometowns, names and professions of the Top Home Cooks who participated in the MASTERCHEF auditions:

State/Hometown		Name		Profession
Alabama
	Birmingham		Ilona Barrett		Architect
	Tuscaloosa		Sasha Foxx		Singer/Chanteuse
California
	Banning		Rebecca O’Connor		Animal Trainer
	Chula Vista		Gabriella Arjona		Loan Officer
			Jorge Cristo		Food Runner
	Escondido		Mark Oberle		Software Engineer
	La Jolla		Eli Moeller		Financial Advisor
	Los Angeles		Zuleika Hasbrouck		Cosmetics Company Owner
	Palm Springs		Christopher Simon		Food Server
	San Diego		Lynn Chyi		IT Systems Administrator
			Natasha Crnjac		Stay-At-Home Mom
			Christine Kim		Bakery Assistant
			Rudy Reyes		Archaeologist
			Howard Simpson		Bar Back
			Ayla Skye		CEO of Health Company
			Savannah Sturges		Special Ed. Teacher
	San Francisco		Paulina Farro		Flight Attendant
			Andrew Keller		Construction Project Manager
	San Jose		Elden McFeron		Patent Engineer
	Solvang		Blake Fowler		Ostrich Farmer
	Stockton		Chan Heu		Graduate Student
	Topanga		Henrik Jakobsson		Music Composer
	Van Nuys		Nancy Nester		Singer
	West Covina		Laloni Harris		Cashier
	Westminster		Alex Kemp		Student
Connecticut
	New Canaan		Shawnee Knight		Stay-At-Home Mom
	Stamford		Doug Miriello		Bar Back
Florida
	Tallahassee		Erin Burnside		Flavor Scientist
Georgia
	Americus		Eddie Jackson		Personal Trainer
	Marietta		Andrea Plichta		Acupuncturist/Herbalist
	Social Circle		Jessie Lysiak		Yacht Stewardess
Hawaii
	Laie		Kalaokahaku “Kevin” Miller		Fashion Retailer
Idaho
	Boise		Carl Wippert		Data Entry Specialist

Illinois
	Aurora		Rim Zivalich		U.S. Army National Guard Soldier
	Chicago		Thao “Duckie” Huynh		Nail Technician
			Reina Martinez		Bikini Waxer
			Kevin Tindell		Pastor
	Long Grove		Maya Parekh		Attorney
	Peoria Heights		Julie Gibson		Personal Assistant
	Wauconda		Jeremy Lewis		A/C Salesman
Massachusetts
	Cambridge		Malcolm Green		Unemployed
			Paul Yuan		Math Student
	Lawrence		Dawn Hunt		Small Business Owner
	Lincoln		Abby Wolf		Farmer
	Marlboro		Jonny Blanchard		Carpenter
	Taunton		Bime Cruz		Health Care Professional/Boxing Coach
Michigan
	Detroit		Dahlia Abrams		Unemployed
Minnesota
	Anoka Country	James Blesi			Motorcycle Mechanic
	Bloomington	Liyah Sangathit			Debt Collector
	Minneapolis	Marie Porter			Writer
		Jordan Roots			Delivery Driver
	St. Paul	Nick Garcia			Day Laborer
	Vadnais Heights	Joan Webb			Government Accountant Clerk
Mississippi
	Columbus	Seonkyoung Longest			Housewife
Nevada
	Reno		Rachel Jessee		Fire Performer
New Jersey
	Jersey City		Kristine Kennedy		Insurance Underwriter
	Verona		Joelle DeNotaris		Student
New York
	Astoria		Luca Manfe		Restaurant Manager
	Brooklyn		Wanda Allende-Ortiz		Retired Teacher
	Bronx		Mike Bernardi		Construction Manager
			Kathy Prieto		Office Assistant
	Ithaca		Brian Baum		IT Consultant
	New York		Adriana Guillen		College Admissions Representative
	Queens		Chris Ciccone		ER Nursing Assistant
	Staten Island		Damian Stapelkamp		Wrestler
	Washington Heights		Mitchell Watson		Former Pro-Basketball Player
	Westhampton Beach		Bill Ciraco		Wall Street Trader

North Carolina
	Raleigh		Shaun Jay		Magician
	Wilkesboro		Steven Smith		Welder
Ohio
	Akron		Tori Cunningham		High School Student
	Cleveland		Mark Famiano		Firefighter
			Dean Karadimas		Web Designer
			James Ladd		Retail Manager
	Cuyahoga Falls		Jenn Thomas-Pallotta		Front-Of-House Manager
	Kettering		Sheena Hetzel		Armored Truck Messenger
	Strongsville		George Mastrosavas		Real Estate Investor
			Jennifer Thornton		Olive Oil Specialist
Oregon
	Estacada		Bethy Rossos		High School P.E. Teacher
	Portland		Monica Watson		Model
Pennsylvania
	Blue Bell		Grace Chen		Biochemist
	Doylestown		Bri Kozior		Theatre Assistant
	Philadelphia		Krissi Biasiello		Paralegal
	State College		Seymira Salamy		Kinesiology Student
South Carolina
	Fort Mill		Carrie Peterson		Airline Pilot
Texas
	Irving		Matthew Orsini		Auditor
	Terrell		Brian Kohler		Stay-At-Home Dad
	Victoria		James Nelson		Retail Sales
Tennessee
	Chattanooga		Beth Kirby		Writer/Photographer
	Nashville		Nanci Filipelli		Sportscaster/Model
Utah
	Ogden		Alexandra Jones		Stay-At-Home Mom
Virginia
	Blacksburg		Dennis Hong		Robot Scientist and Professor
Virgin Islands
	St. Croix		Olga George		News Assignment Editor
Washington
	Seattle		Zach Wilson		Digital Phone Specialist
Wisconsin
	Dousman		Steve Schafer		Construction Worker
	Milwaukee		Kevin Radanovich		Carpenter

MASTERCHEF is produced by Shine America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and Shine. Shine International handles distribution for the MASTERCHEF format. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Paul Franklin, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers.

“Like” MASTERCHEF on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MasterChef. Follow the series on Twitter @MASTERCHEFonFOX and join the discussion at #masterchef.