MasterChef Holds Casting Call in Tukwila Saturday

Casting producer Vanessa Bond is urging wannabe contestants to bring their most-requested "signature dishes" to an audition at Le Cordon Bleu in Tukwila this Saturday. Each applicant will have three minutes to plate and present his or her dish to a panel of judges Bond describes as "friends of Gordon."

"We want to see their style," Bond says. "If they're big on Southern, bring a Southern dish."

According to Bond, judges are more likely to be wowed by personality and skill than complicated preparations. She also promises judges won't consider food temperature, since there's no way to reheat entries that cool off while their creators are waiting in line.

MasterChef was recently renewed for a third summer season, a rare bright spot in what's been a rough stretch for host Ramsay. In 2010, Ramsay fired his father-in-law after learning he had a secret family; disclosed he'd sunk millions of dollars into his struggling restaurants and was assailed in the media after a troubled Kitchen Nightmares chef - who was told by Ramsay that his restaurant was going "down the Hudson" - threw himself in the river and died. Earlier this year, MasterChef's production company admitted it faked audition footage to make it appear as though more amateur cooks wanted a shot at the show's $250,000 prize.

The show has already conducted casting calls in seven cities, and plans to audition cooks in San Francisco and New York next weekend. "We're wrapping up," Bond says.

Applicants can pre-register (although it's not required) and learn more about the casting call here. Auditions run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Le Cordon Bleu, 360 Corporate Drive North, Tukwila.

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