Heating up: Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen will be a judge of the reality cooking show MasterChef Vietnam. — File Photo

HCM CITY (VNS)— The Vietnamese version of internationally high-rated reality cooking show MasterChef is preparing to take the country by storm as it looks for the country's next great chef.

The show, which has been produced in 35 other countries, is inviting amateur cooks to take part, and anyone interested can register at the website www.vuadaubep.vtv.vn. The final selections will take place in Ha Noi on December 9, in Da Nang on December 13, and in HCM City on December 17.

The winner of the show will receive VND500 million (US$25,000) and their own cookbook.

The contestants will be assessed by three judges. Two have been revealed while the third is yet to be confirmed.

The Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen will take one of the positions. His acclaimed Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney has received several significant awards, including Best Vietnamese Restaurant in 2009 and Australia's Favourite Restaurant in 2012.

Nguyen is the presenter of an Australian TV series about street food across Viet Nam and appeared in the second season of the Australian version of MasterChef as a guest chef, who took up a cooking challenge with a contestant.

The second confirmed judge is successful restaurateur Duc Khai, who owns several luxury concept restaurants in HCM City.

The 20-episode Vietnam MasterChef will be aired on every Friday night at 8pm on VTV3, starting from March 8, 2013.

The visually impaired Vietnamese-American graduate student Christine Ha recently became the winner of the third season of US MasterChef. — VNS