Casting call for “America’s Next Bikini Chef” brings fitness competition to Little Rock
Mon, August 24, 2026 at 6:08 PM
UpdatedMon, August 24, 2026 at 6:14 PM
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If you’ve ever wished your meal prep came with a little more flair (and maybe a little more fitness inspiration), a new casting call rolling into Little Rock is aiming to do just that. (Video: KATV)
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) —If you’ve ever wished your meal prep came with a little more flair (and maybe a little more fitness inspiration), a new casting call rolling into Little Rock is aiming to do just that
The search is underway for “America’s Next Bikini Chef,” and Little Rock native Dr. Hasaan Rasheed — who appeared in Marvel’s Black Panther — is serving as a celebrity judge as the competition brings a casting call to the city
Asked whether viewers will see him in the next movie, Rasheed said, “Yes, yes, yes, yes. Look for the red hair. I’ll be around. I’ll be around.”
Rasheed described his time working on Black Panther as his first movie project, saying he spent “seven to eight months with a lot of main characters and people who have been in the industry for a long time.”
He said the experience gave him “a lot of knowledge and wisdom” and added that it helped him push forward, help, and inspire others
Rasheed also clarified his role in the film: “So, I was one of the main king’s guards.”
As for “America’s Next Bikini Chef,” Rasheed said the concept goes beyond cooking and focuses on healthy living. “We are pretty much integrating fitness and health and the importance of that in the lifestyle,” he said, adding, “It’s not necessarily being a chef. It’s just the lifestyle itself, being able to cook healthy and be able to, you know, stay active.”
During the segment, Rasheed brought a simple example of what he described as “our PFF,” explaining it as “our proteins, our lean, our lean fats, and, you know, our fiber.”
He said the cooking on the show will go well beyond the basics
“Oh, it’s going to get a lot more advanced during the competition,” Rasheed said, adding that the competition is expected to bring out quite a few creatives
When asked what types of chefs the show is looking for, Rasheed said, “It’s a variety. There’s no limitations on the type of chef,” emphasizing that the focus is on people who enjoy the lifestyle and that it’s open “to all cultures of different types of people.”
Rasheed also talked about Susan Irby, the original Bikini Chef, saying, “Susan came up with this idea just, you know, out at the lake randomly,” describing how it grew from an idea into something bigger: “It became a thing. It became an idea, and then here we are now. It’s kind of becoming a whole culture.”
And for those keeping tabs on Rasheed’s next on-screen appearance, he said he has an upcoming project titled “War from the Archives,” which he described as a movie based on mental health
He said “99% of it” was shot in Ghana and that it will premiere internationally there before being brought to the United States
