LOS ANGELES, Dec 19 — Graham Elliot is leaving the MasterChef franchise, Variety reported today.
The entertainment site added that the current fourth season of MasterChef Junior will be the chef and restaurateur’s last.
No replacement for Elliot has been named, but it is understood an announcement is expected in the new year.
In a statement, Elliot said, “It has been an awesome experience to be part of the MasterChef family. I learned so much from the people I got to work with and it has been a true honour to share my love of cooking with the audiences who have allowed me into their homes over the last six years. I remain committed to using my passion for cooking as a way to entertain and teach people of all ages, and will be making some exciting announcements about the next steps of that journey in the new year.”
Co-host Gordon Ramsay also commented: “We’ve all loved having Graham as part of the ‘MasterChef’ family, and the exciting and interesting part of reality television is that it’s always evolving and changing.”
Elliot is one of the original line-up of judges on both MasterChef competitions.
Joe Bastianich, who was on the judging panel for the first five seasons of the flagship show, and through Season 3 of Junior, left earlier this year, after saying that the show was taking up too much of his time.
He was replaced by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York.
