SINGAPORE — Three Singaporean home cooks will be in the running to become the first MasterChef Asia winner once it premieres on Sept 3 on the Lifetime channel.

The Asian edition of the popular reality show cooking competition is the latest in a series of adaptations in various countries such as the United States, Italy and Australia, after it debuted in the United Kingdom in 1990.

Singapore’s representatives are Lennard Yeong, a 27-year-old engineer; Woo Wai Leong, a 27-year-old lawyer; and Sandrian Tan, a 41-year-old homemaker.

They will be battling it out in the kitchen together with other contestants from all over the region, including a scientist from China, a banker from Malaysia and a model from Taiwan. Home cooks from India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are also in the mix.

The contestants will be under the scrutiny of judges Audra Morrice, a Singapore-born former MasterChef Australia finalist, Hong Kong-born celebrity chef Susur Lee and three-Michelin-starred chef Bruno Menard.

On top of bragging rights as the ultimate MasterChef Asia, the winner of the first season will get to publish his or her own cookbook and receive a US$50,000 cash prize, US$10,000 worth of unique leisure experiences in Singapore, US$15,000 of Panasonic home appliances, a paid internship at one of Carlton Hotel Singapore’s restaurants and a one-week stay at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

“The series is coming together really well; there is a wonderful range of culinary creations made by these amateur home cooks and moments I was on the edge of my seat. With the passion for food we have in Asia, we believe audiences will love the show and will no doubt be rooting for their favourite contestants,” said Michele Schofield, senior vice president of programming and production at A+E Networks Asia, of which the Lifetime channel is a subsidary.

The first season of MasterChef Asia premiers on Sept 3, 9pm, on Lifetime (StarHub TV Channel 514). For more information, visit http://msn.com/masterchefasia.