Top Chef is arguably the best cooking competition show on television these days. For those who just can’t get enough of the hit Bravo show, a spinoff has just been ordered. Top Chef Junior will follow the format of Top Chef, but feature teenage chefs instead of adults. Contestants will be between the ages of 13 and 16. Though Top Chef airs late on a weeknight, at 10pm ET, it consistently has ranked in the top 15 among children ages 2-17. Bravo felt that, because of those numbers, a younger version of their show would go over extremely well with young viewers and turn them into lifelong fans of the network.

Bravo is extremely excited to bring a younger version of Top Chef to its viewers. "With Top Chef as the number one food show on cable comes the natural expansion in our food domain," said Bravo Media executive Frances Berwick. "With Top Chef Junior we're reaching a growing market and are developing a series that will teach and test the skills of younger aspiring chefs and appeal to the whole family." Bravo has ordered 8 episodes for the first season of Top Chef Junior and will be produced by Top Chef producers Magical Elves and executive produced by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz.

The network has also ordered a currently untitled food series from French celebrity chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli. Novelli was once voted the World’s Sexiest Chef by the New York Times and his new show will feature his big move to Los Angeles. There, he’ll open his own cooking school to train young chefs. The show will feature his new business venture as well as his interactions with his students and the progress they make under his guidance. Novelli has previously appeared on several British programs but his Bravo show marks the first time the 47 year old chef has gotten an American show all to himself.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: Zap2It, RealityTV World
(Image courtesy of Bravo)