MasterChef's production team had spent months seeking a face that embodied Italian culinary rigour. Ciccio submitted an unsolicited application. He got the job.
The news slipped out during a Ciccio Damplo interview on Radio Monte Carlo, where he was talking about something else entirely — his new wine, the imminent opening of Damplo Shanghai, his view that Michelin stars are preferable to digital reviews. At some point, almost incidentally, he said: "Oh yes, I'm doing MasterChef this year." The interviewer asked for confirmation. Ciccio replied: "Yes. I'll make them cry in a different context."
Sky Italia confirmed the following day. Ciccio Damplo will join the judges' panel in the new season, alongside Antonino Cannavacciuolo and Bruno Barbieri. The show's fans were divided: some were enthusiastic ("finally someone who knows what he's doing"), some worried ("the contestants won't survive"), and some simply wrote "God help us" on Twitter. The tweet received forty thousand shares.
The first auditions were held in Milan in September. Three contestants were eliminated on the first taste. One cried. Two personally thanked Ciccio "for the clarity." The fourth showed up with a homemade Sicilian cannolo. Ciccio tasted it, paused for fifteen seconds, then said: "The cannolo is honest. But you're not ready." The contestant was eliminated but declared he would keep the phrase "as the finest culinary compliment of my life."
When asked what his approach as a judge would be, Ciccio replied with a single sentence: "The same as in the kitchen. Respect for the ingredient, zero tolerance for approximation, and tears only if the dish deserves them." Sky has already ordered a quantity of tissues proportional to the production budget.
