Before MasterChef premiered in 2010, most cooking competition shows featured professional chefs. Shows such as Top Chef, Chopped, and Iron Chef all showcased chefs who already had plenty of kitchen experience. Gordon Ramsay first hit television screens with his hit show, Hell’s Kitchen in 2005, and these contestants were also competing with prior cooking experience. But then Ramsay had an idea for a show that would pit home cooks against each other, all for the MasterChef title and a $250,000 prize. Even though these individuals didn’t have restaurant credentials, they had learned to perfect their own dishes with maximum flavor. Now, 14 seasons later, the series is still capitalizing on the impressive talent and ingenuity of these amateur cooks who dream of a future in the food world. The series also inspired a spin-off program called MasterChef Junior (which debuted in 2013); it has already aired for nine seasons and continues to win over fans with its gifted pint-sized cooks.
Each episode of MasterChef features a variety of challenges, including Skills Tests, where cooks are required to perform specific cooking techniques or styles; Mystery Boxes, which requires contestants to use only the ingredients found in a designated box to create an impressive dish; and Pressure Tests, where cooks need to make a restaurant-quality dish within a very limited amount of time. Dishes are judged based on the techniques that were utilized, the visual presentation, and, of course, how well it tastes. Ramsay has been a judge every season, and other renowned food professionals have joined him in the judging over the years, including Graham Elliot, Aaron Sanchez, Joe Bastianich, and Christina Tosi. A home cook is eliminated in every episode until one remaining person lands the coveted title of MasterChef. As entertaining as the show remains after all these years on the air, it is missing the mark with one element of its structure.
The Auditions Are Slowing Down the Season
So far, the beginning of every MasterChef season commences with an audition process that is covered over three or four episodes. In the audition stage, contestants prepare their signature dish (from any type of cuisine) in the MasterChef kitchen and present it to the judges to see if they’re talented enough to make it into the competition. While they’re cooking, the show typically includes interviews with the home cook and a snippet about their backstory (how they got into cooking, who inspires them, etc.), and then the judges taste the dish and decide whether to give them a white apron (which acts as their ticket to the actual competition). The purpose of the auditions is for audiences to get to know who will be competing in this particular season and to see who they might want to start rooting for right out of the gate.
The problem is that this audition process has gotten pretty boring. After this many seasons on air, it has become very easy to guess who will make it into the next round (based on what they’re making, what the dish looks like, or from the judges’ critiques). Many contestants also follow the cliché fake-out where they walk back out to the audience pretending to be dejected and sad, only to pull out a white apron from behind their backs to reveal they actually got voted through by the judges. Because of antics like this, the auditions have become really formulaic, which makes them much less exciting than when the actual cooking challenges are taking place. Also, the auditions feel like they take time away from the more talented competitors to show contestants that aren’t even good enough to compete in the long-run. Instead of focusing on the contestants who will continue on through the reality show competition (and could potentially win the whole thing), precious time is wasted on people that will only be featured for a few minutes and then won’t be seen again in the series going forward. There is not really an emotional attachment made to these early auditioners, so their exits don’t feel dramatic or even worthwhile in any way.
‘MasterChef Junior’ Has the Right Idea For the Best Structure
Despite MasterChef continuing to stick to the formula they’ve utilized for 14 seasons, it is not absolutely necessary to show the audition process in this type of cooking show. In fact, MasterChef Junior doesn’t include these types of episodes at all. The contestants begin competing immediately in challenges against each other, and their backstories are still introduced throughout each episode. This way, viewers still get to learn more about whom these cooks are, but the viewers also get to see them begin to battle in the more exciting, competitive tasks right away. MasterChef Junior has shown that the auditions are superfluous and don’t add anything to the overall flow of the series. MasterChef typically has about 20 episodes per season, while the spin-off version only has about 10 to 15 episodes. With fewer episodes, MasterChef Junior is still capable of providing contestants to root for and fascinating challenges to watch, proving that skipping the audition episodes doesn’t take anything away from the success of the series.
Because the audition episodes feel so predictable, the junior version of the franchise feels much more fresh and up-to-date. The viewer gets to enjoy the most action-filled challenges without having to slog through auditions of people that won’t even make it any further in the competition. Not only would more viewers stick around if the exciting parts were showcased right away, but just like MasterChef Junior, the structure of the overall season would be much more streamlined.
It seems as though the MasterChef team is already feeling the need to refresh the series in some ways. This season has been dubbed Generations; instead of all the contestants competing together in one group, the home cooks have been divided into four teams: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each group will represent their own generation in hopes of snagging that ultimate MasterChef title. So far, even with interesting guest judges, including Priya Krishna, Lidia Bastianich (Joe’s mom), and former MasterChef contestants Nick DiGiovanni and winner Christine Ha, the auditions have still felt blasé and staid. There’s an element of fun that’s seriously missing, but which was definitely found in Episode 5 with the first official cooking challenge between the contestants. If the season had just skipped straight to this episode, MasterChef would have kicked off with a bang. Hopefully, the show will take a page from MasterChef Junior’s playbook, and the auditions will be cut from the menu completely.
MasterChef airs every Wednesday on FOX and is available to stream the next day on Hulu in the U.S.
