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Austin’s Chef Matthew Peters Competes for $1M on CBS’ ‘America’s Culinary Cup’

The Bocuse d’Or gold medalist joins 15 of the nation’s most decorated culinary talents in Padma Lakshmi’s new high-stakes showdown

Chef Matthew Peters competes for $1 million on the 90-minute premiere of “America’s Culinary Cup,” airing March 4 on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Chef Matthew Peters competes for $1 million on the 90-minute premiere of “America’s Culinary Cup,” airing March 4 on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Austin chef Matthew Peters, the first American to win gold at the Bocuse d’Or, will compete for $1 million on CBS’ new primetime series, “America’s Culinary Cup,” premiering March 4 after “Survivor 50.”

Created, hosted, and executive produced by Padma Lakshmi, the new culinary competition series features 16 of the nation’s most decorated chefs. The winner will take home $1 million — the largest cash prize in culinary television history — and earn the title of America’s Culinary Cup champion.

The competition tests chefs against 10 so-called “culinary commandments”: meat, vegetables, sauces, dessert, innovation, flavor, sustainability, world cuisine, consistency, and culinary science and technology. Throughout the season, contestants will be evaluated on taste, creativity, presentation and technical precision as they face elimination-style challenges.

Chef Matthew Peters competes in “America’s Culinary Cup,” on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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Chef Matthew Peters competes in “America’s Culinary Cup,” on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Michael Cimarusti, Padma Lakshmi and Wylie Dufresne, judges on “America’s Culinary Cup.”
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Michael Cimarusti, Padma Lakshmi and Wylie Dufresne, judges on “America’s Culinary Cup.” (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Host, judges and contestants appear on the CBS original series “America’s Culinary Cup.”
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Host, judges and contestants appear on the CBS original series “America’s Culinary Cup.” (Photo by Jackie Brown/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

The judges and competition

Joining Lakshmi at the judges’ table are acclaimed chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne. Cimarusti, a three-Michelin-starred chef and sustainability advocate, and Dufresne, known for his science-driven, modernist approach to cooking, will help determine who advances and who is sent home.

The roster includes six Michelin-starred chefs — an honor held by fewer than 1% of restaurants worldwide — along with two Bocuse d’Or medalists, two James Beard Award winners and 14 James Beard nominees. Peters, who now owns Austin cocktail and canapé lounge Prélude, enters the competition with one of the most formidable résumés in the field, having trained in elite Michelin-starred kitchens before making culinary history on the international stage.

“America’s Culinary Cup” premieres with a special 90-minute episode March 4 at 8:30 p.m. CT on CBS and will stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

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