These Brave Chefs Have Entered The Jungle


‘I’m a celebrity…get me out of here‘ is a hugely popular TV series shown in many countries throughout the world. It is the show in which countless celebrities have been filmed trying to eat the most disgusting foods, all in the name if entertainment.

Having watched the show for many years, I’ve noticed that many chefs have chosen to appear on I’m a celebrity get me out of here. This led me to wonder if their special cooking talents gives chefs an advantage when they enter the jungle?

The number of celebrity chefs that have entered the jungle, across all versions of the show is surprisingly small. Given how popular cooking shows are on TV, and the amount of celebrity chefs we are accustomed to seeing on TV.

So why is this?

The vast majority of people would struggle to eat the delicacies laid before them, such as insects, eyeballs, testicles, (you get the idea) it is an important part of the show and something which all celebrities will have to endure at some point.

Does a chefs skill setOpens in a new tab. not ensure they can make a tasty dish out of even the largest sheep eyeball? Or in fact, do their heightened taste buds mean they find the being in the jungle especially difficult?

The best way to answer these questions is to take a look at which chefs have appeared on ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here’ across the globe and see how far they made it through the competition.

Alongside this, there is the general lack of food to be taken into account. Rations are strictly controlled by the producers, forcing the contestants to become creative with their cooking abilities.

I have divided the chef contestants into the country in which the show was aired to make it a little easier!

Chefs Which Have Appeared On ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ British Edition

Although ‘I’m a celebrity’ is hugely popular with the British audience, it seems that many celebrity chefs are reluctant to enter the jungle. So far, across all the series combined, there have only been 4 chefs that have taken up the challenge.

The table below shows which chefs have entered the jungle in previous years.

SeriesFamous ChefFinishing Position
Series 2Antony Worrall ThompsonOpens in a new tab.5th Place
Series 7John Burton-RaceOpens in a new tab.8th Place
Series 9Gino D’AcampoWinner
Series 12Rosemary ShragerOpens in a new tab.6th Place

I have included links to the relevant chef’s pages within the table so you can find out all you need to know about these brave individuals. (SourceOpens in a new tab.)

Series 9 winner, Gino D’Acampo famously got in trouble with the Australian authorities for killing and cooking a rat whilst on the show. This could be seen as a demonstration that chefs understand how to make even the most off putting of food types taste great.

I guess in some ways we can draw the conclusion, that knowing how to make the best of any ingredientsOpens in a new tab. helped him win the show; even if it is a slightly tenuous link admittedly.

Chefs Which Have Appeared On ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ Australia Edition

The format for the show was adapted to an Australian audience and proved extremely popular, going on to be commissioned for many more seasons. This has given the opportunity for several celebrity chefs to take part.

The table below shows those chefs which have entered the Australian version of ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’, and the position in which they finished.

SeriesFamous ChefFinishing Position
Series 1Julie GoodwinOpens in a new tab.7th place
Series 5Justine SchofieldOpens in a new tab.8th place
Series 6Miguel MaestreOpens in a new tab.Winner
Series 7Colin FassnidgeOpens in a new tab.5th Place

Again, the links to each individual chefs website are contained within the table for those who want a deeper understanding of the type of person who chooses to take part. (SourceOpens in a new tab.)

We can see from the table above, that the Australian version of the show has also crowned a celebrity chef the winner. Series 6 saw Miguel Maestre voted ‘king of the jungle’.

Is it a coincidence that both the British and Australian versions of the show had winners that where chefs?, Or can we draw from that, this idea that chefs made of tough stuff that can endure the hardship of the jungle to ultimately come out as winners?

I decided to then take a look at the USA version of the show as I believed this would have the greatest chance of having a larger number of chef contestants to look at. However, I found something a little surprising.

The show was adapted by many other countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands. Readers who wish to know more about contestants on these versions of the show can follow the link here.Opens in a new tab.

Chefs which Have Appeared On USA ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’

The ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ format was not such a big hit with the American TV audience and as such, to date, there have only been two seasons of the USA version aired.

So far no chefs have taken part in the USA version of I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ and with no confirmed plans to bring the series back, this is unlikely to change anytime soon.

So with no American version of the show to take a large sample size from, we must draw conclusions from our limited number of British and Australian chef entries!

With such low numbers of chefs taking part it’s hard to pull a pattern out from the data, at least one that would stand up to even the lowest level of scrutiny.

As such, our original question, is being a chef an advantage on I’m a celebrity? is difficult to prove either way.

We do know that even among the relatively low number of chefs taking part, there have been two winners (or kings of the jungle as they’re called).

Can we draw from this that being a chef gives you a competitive edge when faced with an extremely challenging situation? Does the hardships of the kitchenOpens in a new tab. ensures that when it’s time to dig deep, chefs have that ability?

It is possible! (albeit from a very biased standpoint).

Now, I’m not biased enough to be suggesting that the winners achieved the prize solely due to their chef credentials; but the hard kitchen lifeOpens in a new tab. they are accustomed to may have helped a little…….

Dave Nicholas

Having spent around 10 years working as a qualified chef in high end restaurants, my mission is to use this experience to help others as they begin their career in catering!

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