MasterChef is a cooking reality show based in America. The series is based on a British TV reality show of the same name, and it is open to home and amateur chefs. The show, which is produced by One Potato Two Potato and Shine America, went on air July 27, 2010 through the Fox television network. The series followed the professional cooking reality show, Hell’s Kitchen. Initially, the first five seasons, the show featured celebrity chefs Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich, and Gordon Ramsay – the co-creator of Hell’s Kitchen. For the following three seasons, season six to eight, Christina Tosi took Bastianich’s place albeit temporarily. On the ninth season, Joe Bastianich returned on the panel of judges with Aaron and Gordon after guest starring on the eighth season finale.
Since season eight, Aaron Sanchez, a chef, joined the panel as a second judge consequently replacing Graham Elliot. Over the seventh season, there were a number of guest judges in search of a third judge: one of the guest judges was Aaron Sanchez. Fox network announced September 19, 2018 that the show had been renewed for a tenth season, which was scheduled to premiere on May 29, 2019. We decided to take a look at other possible titles for spinoffs of this successful franchise. Here they are:
1. Think Like a Chef
The competition is shot at the MasterChef warehouse in L.A which is fitted with a kitchen area with enough cooking stations which are overlooked by a nice balcony. Moreover, there is a stocked pantry, a fridge area, and a dining area used for particular challenges. In season five, the show dropped auditions. Thirty competitors compete in the MasterChef kitchen to earn an apron. In the following season, twenty semi-finalists were asked to go into head to head competition with another participant where they had to prepare the same dish using the same ingredients; the winner got an apron and thus advanced into the next level. Thereafter, there was a last-chance competition where the judges chose two non-winners to compete for one apron.
In season seven and eight, the 40 cooks had to battle it out in groups of four or two where they had to prepare scallops to steak to cupcakes and only two or one of them could advance into the top twenty. In these seasons, there was no last competition. In season nine, the 43 cooks competed in groups of two, three, and four from their signature dishes to earn a place in the last 24. Each judge was only given eight aprons to award and shall then mentor the cooks throughout the competition. Thereafter, the competition begins after a four-event cycle, which takes place over two to four episodes. A chef is eliminated after both the second and fourth event. A good spinoff should consider coming up with a more predictable format. Constantly changing the formats breaks the feel of continuity; previous non-winners might feel hard-done if the season that follows seems easy and less-competitive as a result of the change in format.
2. MysteryChef
At least one round is used to reduce the number of participants from about eighteen to sixteen. A particular type of challenge involves the chefs doing a routine task like, dicing tomatoes for example, during which the judges keenly observe their technique. Judges have the power to advance a chef to the round that follows or eliminate them from the competition at any point by taking their allocated apron. Another challenge involves asking the chefs to invent a new type of dish around a particular theme or staple ingredient. One of the events is:
Mystery Box: In this event, the cooks are given one box with similar ingredients and they have to use only those ingredients to prepare a dish within a limited amount of time. The judges will then choose three dishes based on their physical appearance and technique alone and taste them. From the three, the judges will choose a winner who will have an advantage in the following round of elimination. As from season six, some of the winning dishes were featured in Family Circle Magazine or Blue Apron. Such a challenge as mystery box is interesting and well-thought out; the ideal spin-off shall, therefore, comprise such interesting challenges but of a different nature.
3. Please Hand Over Your Apron
In the current version of MasterChef, the judges will take the winner in the mystery box challenge and privately explain to him or her the main theme of the elimination test challenge as well inform him or her of at least one challenge. In most cases, the advantage lies in selecting a particular ingredient to use on your dish; however, the advantage can include assigning particular ingredients to particular chefs, automatic progression to the following round, saving your competitors, or being asked to assign pairs in tag-team competitions. The other chefs are then given five minutes to collect ingredients from the pantry and some time to prepare the food. The judges will, thereafter, evaluate the dishes based on visual appeal and taste. The top two chefs will then become captains in the next round. The judges will, moreover, select about four of the worst dishes before asking one of them to leave the MasterChef kitchen. The elimination test challenge is the most arousing of all challenges included in the show. A good spinoff shall be based on the elimination tests: some little tension for the viewers is not a bad thing after all.
4. Top MasterChef
The chefs are taken to a different location and they are divided into two groups by the captains. However, the cook with the best food in the elimination round gets to pick first. The two groups will then have to prepare dishes for a number of restaurants in a small amount of time: they, basically, replace the staff in a particular diner. The restaurateurs taste both dishes and decide which one is the best. The winning team will advance into the next round while the losing team will have to participate in another elimination round once they return to the MasterChef kitchen. Team challenges depict the real-life application of the cooks’ skills. An ideal spinoff would be based on team challenges since no cook works in isolation.
5. Hunger Games
Once the team challenge is over, the losing team chefs compete against one another to come up with a standard dish within a limited duration; this requires a great degree of cooking expertise. However, not all of the losing team members will have to take part. Some of the members are exempted by the winning team, the judges, and the captain. The exempted participants and the team challenge winners watch as the others compete from the balcony. The resultant dishes are judged on visual appeal, technique, and taste. The losing cook is asked to leave. Fox network should make a show based on MasterChef’s pressure tests. Episodes capturing the pressure test challenges are usually full of tension and drama, and these two features might be the perfect ingredients for an award-winning cooking show.
6. MasterChef (Any Country)
MasterChef Australia is an Australian show based on the British MasterChef series. The show, which is aired on Network 10, is produced by Shine Australia. Chef and Restaurateur Gary Mehigan, food critic Matt Preston, and Chef George Calombaris are the show’s judges. MasterChef Australia is different, in terms of format, from the original British show. Why not have this all over the world?
7. Celebrity MasterChef (Any Country)
The celebrity MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive show based on the British MasterChef series. Basically, this spinoff features celebrity contestants. Moreover, it has been aired since September 2009. Chef and Restaurateur Gary Mehigan, food critic Matt Preston, and Chef George Calombaris returned to the shows as the main judges. This concept could easily work in countries around the world.
8. Junior MasterChef (Any Country)
The Junior MasterChef Australia features contestants aged eight to 12. The show’s first season went live July 2010 and comprised 50 contestants. About five thousand children from all over Australia auditioned for the competition. Chef and Restaurateur Gary Mehigan and Chef George Calombaris returned as the show’s judges alongside Anna Gare and Matt Moran. Take the same concept but in other counties.
9. MasterChef (Any Country) All Stars
The MasterChef Australia All Stars is based on the British MasterChef show, and it first went on air July 2012. Quite interestingly, it features some returning contestants who had participated in the initial 3 seasons of MasterChef Australia. Season three and season one winners like Kate Bracks and Julie Goodwin revisited some of their past challenges so as to raise some funds for charity. You can take this same concept to other countries.
10. MasterChef (Any Country): The Professionals
MasterChef Australia: The Professionals is a spinoff of BBC’s MasterChef. It is a cooking television series, and it premiered January 2013. The show, unfortunately, only aired from January 20th to March 17th. Rhys Badcock won it. This concept could easily work in other countries.
11. Senior MasterChef
Octogenarian chefs prepare three-course dishes for the elderly and dentally challenged people. In this segment, the participants should prepare meals like pureed scallops with lots of soup. In this series, Ramsay attempts to teach the older generations how they can prepare some meals for themselves in light of their dental plight. Ramsay, however, encounters some serious hurdles while at it. First of all, the contestants cannot move to their cooking areas fast enough since almost all of them need to used canes and walkers. Also, they do need to take breaks to get a bit of oxygen and relax some more.
12. Fast MasterChef
The participants are expected to make a five-course meal in less than ten minutes. On standby is a St. John Ambulance team to deal with the consequences associated with high-speed whisking and chopping.
13. Extreme MasterChef
Extreme MasterChef requires the participants to prepare a dish while taking part in other activities as well. The show’s mantra, cooking does not get any tougher than this, is a logical representation of what the contestants are required to achieve.
14. MasterMind Chef
The participants are offered a big black chair to answer difficult culinary questions. The show is even made better by fact that the interrogator will be eating the dish some of the cooks have prepared. At the end of the show, the judges will have to decide which of the participants have scanty knowledge about their trade. Such contestants are subsequently eliminated.
15. MasterChef: Traveler Edition
The show’s judges will have to traverse through the country in search of the perfect dish. Amateur and professions chefs alike will take part in this competition. Basically, the MasterMind Traveller Chef spinoff will feature more road trips, more adventures, and more special editions apart from the obvious cooking competition.
16. MasterChef: Exotic Edition
Do you have a boundless appetite for bizarre foods and global adventure? Then this show is just for you. The MasterChef: Exotic Edition will require the judges to move around the globe while looking for the best exotic dish. Different cuisines offer different tastes, but do we have a more superior dish out there?
17. MasterChef: Creative Edition
There is a new cookbook around. Not just the usual, this will be the most interactive recipe ever. Chefs will have to prepare new dishes, never tasted before. For sure, this show promises to extend an unforgettable experience to you and your family. The creative types will try this at home, and their meals will not be a painting on the dining table anymore. The participants will have to come up with groundbreaking material; basically, MasterChef: Creative Edition will take us to a new world of creativity and cooking. Judges decide the best dish based on taste and visual appeal.
18. Master of All Chefs
The MasterChef can accommodate previous winners to have them compete against one another. The format remains the same: the participants are progressively eliminated based on a particular set of pre-determined measures such as taste and visual appeal.
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