MasterChef is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as MasterChef Goes Large. The revival featured a new format devised by Franc Roddam and John Silver, with Karen Ross producing. In 2008, the name was changed back to MasterChef but the format remained unchanged.
The series currently appears in four versions: the main MasterChef series; Celebrity MasterChef; MasterChef: The Professionals, with working chefs; and Junior MasterChef, with children between the ages of nine and twelve.[8] The format and style of the show have been reproduced around the world in various international versions.
Original series
In the original series, amateur cooks competed for the title of Master Chef. The show featured nine rounds leading up to three semifinals and a final. In each round, three contestants were tasked with preparing a gourmet three-course meal in under two hours. The contestants could choose the meal, although there was a price limit on ingredients. "Everyday" ingredients and equipment were provided, and contestants could also bring up to five "speciality" ingredients or utensils.
The first incarnation of the series was presented by Loyd Grossman, who was joined each week by a professional chef and a celebrity to act as judges. In each episode, Grossman and the guest judges discussed the menus, talked to the contestants, and finally ate and judged the food. The judges' "cogitations" originally took place off-camera, but later episodes included edited highlights of the discussions after the food had been tasted and before the winner was announced.
In 1998, Grossman decided to take a sabbatical and the series was not made in his absence.[citation needed] He returned to present the 1999 series but left the show in 2000.
Grossman's departure and 2001 revamp
In 2001, the show underwent a makeover in response to declining ratings. It was moved from its traditional Sunday afternoon slot on BBC One to a Tuesday night slot on BBC Two and the format of the show was modified. The celebrity judge was no longer included and the contestants had to cook two courses in 90 minutes, which was extended to two-and-a-half hours for three courses in the final episode. As an additional requirement, each contestant had to use the same key ingredient in each course.[9]
In October 2000, Grossman left in anger over the proposed changes and was replaced by chef Gary Rhodes, who had previously presented MasterChef USA.[10] Rhodes' advice to contestants was more critical than Grossman's and the show was acclaimed for its more serious tone, which later inspired the MasterChef Goes Large format and other cooking competitions like Hell's Kitchen.[11] However, the new version of the show did not revive ratings as hoped and was cancelled by the BBC after the first series.
Revived series
Old logo
In 2005, the executive producers Franc Roddam and John Silver, with the series producer Karen Ross, radically overhauled the show's format and introduced a new series. It was initially titled MasterChef Goes Large, but the name reverted to MasterChef in 2008.[12] The new series is judged by John Torode and Gregg Wallace, with voice-over narration provided by India Fisher.
The show proved very popular and became one of BBC Two's more successful early evening programmes, leading to an announcement by the BBC in 2009 that it would be promoted to BBC One.[13]
In February 2022, the BBC and Shine TV announced that they have agreed a multi-series six-year deal for the programme, and from 2024 the production base would move from London to Birmingham.[14] In January 2023, it was reported that Birmingham City Council has approved BBC plans to use the old Banana Warehouse in Digbeth as the new MasterChef studios.[15]
Format
Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace at MasterChef Live, London, 2009
Each series is broadcast on five nights a week for eight weeks. During the first six weeks, the first four episodes of each week are heats and the fifth episode is a quarter-final. Six contestants enter each heat and the winner becomes a quarter-finalist. At the end of each week, the four quarter-finalists compete and a semi-finalist is chosen. After six weeks, the six semi-finalists compete in the final two weeks.
In 2010, the judges were given more flexibility, allowing them to advance more than one contestant to the quarter-finals or, in one instance, none at all. Series 7 of Master Chef had auditions with a format similar to The X Factor, in which hopeful chefs cooked in front of the judges to secure a spot in the competition. More than 20,000 people applied to audition for the series.[16]
Heats
The heats follow a three-round format:
The Market Test: the contestants must invent a dish using ingredients from the show's market. They have 15 minutes to select ingredients and 1 hour and 10 minutes to cook the meal. Three contestants are eliminated from the competition and those remaining advance to the Impression Test.
The Calling Card: the contestants must invent a dish from scratch in 75 minutes (originally 40 minutes until 2009). The contestants can choose any ingredients they like.
The Invention Test: the contestants are given two boxes: one with sweet items and the other with savoury items. They must pick a box and make a dish using its ingredients within 75 minutes.
The Impression Test: the contestants must cook a two-course meal in 75 minutes for past winners and finalists of MasterChef. They are given one hour to serve the main course and 15 minutes afterwards to serve dessert. This segment was first featured in 2017.
Quarter-finals
The format of the quarter-finals has changed over the years. Before 2010, the format featured three rounds:
The Ingredients Test: the contestants were asked to identify a selection of ingredients or produce.
The Passion Test: the contestants each had one minute to convince the judges of their overwhelming passion for food.
After eliminating one contestant, the remaining three quarter-finalists each produced a three-course meal in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
In 2010, the quarter-final format was cut to two rounds:
The Choice Test: the contestants were given 15 minutes to cook their choice of either a pre-selected fish recipe or meat recipe with the judges supervising. At least one contestant was eliminated after this round.
The remaining quarter-finalists each produced a two-course meal in one hour.
The current quarter-final format consists of two rounds:
The Palate Test: Judge John Torode cooks a dish for the contestants, and they must identify the ingredients and try to recreate the dish using the ingredients available to them.
The Choice Test: the contestants have 80 minutes to create a showstopping dish for the judges and a special celebrity food critic.
Comeback Week
The sixth week is called "Comeback Week" and features contestants from previous series of MasterChef who did not advance past the heats or quarter-finals. The format changes for this special week. It includes:
The Skill Test: the contestants have 25 minutes to cook one of two pre-selected recipes. Some contestants may be eliminated after this round.
The Palate Test: Torode cooks a complex dish and asks the contestants one by one to taste the dish and identify its ingredients. Some contestants may be eliminated after this round.
The Pressure Test: the contestants work a lunchtime shift at a busy restaurant under the supervision of a professional chef who comments on their performance.
The remaining contestants have one hour to cook a two-course meal. One contestant is selected to advance to the quarter-final.
The comeback quarter-finalists then cook head-to-head in a larger version of the Invention Test, cooking one dish in an hour. One contestant is selected to advance to the semi-finals.
MasterChef Live
MasterChef Live is an extension of the television programme. It has been held each November since 2009 and the event lasts three days. It is hosted at London Olympia and is co-located with the annual Wine Show. Highlights of the event include live cooking demonstrations in the Chefs' Theater, celebrity chefs, former contestants, critics and MasterChef-style cook-offs.
Celebrity MasterChef
Celebrity MasterChef was devised as a celebrity version of MasterChef Goes Large. The show was screened on BBC One from 2006 to 2011. Originally, 24 celebrities participated in each series with three contestants per episode following the full MasterChef Goes Large test.[17]
In 2011, the programme was moved to a daily daytime slot with 30 episodes screened over six weeks and with only 16 celebrities.[18] Catch-up shows were broadcast on Fridays at 20:30 (30 minutes) and on Saturdays at various times (60 minutes). In 2012, the show moved to BBC Two due to low ratings and returned to an evening 18:30 slot. In 2013, it moved back to BBC One prime time, shown at 20:00. Since 2014, the show has had 20 celebrities competing for the title.
Junior MasterChef originally ran from 1994 to 1999 for contestants under 16 years old. It was revived in 2010 with contestants between nine and twelve years old. A second series of the revived format ran in 2012 and a third series followed in 2014.
Young MasterChef
In February 2022, BBC Three commissioned Young MasterChef, which premiered its first series in 2023.[35] The judges for the first series were Poppy O'Toole and Kerth Gumbs. While O'Toole continued as a judge for the second season, Kerth Gumbs was replaced by Big Has. The second series aired in 2024.
Controversy
During the 13th episode of its 14th series when Wallace and Torode criticised a rendang dish made by the Malaysian-born contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin for its poor quality. Zaleha had been given a task to make a chicken dish in thirty minutes and chose to attempt rendang, which takes several hours to prepare. The judges deemed the dish inedible because the chicken skin was rubbery and undercooked and advised her that with a thirty-minute task she should have made a crispy fried chicken with a sauce. Malaysian and Indonesian commentators pointed out that rendang is usually cooked as a stew and is not intended to be crispy.,[36] and that both judges had failed to differentiate between "crispy" and "under-cooked".
Najib Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister at the time, joined the conversation with a subtle tweet denouncing the judges' opinion.[37] The former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad also joined in, suggesting that the judges were confusing rendang with KFC.[38]
A six-part series looking back over 15 years of Celebrity MasterChef, first episode broadcast on 6 August 2020.
Christmas Cook-Off
Christmas special episodes, where past contestants competed to hold the title of Christmas champion; first episode broadcast on 21 December 2020, second episode broadcast on 23 December 2020.
^Symington, Nicki (7 July 2001). "The repast master - Telegraph". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019. - Rayner, Jay (8 September 2002). "Between courses..."The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.