I have never seen the overseas versions of this show, so this was my first experience watching "Masterchef". I loved the premise of the competition. Amateur cooks, home cooking enthusiasts, foodies/cooks that are not professionally trained are competing for the title of "Masterchef". They may actually be in the industry, but have not had any classical finished training as a chef.
The winner gets $250,000 and a book publishing deal out of this. For many who might win, it very well could mean that they can stop what they are having to do day to day and attend culinary school and make this love of cooking in reality a true profession.
Watch this show with the understanding that you are truly seeing amateur foodies/ cooks, not professional chefs and you will enjoy this much more. Understand that some are really stepping outside their comfort zone and are handling ingredients that they have never had or used before. It has been exciting to watch because it is really showing those cooks who truly understand the technicality of cooking instinctively.
From the 1st episode, I have been hooked. I have enjoyed this show much more than the last two seasons of Hell's Kitchen, which I felt was more smoke and staging than a competition. This is nothing like Hell's Kitchen. It is all about the cooking and the creation of the dish.
Masterchef has stayed true to its format and has put the contestants thru some really tough challenges. While the 1st episode is as the critics said filled with a lot of back story and melodramatic emotion, I felt that this was needed. It introduced the contestants to the viewers at the beginning. Since that 1st two shows, that over the top emotional melodrama has given way to a really good and intense competition.
Without giving spoilers to any winners, the contest has been very interesting. They started with about 100 contestants cooking their signature dishes for the 3 judge. Out of that 100, 30 were picked to move forward in the competition. The 2nd show, those 30 were quickly weeded down to 14 in the first challenge, which was something basic that all good cooks/potential chefs should know how to do, how to slice and dice onions quickly.
Since that 2nd show, the format in my time zone has been 2 hours each week. The 1st hour usually contains a main ingredient or entrée challenge (for example: venison). The winner gets to pick the mystery theme for the next challenge, at the end of which someone will be eliminated. The 2nd hour has been containing a group challenge or a professional challenge whereby the contestants are cooking for a large group of people, or someone in the industry. At the end of that competition, the losing group faces an elimination test and one person will be eliminated.
There is a method to the shows madness. The judges are putting these cooks thru the paces for a reason. They are looking for consistency and creativeness. The challenges are meant to weed out those that have limited experience and do not understand the nature of cooking. I don't think any of the judges expect that these people to be professional chefs, but I do think they expect them to understand the technicality's of cooking and to have the ability to create quickly with quality.
I have truly enjoy this show and hope that they will renew this for another season.
The winner gets $250,000 and a book publishing deal out of this. For many who might win, it very well could mean that they can stop what they are having to do day to day and attend culinary school and make this love of cooking in reality a true profession.
Watch this show with the understanding that you are truly seeing amateur foodies/ cooks, not professional chefs and you will enjoy this much more. Understand that some are really stepping outside their comfort zone and are handling ingredients that they have never had or used before. It has been exciting to watch because it is really showing those cooks who truly understand the technicality of cooking instinctively.
From the 1st episode, I have been hooked. I have enjoyed this show much more than the last two seasons of Hell's Kitchen, which I felt was more smoke and staging than a competition. This is nothing like Hell's Kitchen. It is all about the cooking and the creation of the dish.
Masterchef has stayed true to its format and has put the contestants thru some really tough challenges. While the 1st episode is as the critics said filled with a lot of back story and melodramatic emotion, I felt that this was needed. It introduced the contestants to the viewers at the beginning. Since that 1st two shows, that over the top emotional melodrama has given way to a really good and intense competition.
Without giving spoilers to any winners, the contest has been very interesting. They started with about 100 contestants cooking their signature dishes for the 3 judge. Out of that 100, 30 were picked to move forward in the competition. The 2nd show, those 30 were quickly weeded down to 14 in the first challenge, which was something basic that all good cooks/potential chefs should know how to do, how to slice and dice onions quickly.
Since that 2nd show, the format in my time zone has been 2 hours each week. The 1st hour usually contains a main ingredient or entrée challenge (for example: venison). The winner gets to pick the mystery theme for the next challenge, at the end of which someone will be eliminated. The 2nd hour has been containing a group challenge or a professional challenge whereby the contestants are cooking for a large group of people, or someone in the industry. At the end of that competition, the losing group faces an elimination test and one person will be eliminated.
There is a method to the shows madness. The judges are putting these cooks thru the paces for a reason. They are looking for consistency and creativeness. The challenges are meant to weed out those that have limited experience and do not understand the nature of cooking. I don't think any of the judges expect that these people to be professional chefs, but I do think they expect them to understand the technicality's of cooking and to have the ability to create quickly with quality.
I have truly enjoy this show and hope that they will renew this for another season.