Graham Elliot Bowles has yet another gig: sidekick to the notoriously salty chef Gordon Ramsay.

Bowles will join Ramsay as a judge on the Fox series "MasterChef," debuting in July, the network said Thursday. New York restaurateur Joe Bastianich will round out the judging panel.

The show is said to be a culinary version of "American Idol" -- only hobby cooks allowed. Ramsay, Bowles and Bastianich will put contestants through a series of challenges designed to whip them into professional shape.

Bowles, chef and owner of Graham Elliot in River North, is getting used to this thing called food television. He has competed on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America" and will take another stab at the "Top Chef Masters" title on Bravo; the second season of the show pitting the nation's preeminent chefs against each other premieres April 7.

Early this summer, Bowles will open Grahamwich, a sandwich shop, at 615 N. State. He also will head up food operations at Lollapalooza in Grant Park.