Top Chef Alum Tiffany Derry Has An Enthusiastic Response After Gordan Ramsay Signed Her On For MasterChef: ''OMG It's Crazy'

In an era where your favorite streaming series can go three years between seasons, there’s a lot to be said for the comfort that comes with knowing your favorite show is coming back year after year. For me, summer isn’t summer without new episodes of Masterchef. However, this summer will be different for the show in a few ways, most notably via new judge Tiffany Derry.

Fans who watch other cooking shows will likely recognize Tiffany Derry as she’s appeared and excelled in several franchises, from an impressive performance on Top Chef to Cutthroat Kitchen to Worst Cooks in America. She’s been a competitor, a host, and a judge at various times, and now she’s putting that latter skill to the test on Masterchef.

She’ll be joining king of the cooking shows Gordon Ramsey and part-time singer Joe Bastianich for Season 15, and you can tell from her Instagram post just how excited she is. She said:

While Derry is thrilled to be joining the team, and it’s wonderful to have a woman on the panel for the first time in years, this is sad news for me. Derry joining the panel means that Aarón Sánchez, who has been a judge on the show since Season 8, also the last time there was a female judge, has left the show. Sánchez’s departure doesn’t seem to have been addressed, so it’s unclear if leaving was his call.

Whatever the reason, Derry is quite excited to be joining the new season. She says deciding to join the show was tough, but it sounds like she had a great time. Check out her full comments below.

A new judge isn’t the only big change coming to Masterchef Season 15. The last few seasons of the show have had some sort of theme, and the theme this season will be “Dynamic Duos.” Teams of two will actually compete throughout the season together, with pairs made up of best friends, family members, or romantic partners. Also, the Pressure Test, an early form of elimination that saw those at the bottom compete against each other to stay in the competition, will be making a return.

This should all make for interesting drama, though the fact that Masterchef rarely breaks down into reality TV personality conflicts has always been one of my favorite things about it. One can imagine people who tend to get along may have difficulty doing so under the pressure of Masterchef.

A premiere date for Masterchefi Season 15 has not been announced, but the show will debut this summer on Fox, with episodes available with a Hulu subscription the next day.