Masterchef with Gordon Ramsey

babypie

babypie

Member
Jun 3, 2007
18,877
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#1
PREMIERES TUESDAY, JULY 27, ON FOX​

Gordon Ramsay stars in MASTERCHEF, the new series that takes amateur chefs - many of whom simply cook as a hobby - and attempt to turn one of them into a culinary master. Contestants on MASTERCHEF will be put through the paces with various challenges as they compete head-to-head to create delicious dishes. The series will serve as a unique platform for people from all walks of life who want to follow their dream of working as a professional chef. These contestants will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show their passion and excitement for food as their skills and palate are tested with the hopes of becoming the winner of MASTERCHEF.​

Gordon Ramsay will be the host and co-producer of the US version of hit British Television show Masterchef. In Great Britain the series now appears in three versions: the main MasterChef series for non-professional cooks, MasterChef: The Professionals which is for working chefs, and Celebrity MasterChef. ​
The format of the US version will be based on that from Australia, which was one of the highest rating shows of this millenium. MasterChef Australia featured a different format to that of the original British MasterChef and MasterChef Goes Large formats. In Australia, the initial rounds consist of a large number of hopeful contestants from across the country individually "auditioning" by presenting a dish before the three judges in order to gain one of fifty semi-final places. Most dishes were cooked before arriving for the auditions and then finished and prepared with a five-minute time limit onsite. Contestants had to be at least eighteen years or over at time of audition, and their main source of income cannot come from cooking and preparing food professionally

The semi-finalists then competed in several challenges which test their food knowledge and preparation skills, cutting the number to twenty finalists. That twentywas then whittled down through a number of individual and team-based cooking challenges and weekly elimination rounds until a winning MasterChef was crowned. The winner plays for a prize that includes chef training from leading professional chefs, a cash prize and their own cookbook published.​
 
#6
I know the original UK version (the best), the Australian one (thats like big brother) so would like to see what this one looks like.

ETA: Ok watched a bit and it is boring so far. Hope it picks up once the team challenges start.

Unfortunately, they took the Aussie format instead of the BBC one....
 
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#9
babypie said:
I wonder what the UK version was like.

I found the food "auditioning" really odd....
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Its very different. less realityTV-ish (as the Aussie and US versions are)

I started to write it out but wiki does a much better job than me :biggrin:

The heats follow a three-round format:

  • The Invention Test: the contestants must invent a dish from scratch in 50 minutes (40 minutes up until 2009). The contestants can choose from any of a selection of ingredients provided on the day. This forms the first round of the programs and reduces the contestants from six to three cooks.
  • The Pressure Test: Working a lunchtime shift at a busy restaurant under the supervision of a professional chef who comments on their performance.
  • The Final Test: Cooking a two course meal, with the contestants designing their own menus and choosing their own ingredients, in one hour.
The quarter-finals follow a different structure with different challenges. Up until 2010, the format was:

  • The Ingredients Test: where the contestants are asked to identify a selection of ingredients or produce.
  • The Passion Test: in which each contestant has one minute to convince the judges of their overwhelming passion for food. Following these two rounds, one contestant is knocked out without having cooked that day.
  • Finally the remaining three quarter-finalists each produce a three course meal in one hour and twenty minutes.
In 2010, the quarter-final format was changed to:

  • The Choice Test: where the contestants are given 15 minutes to cook their choice of either a pre-selected fish recipe or a meat recipe with the judges looking on. At least one contestant is eliminated after this test.
  • This is followed by the remaining quarter-finalists producing a two course meal in an hour.
The sixth week is called "Comeback Week" and features contestants from the previous series of MasterChef who did not advance past the heats or quarter-finals. The format is different for this week:

  • The Skill Test: where the contestants have 25 minutes to cook one of two pre-selected recipes. Some contestants may be eliminated after this test.
  • The Palate Test: where John Torode cooks a complex dish and asks the contestants one by one to eat the dish and list as many ingredients in the dish as possible. Some contestants may be eliminated after this test.
  • The Pressure Test: where the remaining contestants work a lunchtime shift at a busy restaurant under the supervision of a professional chef who comments on their performance.
  • The remaining contestants then have 60 minutes to cook a two course meal. One contestant is selected to advance to a quarter-final.
  • The comeback quarter-finalists then cook head-to-head in a larger version of the invention test, cooking one dish in an hour. One contestant is selected to advance to the semi-finals.
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Basically the Uk format skips the preliminary round and has little to no sob stories. The US show should be similiar, plus a few changes here and their (cause its Fox unfortunately).
 
#10
TopGirl said:
Its very different. less realityTV-ish (as the Aussie and US versions are)

I started to write it out but wiki does a much better job than me :biggrin:



Basically the Uk format skips the preliminary round and has little to no sob stories. The US show should be similiar, plus a few changes here and their (cause its Fox unfortunately).
Click to expand...
Sounds much more exciting, a lot of the same challenges as Hell's Kitchen and even Top Chef. I really dislike sob stories...I'd watch the Hallmark channel if I wanted to see that kind of stuff. Not sure if this show will be a hit. I'll give it another go because I'm a huge Gordon fan
 
#11
I think it was definately a mistake to do the preliminary rounds. Or maybe they didn't want to get the show *properly* going until HK is over????

I'll definately wait until the real show starts before tunning in.....
 
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