Samantha Harris To Host ‘Culinary Genius’

Samantha Harris will host Culinary Genius, a half-hour program executive produced by Gordon Ramsay, debuting Aug. 7 for a three-week summer run on select Fox-owned television stations. Edward Lee will serve as lead chef.

In making the announcement, Stephen Brown, FTS EVP of programming and development, said: “Samantha’s unique energy, engagement and enormous passion for people and food make her the perfect host for this show.”

“I am excited to be a part of this dynamic new show and especially for the opportunity to work with Gordon Ramsay. I can’t wait for our audience to learn many culinary tricks from super-chef Edward Lee,” Harris said.

Culinary Genius is a half-hour program adapted from England’s ITV version of the same name, executive produced by Gordon Ramsay. The show begins with the lead chef offering a cooking demonstration for five amateur home chefs who serve as the day’s contestants. Contestants compete in a 25-minute cooking competition where the winner is crowned the culinary genius of the day. It is produced by Studio Ramsay and All3Media.‎

An entertainment news journalist and Emmy-winning TV personality, Harris is best known for her eight seasons co-hosting ABC’s live hit show Dancing With The Stars. She was a fixture on Entertainment Tonight as the weekend co-host and as the permanent fill-in host on the weekday show. She played the role of Roxie Hart in the long-running musical Chicago on Broadway and served as host of NBC’s reality competition show Stars Earn Stripes, co-hosted by 4-Star General Wesley Clark (retired) and produced by Mark Burnett, Dick Wolf and David Hurwitz.

Harris served as a co-host and correspondent on The Insider and was a correspondent on E! News, where she also co-hosted E! Network’s live award-show coverage for the Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. Prior to joining E!, Harris was the weekend co-host and full-time correspondent for Extra, which she joined in 2003.

She is the founder of GottaMakeLemonade.com, an online community with the mission to “inspire positivity in the face of adversity.” 

Chef Edward Lee is the chef-owner of 610 Magnolia, MilkWood and The Wine Studio in Louisville, Ky., and the culinary director of Succotash in Washington and nearby National Harbor, Md. He has received multiple finalist nominations for the James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef: Southeast. He has been nominated for a daytime Emmy for his role as host of the Emmy-winning series, Mind of Chef on PBS.