Episode description
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MasterChef
MasterChef US
MasterChef US Season 13
Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 | Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25
MasterChef US Show Summary
MasterChef US is a competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010. It is based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato. The series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of ‘MasterChef’. The current line-up of judges consists of Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Aarón Sánchez.
The competition takes place in the MasterChef soundstage located in Los Angeles, CA, which includes a large kitchen area with several cooking stations, a well-stocked pantry, a freezer/fridge area, and a fine-dining restaurant/seating dining area room used for certain challenges.
The format of MasterChef has varied slightly over the years, but the following challenges have been regularly featured:
Skills Test: Cooks are challenged to perform a list of common cooking techniques or styles, or to replicate a particular cooking method of a dish. This type of test is sometimes used as an Elimination Test.
Mystery Box: Cooks are given a box with the same ingredients and must use only those ingredients to create a dish within a fixed amount of time. The judges select three dishes based on visual appearance and technique alone to taste, and from these three select one winner who usually gains an advantage of some type in the elimination test.
Elimination Test: After the challenge is explained, judges evaluate all dishes based on taste and visual appeal. The judges nominate the worst dishes for elimination and criticize them before eliminating at least one contestant.
Team Challenge: The cooks are split into teams by either team captains or the judges. These challenges often occur in a restaurant takeover or pop-up restaurant, taking the place of the staff of a particular restaurant. Diners taste both meals and vote for their favorite. The winning team advances, while the losing team participates in the Pressure Test or faces elimination based on the teams’ performance.
Pressure Test: Another form of the Elimination Test, in which losing team members compete against each other to make a standard dish within a very limited amount of time that requires a great degree of cooking finesse. Each dish is judged on taste, visual appeal, and technique, and the losing chef is eliminated.
Once the competition is reduced to the final two or three competitors, the finalists compete against each other in a three-course cook-off. All courses of the meal are judged, and an overall winner is crowned. The winner of each season wins $250,000, a MasterChef trophy, and the title of MasterChef. Some seasons have also added other prizes such as a cookbook deal.
The line-up of judges has changed over the years. For the first five seasons, the series starred celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay (the co-creator of the series and Hell’s Kitchen), Graham Elliot, and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. From seasons six through eight, pastry chef Christina Tosi temporarily replaced Bastianich. On season seven, Elliot departed as a judge, and in place of a third judge, there were a series of guest judges, one of which was Aarón Sánchez. Since season eight, Sánchez joined as a regular judge. In season nine, Bastianich returned as a regular judge, replacing Tosi.
A thirteenth season, subtitled United Tastes of America, premiered in May 2023, with Ramsay, Sánchez, and Bastianich all returning as judges. The show is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam. Along with Ramsay, Elisabeth Murdoch, Danny Schrader, Pat LlewMasterChef US is a competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010. It is based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato. The series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of ‘MasterChef’. The current line-up of judges consists of Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Aarón Sánchez.
The competition takes place in the MasterChef soundstage located in Los Angeles, CA, which includes a large kitchen area with several cooking stations, a well-stocked pantry, a freezer/fridge area, and a fine-dining restaurant/seating dining area room used for certain challenges.
The format of MasterChef has varied slightly over the years, but the following challenges have been regularly featured:
Skills Test: Cooks are challenged to perform a list of common cooking techniques or styles, or to replicate a particular cooking method of a dish. This type of test is sometimes used as an Elimination Test.
Mystery Box: Cooks are given a box with the same ingredients and must use only those ingredients to create a dish within a fixed amount of time. The judges select three dishes based on visual appearance and technique alone to taste, and from these three select one winner who usually gains an advantage of some type in the elimination test.
Elimination Test: After the challenge is explained, judges evaluate all dishes based on taste and visual appeal. The judges nominate the worst dishes for elimination and criticize them before eliminating at least one contestant.
Team Challenge: The cooks are split into teams by either team captains or the judges. These challenges often occur in a restaurant takeover or pop-up restaurant, taking the place of the staff of a particular restaurant. Diners taste both meals and vote for their favorite. The winning team advances, while the losing team participates in the Pressure Test or faces elimination based on the teams’ performance.
Pressure Test: Another form of the Elimination Test, in which losing team members compete against each other to make a standard dish within a very limited amount of time that requires a great degree of cooking finesse. Each dish is judged on taste, visual appeal, and technique, and the losing chef is eliminated.
Once the competition is reduced to the final two or three competitors, the finalists compete against each other in a three-course cook-off. All courses of the meal are judged, and an overall winner is crowned. The winner of each season wins $250,000, a MasterChef trophy, and the title of MasterChef. Some seasons have also added other prizes such as a cookbook deal.
The line-up of judges has changed over the years. For the first five seasons, the series starred celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay (the co-creator of the series and Hell’s Kitchen), Graham Elliot, and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. From seasons six through eight, pastry chef Christina Tosi temporarily replaced Bastianich. On season seven, Elliot departed as a judge, and in place of a third judge, there were a series of guest judges, one of which was Aarón Sánchez. Since season eight, Sánchez joined as a regular judge. In season nine, Bastianich returned as a regular judge, replacing Tosi.
A thirteenth season, subtitled United Tastes of America, premiered in May 2023, with Ramsay, Sánchez, and Bastianich all returning as judges. The show is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, and is based on a format created by Franc Roddam. Along with Ramsay, Elisabeth Murdoch, Danny Schrader, Pat LlewMasterChef US is a competitive cooking reality television series that has been airing since July 27, 2010. The show, based on the British series of the same name, features amateur and home chefs competing for the title of ‘MasterChef’. The competition takes place in a dedicated MasterChef soundstage in Los Angeles, CA.
The format of the show typically involves several types of challenges, including the Skills Test, Mystery Box, Elimination Test, Team Challenge, and Pressure Test. In the final stage of the competition, the remaining competitors participate in a three-course cook-off, with the winner receiving $250,000, a MasterChef trophy, and the title of MasterChef. Some seasons have also added other prizes, such as a cookbook deal.
The line-up of judges has varied over the years. For the first five seasons, the series starred celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay (the co-creator of the series and Hell’s Kitchen), Graham Elliot, and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. Pastry chef Christina Tosi temporarily replaced Bastianich from seasons six through eight, and guest judges, including Aarón Sánchez, filled the third judge’s position in season seven. From season eight onwards, Sánchez joined as a regular judge, and in season nine, Bastianich returned, replacing Tosi. For the latest season, subtitled United Tastes of America, Ramsay, Sánchez, and Bastianich all returned as judges.
The show is produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, based on a format created by Franc Roddam. Alongside Ramsay, several individuals serve as executive producers, including Elisabeth Murdoch, Danny Schrader, Pat Llewellyn, Ben Adler, Sharon Levy, and DJ Nurre.
In the most recent season (the 13th), a significant format change was introduced. Rather than observing the cooking process as they used to, the judges now wait to try each dish in another room, with nothing to judge from except the food that is brought to them. The task of keeping time for the contestants has been assigned to a new addition, the MasterChef floor manager. This change has received mixed responses from the viewers.
