Judges Tiffany Derry, Timothy Hollingsworth and Francis Lam
Return Along with Host Alejandra Ramos
TODAY Co-Host Al Roker Joins Season Opener as Special Guest Judge
ARLINGTON, VA; May 16, 2025 – THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE, PBS’s popular cooking competition series, returns for its fourth season on Friday, July 11, with eight new home cooks from across the United States ready to showcase their signature dishes that reflect their unique backgrounds and culinary stories. Award-winning chefs and restaurateurs Tiffany Derry and Timothy Hollingsworth, along with Splendid Table host Francis Lam, return as judges to guide and encourage them along the way, while Alejandra Ramos returns as host. Season 4 of THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE premieres Fridays, July 11 through August 15, 2025, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app.
An upbeat cooking competition that spotlights the incredible variety of tastes and traditions found across the country, Season 4 of THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE introduces eight new talented cooks preparing their most beloved recipes. Each week, the judges determine who has the winning dish, and, in the final episode, the top three compete for a chance to win this year’s competition. Joining the fun in the opening episode as a special guest judge is beloved TV personality, bestselling cookbook author, and creator of the upcoming PBS KIDS series WEATHER HUNTERS, Al Roker. An additional guest judge will be announced at a later date.
THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
Season 4 of THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE was filmed at Green Door Gourmet, a 350-acre farm, on-farm market, and agritourism destination in Nashville, Tennessee. THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE is co-produced for PBS by VPM and Objective Media Group. Steve Humble is the Executive in Charge for VPM. Zara Frankel is the Executive in Charge for PBS. At Objective Media Group, an All3Media company, Alyssa Hastrich is Showrunner, Layla Smith and Jilly Pearce are Executive Producers and Erin Flinn is Senior Vice President, Current Programming.
About the Host and Judges
Alejandra Ramos(Host) is a television host, TODAY Show contributor, and writer. Known for her vibrant, playful culinary point of view, and passion for style both in and out of the kitchen, Alejandra’s ability to inspire in a way that is fun and approachable has made her a favorite with audiences nationwide. As a writer, Alejandra contributes original recipes and essays to a number of publications. Her work has appeared on NBCNews.com, Cosmopolitan, The Kitchen, Real Simple, O Magazine, and Saveur. A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, her Latina heritage proudly informs her work, providing a fresh and authentic perspective across platforms. Since 2020, her regular product segments on TODAY have helped shine a light on more than 100 incredible BIPOC, Latinx, and women-owned small businesses from around the country.
Tiffany Derry(Judge) is the founder of Tiffany Derry Concepts and co-founder of T2D Concepts, the Texas-based purpose-driven hospitality group behind Roots Southern Table, Radici Wood-Fired Grill, Roots Chicken Shak, Shef Food + Wine Festival and Shef Tiffany spice and apparel line. Denied from her first cooking job at the age of 15 because of her race and gender, Tiffany has risen her way through the culinary ranks to run her own restaurant concepts, appear on national television and cook at the White House.
Tiffany’s authentic approach to Southern cooking landed her on the 2022 James Beard Award finalist list in two categories – Best Chef: Texas and Best New Restaurant for Roots Southern Table. Tiffany’s TV appearances include MasterChef, Top Chef, Bobby’s Triple Threat, Worst Cooks in America, Tournament of Champions, Chopped, Bar Rescue and more. Outside of her restaurants and television appearances, Tiffany is a fierce advocate for social justice and equity across gender, race and food access. She spends much of her spare time lobbying politicians to pass sustainable and healthy food polices.
Timothy Hollingsworth (Judge) is an award-winning chef known for his bold, approachable cuisine rooted in classic French technique. Born in Houston and raised in California, he began his culinary journey at The French Laundry, where he rose to Chef de Cuisine and represented the U.S. at the 2009 Bocuse d’Or. He has earned multiple accolades, including the 2010 James Beard Foundation’s Rising Chef of the Year Award and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Rising Star Chef. He competed in the 2018 Netflix series The Final Table, where he won the global culinary competition as well as hosting the Roku special Chain Food: All-Star Dishes.
Now based in Los Angeles, Hollingsworth is a Chef partner in Hundredfold—an American brasserie with a touch of whimsy, developed with Patina Group. The restaurant joyfully reimagines the French brasserie through an American lens. He is also the co-founder of Chain, a pop-up dining concept rooted in nostalgic fast food, created in collaboration with B.J. Novak.
Francis Lam(Judge) is the host of The Splendid Table, produced by American Public Media. A regular contributor and frequent guest host on The Splendid Table since 2010, Lam is the former Eat columnist for The New York Times Magazine and is Vice President and Editor in-Chief at Clarkson Potter, a division within Penguin Random House that is a leader in cookbook publishing. For two seasons, Lam was a regular judge on Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef Masters. An award-winning writer, Lam has written for numerous publications including Gourmet, Bon Appetít, Food & Wine, Lucky Peach, Saveur, Salon, Men’s Journal, and Financial Times.
Lam was born to Chinese immigrant parents living in New Jersey and working in Manhattan's Chinatown, where they operated a small garment factory. Lam attended the University of Michigan before attending The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and graduating first in his class in 2003. While at CIA, he wrote emails to friends describing his experiences. The emails got passed around, and he was contacted by an editor at Financial Times who had read some of them and asked Lam to write for the publication. In 2004 he met Ruth Reichl, then editor of Gourmet, and started freelancing for them. He went on to write for Food & Wine, Salonand Bon Appétit.
About VPM
As Virginia’s home for public media, VPM connects nearly 2 million people across Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley to insightful programming in news, education, arts and culture across its television, radio and digital channels. The VPM News team delivers award-winning coverage of Virginia’s General Assembly; statewide politics; educational, economic and legal issues; as well as the news of the day. VPM produces acclaimed series and documentaries, plus a range of music shows with local hosts curating selections in classical, jazz, hop-hop and alternative music. VPM also creates content through its Science Matters initiative and provides early childhood educational resources to families, caregivers and educators. Since 2021, VPM has operated Style Weekly, a magazine centered on deeper arts and culture coverage and local storytelling. Learn more at VPM.org and on Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram and several channels on YouTube.
About OBJECTIVE MEDIA GROUP
Objective Media Group, an All3Media company, produces across the US and UK. Original entertainment, reality and scripted programming includes “Lingo” (CBS), “The Cube” (TBS), “Worst Cooks in America” (The Food Network), “Elf on the Shelf: Sweet Showdown (The Food Network) and forthcoming limited series “Wayward” (Netflix).
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.