Last summer's hit cooking competition "Masterchef" returns to Fox June 6 for a second season, and according to judge Graham Elliot, there's an eco-friendly aspect to the kitchen and the challenges. To reflect "restaurants and food today, it is important to be green and utilize things that are local and sustainable, and at their peak and organic. We go to the farmers market down the street and get everything that's in season and say, 'Make something delicious out of these vegetables. This is what Earth is giving you now so make something that screams deliciousness.' Anybody can make something delicious out of truffles and expensive things. Show us what you can do with a carrot."

 

Thousands of contestants "not just from big cities but small towns and everywhere in between" tried out for local panels that whittled them down to the 100 who'll cook for Elliot, Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich in hopes of getting a chef's apron and a shot at a $250,000 prize. One contestant made the cut by preparing alligator jambalaya, which the judges found surprisingly delectable. During the season, the amateur chefs will be challenged to make homemade sausage for a band of bikers and prepare a four-course meal and run the kitchen at a fine-dining restaurant while dealing with "a lot of curveballs" in the game. "People might have immunity or be able to choose an ingredient someone else has to cook with," notes Elliot.

 

Based in Chicago, where he operates a self-titled upscale eatery, sandwich spot Grahamwich, and plans to open Grahamburger, "a boutique burger and wiener place," Elliot eventually hopes to establish a west coast outpost, possibly in Los Angeles. His restaurants are "about as green as you can get," he says. "Everything is recycled. We utilize our local farmers markets around Chicago, and we're trying to start a rooftop garden. At Grahamwich, all the paper, utensils, everything is biodegradable and reusable and recyclable. We have a large can for recycled stuff and a little can for trash to push people into that mindset of creating as small a footprint as possible. We don't wear it on our sleeve," he says. "But it's something we do because it's the right thing to do."

 

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