Cooking with the Stars celebrity line-up | Meet ITV show’s contestants
If you’ve been missing MasterChef and can’t get enough of your high-pressure culinary competitions, then you’re in luck.
Cooking with the Stars on ITV sees eight celebrities trying to progress from an amateur to restaurant level chef under the guidance of their professional mentor.
Hosted by Emma Willis and Tom Allen, each episode will see the least successful celebrity sent home after fighting for their place in the bottom two, while the professional chefs decide who should stay via a blind tasting test.
With ex-soap stars, a Strictly judge, musicians and a number of presenters stepping up to the plate, here’s everything you need to know about the celebrity line-up of Cooking with the Stars – and the world-renowned chefs who’ll be mentoring them.
Cooking with the Stars celebrity contestants
Griff Rhys-Jones
Instagram: @griffrhysjones
Paired with: Ronnie Murray
Comedian and actor Griff Rhys-Jones will be testing his culinary skills in this brand new ITV cooking show. The Cardiff-born star is best known for appearing in Not the Nine O’Clock News, Alas Smith and Jones, Three Men in a Boat and It’ll be Alright on the Night. In recent years, Jones has hosted a number of travel series, including Griff’s Great Britain, Griff’s Great Kiwi Road Trip and Britain’s Lost Routes with Griff Rhys Jones.
Jones has been paired with Ronnie Murray, a private chef who has competed on Great British Menu and currently heads up Peckham Manor, which provides pop ups, supper clubs and consultancy services.
Shirley Ballas
Instagram: @shirleyballas
Paired with: Joseph Denison-Carey
Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas is one of the latest celebs to sign up for Cooking with the Stars, where she’ll be swapping the ballroom for the kitchen.
The Latin ballroom champion joined Strictly Come Dancing‘s judging panel in 2017 and has since appeared on four series of the BBC show, as well as Taskmaster‘s New Year special, The Great British Sewing Bee, Who Do You Think You Are and Loose Women.
She is paired with This Morning guest chef Joseph Denison Care, the founder of The Bread and Butter Supper Club.
Naughty Boy
Instagram: @naughtyboymusic
Paired with: Judy Joo
DJ and songwriter Naughty Boy is known for producing chart-topping singles but will he be as much as a hit in the Cooking with the Stars kitchen?
Naughty Boy, otherwise known as Shahid Khan, has produced songs for Chipmunk, Wiley, Leona Lewis, Sam Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Alesha Dixon, Tinie Tempah and Emili Sandé, with whom he formed a writing partnership. More recently, he produced the Beyoncé hit Runnin’ and Mike Posner’s Live Before I Die.
He is paired with Korean-American chef Judy Joo, who is best known for hosting Korean Food Made Simple and running London’s Seoul Bird.
Denise Van Outen
Instagram: @vanouten_denise
Paired with: Francesco Mazzei
Actor and presenter Denise van Outen will be taking part in the first series of ITV’s Cooking with the Stars, pairing up with Sartoria chef Francesco Mazzei.
Best known for hosting The Big Breakfast and judging Any Dream Will Do, Born to Shine and Ireland’s Got Talent, van Outen has appeared on a number of entertainment shows since starting her TV career in 1995. She currently appears on Celebrity Gogglebox and last year, competed on Dancing on Ice, The Circle and The Masked Singer.
Catherine Tyldesley
Instagram: @auntiecath17
Paired with: Tristan Welch
Actor and former Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley will be entering the Cooking with the Stars kitchen alongside Parker’s Tavern chef Tristan Welch.
Tyldesley played Eva Price on Coronation Street from 2011 to 2018, after which she appeared in BBC One’s Scarborough, Strictly Come Dancing and Trollied.
Harry Judd
Instagram: @harryjudd
Paired with: Nisha Katona
McFly’s Harry Judd will be putting the chicken in drum sticks when he appears on Cooking with the Stars, mentored by Mowgli Street Food founder Nisha Katona.
Judd has been the drummer for McFly since they formed in 2003, best known for their hits 5 Colours in Her Hair, Obviously, All About You, Ultraviolet and Shine a Light. He won the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional Aliona Vilani and more recently, appeared on the Celebrity Chase and Celebrity Juice.
Johnny Vegas
Twitter: @johnnyvegasreal
Paired with: Rosemary Shrager
Comedian Johnny Vegas will be competing on Cooking with the Stars under the guidance of chef and presenter Rosemary Shrager.
The actor and comedian, who many recognise from the classic PG Tips adverts, has starred in comedy Ideal, Benidorm, Still Open All Hours, Moone Boy, Good Omens and has appeared on Taskmaster, Johnny Vegas: Carry on Glamping, Celebrity Gogglebox, and Celebrity Catchphrase.
AJ Odudu
Instagram: @ajodudu
Paired with: Jack Stein
TV presenter AJ Odudu is set to compete on Cooking with the Stars, alongside The Seafood Restaurant’s executive chef Jack Stein.
Best known for hosting Big Brother’s Bit on the Side, Odudu bas since been a backstage presenter on The Voice UK, competed on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and hosted Don’t Rock the Boat.
Cooking with the Stars chefs
Rosemary Shrager
Twitter: @RosemaryShrager
Paired with: Johnny Vegas
Chef and presenter Rosemary Shrager is best known for appearing on reality show Ladette to Lady, Soapstar Superchef and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. She originally worked under Pierre Koffmann at London’s Tante Claire restaurant and, more recently, judged The Big Family Cooking Showdown.
Nisha Katona
Twitter: @NishaKatona
Paired with: Harry Judd
Restauranteur and presenter Nisha Katona is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants in the UK, has published three cookbooks and was recognised with an MBE in 2019. She worked as a barrister for 20 years before joining the restaurant business and has since appeared on This Morning, Sunday Brunch, Lorraine and My Kitchen Rules.
Joseph Denison Carey
Instagram: @joechef_
Paired with: Shirley Ballas
East London chef Joseph Denison is the founder of The Bread and Butter Supper Club and has worked at Gabriel Waterhouse’s The Water House Project and Hackney’s Pidgin. He regularly appears on This Morning as a guest chef.
Ronnie Murray
Twitter: @ChefRonnieM
Paired with: Griff Rhys-Jones
Private chef Ronnie Murray is best known for running Peckham Manor, a company which organises pop ups, supper clubs and offers consultancy services. He trained in patisserie and was previously a Group Head Chef at Hix Restaurants. He has previously competed on Great British Menu.
Jack Stein
Twitter: @JackStein
Paired with: AJ Odudu
Jack Stein, the son of chef Rick Stein, is currently the Chef Director at The Seafood Restaurant and has previously worked as sous chef at Rick Stein’s Café, La Régalade and Tetsuya in Sydney. He has appeared on Pointless Celebrities, Sunday Brunch, Steph’s Packed Lunch and presented Wine, Dine & Stein.
Judy Joo
Instagram: @judyjoochef
Paired with: Naughty Boy
Chef and TV personality Judy Joo is best known for founding Korean Street Food restaurant Seoul Bird in London and Soho’s Jinjuu after working at a number of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants and The Fat Duck in Bray. She is an established TV chef in both the UK and US, appearing on Iron Chef UK, The Next Iron Chef, Iron Chef America, Korean Food Made Simple, Market Kitchen, The Best Thing I Ever Ate and Kitchen Inferno.
Tristan Welch
Instagram: @the_tristan_welch
Paired with: Catherine Tyldesley
Tristan Welch is the head chef at Parker’s Tavern in Cambridge’s University Arms Hotel, having previously worked at Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus, Glenapp Castle, l’Arpège in Paris and Kensington’s Launceston Place. He has also cooked with Gary Rhodes and Michel Roux Jr.
As for his TV career, Welch has appeared on Great British Menu, Saturday Kitchen, The One Show, Market Kitchen and Snackmasters.
Francesco Mazzei
Instagram: @chef_francescomazzei
Paired with: Denise van Outen
Sartoria’s chef patron Francesco Mazzei will be coaching Denise van Outen in the Cooking with the Stars kitchen. The Italian chef worked at The Dorchester and Eden Terrazza before opening the Santini restaurants in Edinburgh and Milan, Franco’s on Jermyn Street and St Alban in London.
Mazzei has appeared on Saturday Kitchen, Masterchef and the Italian edition of Hell’s Kitchen.
Cooking with the Stars airs tonight on ITV at 9pm. While you’re waiting, check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.