
MasterChef (British TV series)

MasterChef is a competitive cooking show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. 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"; "", with working chefs; and "Junior MasterChef", with children between the ages of nine and twelve. 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. 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.
In October 2000, Grossman left in anger over the proposed changes and was replaced by chef Gary Rhodes, who had previously presented "MasterChef USA". 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". 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.
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. 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.
Format.
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.
Heats.
The heats follow a three-round format:
Quarter-finals.
The format of the quarter-finals has changed over the years. Before 2010, the format featured three rounds:
In 2010, the quarter-final format was cut to two rounds:
The current quarter-final format consists of two rounds: 
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:
"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.
In 2011, the programme was moved to a daily daytime slot with 30 episodes screened over six weeks and with only 16 celebrities. 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.
Contestants.
The winner from each year is in bold text.
"MasterChef: The Professionals".
"MasterChef: The Professionals", a version for professional chefs, was introduced in 2008.
"Junior MasterChef".
"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.
Controversy.
"MasterChef" was involved in a 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 normally 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. Many commentators, particularly from Malaysia and Indonesia, pointed out that "rendang" is usually cooked as a stew and is not intended to be crispy, and that both judges had failed to differentiate between "crispy" and "under-cooked", seemingly missing the point that she had been given chicken and thirty minutes to produce a dish.
Najib Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister at the time, joined the conversation with a subtle tweet denouncing the judges' opinion. The former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamed also joined in, suggesting that the judges were confusing "rendang" with KFC, also demonstrating that they had not actually seen the programme in question.
Winners.
"MasterChef" (original series).
Note: The original "MasterChef" series did not appear in 1998.
"MasterChef Goes Large" and "MasterChef" (revived series).
"MasterChef".
The show's original name returned in series 4 in 2008.
Transmission guide.
Revived series.
"MasterChef".
The show's original name returned in series 4 in 2008.
Specials