‘MasterChef’ judge Joe Bastianich departs; Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliott remain

This news is going to be particularly hard to swallow.

Today, it was announced that restaurateur Joe Bastianich, who has presided as a judge over every season of “MasterChef” and “MasterChef Junior” so far in America, will be exiting after the upcoming third season of the “Junior” competition. This is the first change that the Fox series has made when it comes to their panel since the very beginning, and they are already looking for a third culinary expert to take his place.

In a statement, Joe had the following to say:

“After several gratifying years as a judge on MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, I have decided to step down from my role on the show ,,, It has been a pleasure working alongside Gordon and Graham on five seasons of MasterChef and three seasons of MasterChef Junior, and I look forward to continuing my current collaborations with Shine America. As co-owner and partner of the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, as well as Eataly throughout the Americas, I will be focusing my time and energies on their continued global expansion.”

We’re really sad about this news, mostly because we found Joe over time to be the harshest and at times the best critic on the show. When he complimented your food, you knew that you had truly done a great job. He also comes from a legendary culinary family, and he could bring so much of that prestige to the role.

We’ve also interviewed Joe in the past, and found him to be a very interesting, smart guy.

What is your quick reaction to this news, and is there anyone specifically you want to see replacing him on “MasterChef”? (It’s probably not happening, but we’d campaign for David Burke any day of the week.) Share in the comments.