Launched in 1990 by the BBC, MasterChef is a competitive cookery television show with a format that has been copied in various other countries across the globe. It has spawned a number of spin-off shows and has attracted some of the most famous celebrity chefs and food experts in the world.
Original series
The first series comprised nine episodes. Three amateur cooks per episode were given the chance to take part in the heat, leading to the semi-final and eventually the grand-final. They were tasked with cooking a gourmet three-course dinner in under two hours – preparing the dishes of their choice but with a limit on the price of the ingredients.
Equipment, utensils and everyday ingredients such as flour were provided, and they could each bring five specialist utensils or ingredients of their own. As the presenter of series one, Lloyd Grossman was a restaurant reviewer who had also produced his own range of cooking sauces and headed a multi-million-pound project to improve food in NHS hospitals.
The guest judges comprised a professional chef and a celebrity, who discussed the menus, tasted the food and walked round the studio chatting to the contestants as they prepared their meals. Edited highlights of the judges’ discussions as they selected the weekly winner were screened, before they announced the final decision on air. Grossman eventually left the series in 2000.
New format
In 2001, the series moved from its BBC1 Sunday afternoon slot and became a weeknight programme on BBC2 – chef Gary Rhodes became the presenter. The contestants’ cooking time had been trimmed down to 90 minutes and they had to cook only two courses. In 2005, the show was rebranded as MasterChef Goes Large, but three years later, in 2008, it reverted back to the original title of MasterChef. A revamped format was created by John Silver and Franc Roddam.
The show branched out into different spin-offs from the main MasterChef series, including Celebrity MasterChef for celebrities from any media; MasterChef: The Professionals for working chefs; and Junior MasterChef, in which young people aged nine to 12 years competed. The revamp proved so popular that in 2009, the show was moved back to BBC1 and won a primetime viewing slot.
The show was given an innovative new slant in 2010, when the judges were permitted to send more than one contestant through to the quarter-finals from each episode – or none at all if they didn’t think any of them were up to it!
International versions have been made in a host of countries such as Albania, Australia, Argentina, Bangladesh, the United States, Thailand, Spain, Sweden, the Philippines, Norway, Poland and many more.
Charity
Beginning in 2008, the show has also produced a number of charity specials. Junior MasterChef was part of the Children in Need fundraising extravaganza and this was followed by Sport Relief Does MasterChef in 2010 which was hosted by Scottish footballing legend Alan Hansen. Comic Relief Does MasterChef in 2011 was presented by comedian Miranda Hart (and Comic Relief Does MasterChef 2013).
Among the most famous contestants was the 1993 finalist, Ross Kelvin Burden (a former model from New Zealand) who made a big impact on the UK show and went on to achieve an international career – including becoming a regular on the TV show, Ready Steady Cook for eight years. He also published cookery books and wrote magazine columns, before his untimely death in 2014 at the age of 45.
Memorable moments
There have been many memorable moments over the years in all of the MasterChef series. Those that stand out in viewers’ memories include the moment when celebrity contestant Sinitta accidentally served raw (and potentially dangerous) meat in two disastrous dishes.
Disgruntled viewers complained about the judges’ decision after their favourite contestant, professional snooker player Stephen Hendry, was first to be voted off Celebrity MasterChef.
One of the worst moments was when one hapless contestant, Erryn Cobb, served celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay with the charred remnants of £500 worth of truffles and what looked like plastic vegetables. Ramsay was visibly horrified and before the results were announced, he said to just “admit your dish was the worst and leave”. Cobb obliged and exited the show voluntarily.
Judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode now present MasterChef, which is narrated by India Fisher. There have been 635 episodes of MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef combined – and the shows’ popularity shows no sign of waning.
For eateries of all shapes and sizes – or if you fancy honing your skills in a bid to become the next MasterChef – Bartlett stocks a wide range of top-quality catering equipment. For further information, please give us a call.