MasterChef

MasterChef is a reality cooking game show.

Broadcast

FOX 2010-present

Packagers

One Potato Two Potato (2010-2012)
Reveille Productions (2010-2012)
Shine America (2012-present)

Hosts

Gordon Ramsay

Judges

Joe Bastianich
Graham Elliot

Gameplay

There are many chefs auditioning nationwide, but they have to go each of the challenges such as:

Preliminary Round

Of all the amateur chefs who audition nationwide, one hundred are chosen to cook their signature dish for the three judges. Each judge takes a taste of the dish and gives his opinion before voting a "yes" or a "no". At least two "yes" votes are required to earn a white MasterChef apron, allowing the competitor to advance.

Challenge Night

The contestants who advanced out of the preliminary round next compete in two challenges. In the first challenge, all the contestants complete a certain task, to the specification of the chefs, such as cutting and dicing onions or slicing apples. The chefs who are not eliminated while performing the task immediately proceed to an "invention test". A theme is given to the remaining contestants, who have thirty minutes to create and cook a dish relevant to this theme. The contestants can cook with any ingredient they want, as long as the theme is prevalent in the dish. Once the dishes are cooked, they are all presented to the judges for tasting — by presentation, finesse, and taste. In the third season, the only challenge was the invention test.

Mystery Box Challenge

In Mystery Box challenges, contestants receive a number of ingredients of which they are to make a dish of their choice. The contestants are allowed to use any number of the ingredients they wish, and are free to omit any ingredients they wish. Once the dishes are finished, the judges choose three of the dishes to taste. The winner begins the judging in the following elimination challenge.

Off Site Team Challenge

The off-site team challenge involves the contestants being split into two teams, blue and red, which consist of equal numbers and are given a task, for example, running a restaurant or catering for a party or wedding (similar to Ramsay's other series, Hell's Kitchen). After the task has been completed, the teams are given the results, which can be determined by third party votes. Members of the losing team compete in an elimination challenge, known as a "pressure test".

Pressure Test

A "pressure test" challenge involves competitors who failed in a previous challenge (i.e. the three worst performers in an individual challenge or the losing team in a group challenge). The competitors are given a dish that they then must create in a particular time frame. Once the contestants have finished cooking, the dishes are taken to the judges to be tasted, who then criticize, vote and eliminate one or more contestants. The contestant(s) who are eliminated must take off their apron(s) and place it on their station(s) before exiting.

Celebrity Chef

A celebrity chef challenge involves a contestant who won a particular challenge. The contestant competes against a celebrity chef in a cook off. The celebrity chef gives the contestant the recipe to reproduce, and the contestant receives a head start to cook the dish before the celebrity chef starts cooking and after a certain time the dishes are presented to the judges who taste and score out of ten. The dishes are tasted by the judges in a blind-tasting fashion, meaning that they are never aware which dish was made by whom. If the contestant scores higher than the celebrity chef, they receive an immunity pin which they can use during an elimination to pass the elimination challenge. This challenge has only occurred once so far in the series.

The remaining chef is the winner.

Inventor

Based on the British game show of the same name

Other Versions

MasterChef USA: a precursor similar to the game but on PBS

International Versions

It has aired in the Australia and Mexico for international versions as well.