CHRISTINE HA, JOSH MARKS AND BECKY REAMS NAMED TOP THREE SEMIFINALISTS ON "MASTERCHEF"

Frank Mirando Eliminated from Competition

Two-Night Season Finale Airs Tuesday, September 4 and Monday, September 10, on FOX

Season Four Open Casting Calls to be Held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Miami, Cleveland, Portland, San Diego and Nashville

Tonight, judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot announced the Top Three semifinalists on MASTERCHEF: Christine Ha, a blind graduate student from Houston, TX; Josh Marks, a U.S. Army Contract Specialist from Jackson, MS; and Becky Reams, a food photographer from Stilwell, KS. Frank Mirando, a stockbroker from Holbrook, NY, was eliminated after an intense pressure test featuring three types of soufflé.

The two-part season finale starts next Tuesday, Sept. 4 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) with Christine, Josh and Becky battling it out in the semifinals. During the penultimate episode, the judges challenge the three semifinalists to reflect on their culinary journeys to create outstanding dishes that best embody their personalities and passion for food. In the elimination challenge, each contestant will prepare a dish featuring a pair of legs - chicken, lamb, or frog - that is worthy of a spot in the Top Two, but one hopeful's MASTERCHEF journey will come to an end.

In the concluding episode of the nail-biting season finale airing Monday, Sept. 10 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the remaining two cooks will compete one last time in the kitchen, and the judges will reveal America's next MASTERCHEF who will walk away with a book deal and the $250,000 grand prize.

MASTERCHEF will once again travel across the country and give talented home cooks the chance to prove they have what it takes to make their mark on the culinary world. Open casting calls for Season Four of MASTERCHEF will take place this fall in New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Miami, FL; Cleveland, OH, Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; and Nashville, TN. Additional details including dates, venues and times will be announced soon. Visit www.masterchefcasting.com for the most up-to-date audition information.

Catch up with the Top Three and see how far they've come, in this all-new video highlighting their MASTERCHEF journeys: http://bcove.me/2fj2arh5.

The Top Three semifinalists reveal the
First dish they mastered:

Christine Ha
Age: 32
Occupation: Graduate Student
Hometown: Houston, TX
Mystery Box Challenges Won: 0
Team Challenges Won: 4
Keep up with Christine at:
www.twitter.com/MC3Christine
www.facebook.com/MC3Christine
First dish she mastered: "Ginger-braised chicken is the
First dish I learned to cook successfully and consistently."

Josh Marks
Age: 24
Occupation: U.S. Army Contract Specialist Currently Resides: Jackson, MS
Mystery Box Challenges Won: 1
Team Challenges Won: 1
Keep up with Josh at:
www.twitter.com/MC3Josh
www.facebook.com/MC3Josh
First dish he mastered: "Turkey chili. It helped me understand how to balance the amount of spices properly so I can let the other ingredients speak for themselves."

Becky Reams
Age: 26
Occupation: Food Photographer
Hometown: Stilwell, KS
Mystery Box Challenges Won: 1
Team Challenges Won: 5
Keep up with Becky at:
www.twitter.com/MC3Becky
www.facebook.com/MC3Becky
First dish she mastered: "Chicken Parmesan. I cooked Chicken Parmesan one night for friends, and they absolutely loved it! It was a huge hit, so from then on, they would request it specifically."

MASTERCHEF is produced by Shine America and One Potato Two Potato and is based on the format created by Franc Roddam and Shine. Shine International handles distribution for the MASTERCHEF format. Elisabeth Murdoch, Eden Gaha, Robin Ashbrook, Gordon Ramsay, Adeline Ramage Rooney, Patricia Llewellyn and Ben Adler serve as executive producers.

"Like" MASTERCHEF on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/MasterChef. Follow the series on Twitter @MASTERCHEFonFOX and join the discussion at #masterchef.

About Shine America:

Shine America is a world leader in producing and distributing compelling scripted and unscripted television and digital content, building brands through the leveraging of its intellectual property and creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers. Shine America is known for popular and award-winning original series including "The Biggest Loser", "Tabatha Takes Over" and upcoming series "The Face"; adaptations of Shine Group formats MASTERCHEF, "Minute to Win It," "One Born Every Minute" and "Parental Control"; long-running scripted hits "The Office," "Ugly Betty" and "The Tudors"; and over 20 ground-breaking original online series on MSN, Yahoo!, YouTube premium channels and other platforms, many of these produced in partnership with global brands such as Walmart, Toyota, Kraft Foods, Subway and Microsoft. Through its distribution arm, Shine International, Shine America distributes its extensive library of programming and formats to more than 150 countries.

About One Potato Two Potato:

One Potato Two Potato was co-founded by Gordon Ramsay and Optomen Television in 2008 to exclusively create and produce worldwide content for Ramsay ventures across all media, including television, digital and publishing. Renowned for award-winning original programming, the company produces high-quality TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including the smash-hit HOTEL HELL, which is the highest-rated new network show of summer 2012; and MASTERCHEF, both for FOX; as well as massive U.K. hit "Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars" and "Gordon's Great Escape" for Channel 4.; and "My Kitchen," for UKTV's Good Food Channel. Ramsay's groundbreaking and hugely popular Channel 4 series, "Cookalong LIVE," aired as a special on FOX and has since become a successful format around the world. OPTP is also currently in development on several exciting unscripted and scripted projects, within and beyond the food genre, for network, cable and digital platforms in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. OPTP distributes its hugely popular TV programming and formats to more than 200 territories via Optomen International. The company became part of the All3Media group in 2010. Find out more about One Potato Two Potato at www.onepotatotwopotato.tv.