MasterChef Israel

MasterChef Israel (Hebrew: מַאסְטֶר שֶׁף) is a reality cooking competition show that debuted on 14 October 2010 on Channel 2. It is based on the British reality cooking competition show of the same name. The show was very well received and highly acclaimed, achieving excellent reviews and high ratings.

Format

The premise of the show is a cooking competition between amateur cooks, competing for the title of "MasterChef" and a kitchen renovation. the first few episodes of every series are audition episodes where contestants cook to a panel of judges who decide based on a dish cooked in front of them whether or not to pass the contestant to the next level, where a large number of the contestants chosen in the auditions are eliminated through a series of tests, until 12-14 are chosen as the show's final cast, and the members of the series' "Nivheret" (Selected Team).

The members of the "Nivheret" compete in different challenges every episodes, such as the mystery Box Challenge, the Invention Test, Dish Recreation Challenges and Taste Challenges.

Mystery Box Challenge

In the Mystery Box Challenge contestants receive a number of ingredients of which they are to make a dish of their choice, the contestants are allowed to use any number of the ingredients they are given the wish, and are free to leave any ingredients out. once the dishes are finished, the judges choose three of the dishes to taste.

The Invention Test

The Invention Test requires of the contestants to make a dish, usually with a certain demand, such as that the dish would cost no more the a certain price, the dish should contain a certain ingredient or be an adaption of other dishes. The Invention Test is usually the challenge that leads to eliminations.

Dish Recreation Test

In the Dish Recreation Test contestants are asked to recreate a complex dish made by a guest chef, usually with a recipe at hand.

Taste Challenges

In Taste Challenges the contestants are given a dish to taste, and are asked to name ingredients in the dish, for every dish the name correctly they score a point, until their first mistake. the contestant with the lowest score is usually eliminated.

Judges

The first season judges were Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani, Michal Ansky, and Rafi Adar, all successful restauranteurs in Israel. During the first season, judge Rafi Adar was accused of sexual harassment by a production worker, and was fired by the production company, the other three judges went on judging the season as a team of three judges.

After the first season was concluded, Eyal Shani became famous, due to his eccentric treatment of food as poetry in the show, though Haim Cohen was the most famous of the judges, Shani became the symbol of the show and became a cultural icon in Israel.

In the second season, Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani and Michal Ansky continued as judges with Yonatan Roshfeld, a famous chef, successful in both Israel and France, brought in to replace Rafi Adar.

Season 1

First aired in 14 October 2010, the first season of MasterChef received very high ratings and resulted in a large cook book that held all of the recipes shown on the first season.

Contestants

Season 2

The show was picked up for a second season on November 2010, a month after the first season first aired. the show began airing in June 2011, with the new judge, Yonatan Roshfeld.

Contestants

Spin-off

• Junior MasterChef Israel premiered on 22 April 2012 the judges will be the same as MasterChef Israel.

External links

• MasterChef's page on Keshet's website (Hebrew)