An Unpalatable New Cooking Show Is Holding Auditions, in Bikinis

Are you the kind of woman who can julienne a carrot while holding a plank?

Have a strong opinion about olive oil?

America’s Next Bikini Chef might be the cooking competition for you. But are they looking for pageant-worthy, skinny cooks or cooks that cook healthy? Let’s talk about it.

This new cooking series was created by Susan Irby, known as the original Bikini Chef. Her extensive list of roles, spanning over 24 years in the culinary industry, includes chef, entrepreneur, author and network TV and radio host.

As vain as her title may seem, “Bikini Chef” didn’t start from her figure. That came a little later.

“My family water skied on Lake Martin, Alabama, from dawn till dusk,” Irby explains on her website. “We’d be starving and end up cooking in our bathing suits. When I told these lake stories to guests at cooking classes, they instantly nicknamed me the bikini chef.”

She ran with it.

Later, when her first cookbook of Southern fare was published, guests would ask what she ate regularly to stay fit and trim.

Her new show, America’s Next Bikini Chef, seeks talented women who excel in healthy, flavorful cooking and active lifestyles.

According to a press release, the show is intended to be an “innovative culinary competition series that combines cooking, wellness, and empowerment. ” Its tagline is “The Figure Flattering Chef Competition.”

So, you can only combine cooking, wellness and empowerment if you have a flattering figure to match? We downloaded the application to find out.

For each entry, contestants must submit a video of themselves wearing a tasteful bikini and apron while cooking a “PFF plate,” which includes lean protein, high-fiber food and healthy fats.

After that, the show’s producers want to ensure you know they “won’t see the whole bikini” but want you to include clips of you demonstrating your active lifestyle so they can “see you in action.”

Further, they ask for your height, weight, swimsuit size and how often and for how long you participate in exercises.

We asked Irby how she defines the ideal “Figure-Flattering Chef” and how she will ensure the show celebrates skill and authenticity over appearance.

“The ideal ‘Figure Flattering Chef’ encourages a health-conscious lifestyle through fresh cooking styles and dishes that emphasize healthier, flavorful ingredients and [participants who] participate regularly in active lifestyle activities,” she answered through an email.

She explains that contestants compete on three levels: a PFF-compliant signature dish, an active lifestyle and an answer to the question, “What does The Bikini Chef mean to them?”

We also asked Irby about healthy relationships with food. She pointed us back to the PFF lifestyle, adding that the food must taste good.

“As part of the competition,” Irby continues, “contestants will be asked to demonstrate their favorite lifestyle activity in front of the panel of 5 judges. While presenting their dish, contestants will wear a tasteful bikini and an apron. The bikini represents a fun, active lifestyle while the apron worn is a playful, tasteful approach to cooking!”

Online casting is ongoing in six regional competitions: Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, New York, and Chicago. Regional winners can win $10,000, with an additional $5,000 donated to a charity of their choice.

Contestants from the six regions will be flown to Las Vegas for the grand finale. One contestant will win the title of America’s Next Bikini Chef, $25,000, and a spot in the “America’s Next Bikini Chef” cookbook.

We now think we know what to expect from the show, but since this is the series pilot and casting just started, we’ll all have to wait to see if the Next Bikini Chef only has one look.

Read all the rules and apply online.