DIDDY LAUNCHES COOKING SHOW

Diddy plans to launch a new cooking show this spring titled Cooking Showdown. The reality show pairs celebrities with renowned chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Cat Cora and Govind Armstrong in a weeklong cooking battle.

The sexiest trend going on right now is young men learning how to cook,” said Diddy. “There’s nothing more sensual than a man cooking for his woman. We wanted to do something that fit that trend in the marketplace.”

Celebrities will be trained by chefs the first three episodes before they face off in a timed competition in which they must create a three course meal. Judges will pick a winner each night, with the winners competing in final competition Thursday night. The final winner will be chosen by viewer votes and the judges. Several celebrites are finalizing their involvement in the project, which Diddy teamed up with Ben Silverman and David A. Hurwitz to create.

Hurwitz notes that Diddy’s been “working on this in secrets for months now,” with NBC giving the show a green light only recently. “We’ve been desperate to do cooking in primetime, And who’s more primetime than Diddy?”

The show is scheduled to debut this April on NBC.