It was in 1990 that MasterChef first hit our screens. With Loyd Grossman presenting, each series saw 3 contestants compete to be crowned Britain’s best amateur chef. From these humble beginnings MasterChef has gone on to be the most successful factual-entertainment format in the world, consistently breaking records and winning accolades.
What’s more, the show now exists in four formats: MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, Celebrity MasterChef and Junior MasterChef.
Each focuses on finding the country’s best food talent through a series of cooking challenges while inspiring millions of viewers everywhere to believe that they too can transform their lives through food.
Turkish Cypriot Hasan Berkul a South London police officer will be taking part in the next series.
He says his love for cooking stems from visiting his grand parents restaurant in Stoke Newington.
This year the judges are mixing it up – introducing a whole new set of challenges the passionate amateurs must complete in order to progress in the competition.
Each week for five weeks, nine home cooks cook for the judges. This year their first test is the audition round, in which they must cook their signature dish – one that tells John and Gregg who they are as a cook and how good they could become. John and Gregg don’t watch the chefs in the kitchen. Instead, they taste each dish in the new MasterChef Tasting Room. After they have tasted all nine dishes, the best three dishes will be awarded a coveted MasterChef apron, securing their place in the competition.
The remaining six contestants then get another chance to impress the judges and win themselves an apron. If they cooked a sweet dish in the first round, they must prepare a savoury dish now, or vice versa. This time, John and Gregg are in the kitchen witnessing their every move. The pressure is intense and the stakes are high as only four cooks can join the three already fast-tracked in the next round of challenges. For the other two, their MasterChef dream will be over.
The programme will be shown on Wednesdays at 20:00 on BBC ONE.
