MasterChef (Spanish TV series)
MasterChef is a Spanish competitive reality television cooking show based on the British television cooking game show of the same title. It premiered on La 1 on 10 April 2013. The show is presented by Jordi Cruz, Samantha Vallejo-Nágera and Pepe Rodríguez judge the contestants.
History
In the first season, only 15 people were chosen from among the 9,000 in the initial casting selection and competed for the title of MasterChef. The winner was given 100,000 euros, the opportunity to publish his own book of recipes, and the chance to attend the esteemed culinary school Le Cordon Bleu.The initial selections began on February 4, 2013 in five areas of the country. All types of people came, including high-level executives, housewives, and construction workers. All of the candidates came together over their love of cooking. They had to be amateur cooks without culinary experience, but at the same time very talented.
The contestants competed against each other in individual challenges in the kitchen and also in group challenges outside of the set kitchen. The judges were Pepe Rodríguez, Jordi Cruz, and Samanta Vallejo-Nágera. The first season aired on La 1 of Televisión Española starting on April 10, 2013, and was hosted by Eva González.
In October 2013, MasterChef received the Ondas Awards for the best entertainment program in Spanish television.
Production
The Spanish version of MasterChef is at Estudios Buñuel in Madrid and is produced by Televisión Española in collaboration with Shine Iberia.Show Format
- Caja misteriosa. The contestants receive ingredients with which they have to make a dish according to the specifications of the judges. The contestants have a certain amount of time in order to do this. Once they are finished, the judges deliberate and the two to three best dishes determine who will be the captains in the following challenge.
- Prueba por equipos. This challenge takes place outside of the kitchens of Masterchef and involves cooking for celebrities or other groups of people. The captains have to decide on the dishes that they are going to prepare and which of the other contestants will be on their team to help them. The losing team then faces off in the elimination round.
- Prueba de eliminación. The winning team observes the losing team from the gallery from in the final challenge. The losing team has to cook the recipe chosen by the judges. The judges «deliberate» and the contestant that has made the «worst» dish is eliminated from the program.
- Prueba de presión. This is the most difficult challenge. A celebrity chef visits the set and instructs the contestants on how to make his most famous dish. The contestants have to then recreate it.
- Reto creativo. The judges dictate which dish the contestants have to make.
First Season (2013)
Throughout the first season of MasterChef, the contestants were visited by the best chefs in Spain who gave them exclusive cooking classes. These included Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana, Joan Roca, Paco Roncero, Dani García, Quique Dacosta, Eneko Atxa, and Andoni Luis Aduriz, among others. The finale featured Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, considered the best chef in the world, as one of the judges.
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Episode of Elimination | Place Finished |
 Juan Manuel Sánchez Reche | 25 | Waiter | Almería | Final | Winner |
| Eva Micaela Millán | 32 | Biologist | Córdoba | Final | Runner-up |
| Fabián León | 18 | Student | Palma | Final | 3rd |
| José David Moliner | 33 | Computer engineer | Valencia | Episode 12 | 4th |
| Maribel Gil | 59 | Housewife | Benicarló | Episode 11 | 5th |
| José Antonio Cerezo | 37 | Welder | Alcañiz | Episode 10 | 6th |
| Clara Pérez Villalón | 22 | Student | Madrid | Episode 9 | 7th |
| María de la Fuente | 23 | Make-up artist and beautician | Alicante | Episode 8 | 8th |
| José Luis Asín | 58 | Policeman | Pamplona | Episode 7 | 9th |
| Noé Carmona | 31 | Revenue manager | Córdoba | Episode 7 | 10th |
| Santiaga Muñoz | 52 | Housewife | Ciudad Real | Episode 3 / Episode 6 | 11th |
| Efrén Álvarez | 24 | Student | Lugo | Episode 5 | 12th |
| Nati Sánchez | 42 | Administrative assistant | Bilbao | Episode 4 | 13th |
| Juanma Villar | 48 | Entrepreneur | Madrid | Episode 2 | 14th |
| Paloma Ayensa | 22 | Student | Madrid | Episode 1 | 15th |
;Legend chart
| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Second Season (2014)
During the finale of the first season of MasterChef, Eva González told viewers that the program would be renewed for a second season in May 2014, after MasterChef Junior. Starting in late October 2013 Televisión Española and Shine Iberia started casting for the second season. It premiered on April 9. During the week before, Radiotelevisión Española aired various cooking specials to lead up to the show.| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Duration | Information |
| Vicky Pulgarín | 31 | Butcher | Majorca | Final | Winner |
| Mateo Sierra | 20 | Art History Student | Huesca | Final | Runner up |
| Cristóbal Gómez | 33 | Waiter | Granada | Episode 8 / Final | 3rd |
| Emil Samper | 44 | Advertising director | Barcelona | Final | 4th |
| Lorena Lasanta | 39 | Sound engineer and DJ | Málaga | Episode 6 / Episode 12 | 5th |
| Cristina Romero | 46 | Entrepreneur | Madrid | Episode 11 | 6th |
| Milagrosa Gavilán | 41 | Sales assistant | Cadiz | Episode 10 | 7th |
| Marina Rodríguez | 46 | Assistant manager | Majorca | Episode 9 | 8th |
| Gonzalo Ribot | 48 | Yoga Trainer | Majorca | Episode 9 | Quit |
| Celia Lastres | 27 | Radiotherapy technician | Madrid | Episode 7 | 9th |
| Jorge Cuéllar | 36 | Doctor of molecular biology | Segovia | Episode 5 | 10th |
| Miguel Ángel Martínez | 41 | Funeral director | Madrid | Episode 4 | 11th |
| Churra Costa | 71 | Housewife | Pontevedra | Episode 3 | 12th |
| Daniel Díez | 34 | Architect | Valencia | Episode 2 | 13th |
| Lola Hidalgo | 22 | Environmental Science Student | Cordoba | Episode 1 | 14th |
;Legend chart
| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Third Season (2015)
Televisión Española and Shine Iberia started casting for the third season in December 2014. It premiered on April 7, 2015.| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Episode of elimination | Place finished |
| Carlos Maldonado | 24 | Street seller | Toledo | Final | Winner |
 Sally Stephanih Caballero | 31 | Optical assistant | Ciudad Real | Final | Runner-up |
| Andrea Vicens | 22 | Odontology student and Model | Barcelona | Final | 3rd |
| Antonio Romero | 26 | Laboratory quality technician | Seville | Final | 4th |
| Kevin Bordas | 22 | Waiter and Model | Tarragona | Episode 12 | 5th |
| Lidia Folgar | 29 | Nutritionist | Pontevedra | Episode 12 | 6th |
| Mila Calabuig | 58 | Businesswoman | Valencia | Episode 8 / Episode 11 | 7th |
| Fidel López | 36 | Waiter | Alicante | Episode 10 | 8th |
| Pablo Pérez | 27 | Martial arts champion | Valencia | Episode 9 | 9th |
| Víctor Mendicuti | 30 | Entrepreneur | Málaga | Episode 7 | 10th |
| Mireia Ruiz | 33 | Educator at NGO | Murcia | Episode 6 | 11th |
| Encina Rodríguez | 69 | Retiree | León | Episode 5 | 12th |
| Raquel García | 32 | Dental technician | Pamplona | Episode 4 | 13th |
| Sara Martín | 27 | Teacher | Barcelona | Episode 3 | 14th |
| Alberto Sempere | 18 | Medical Student | Valencia | Episode 2 | 15th |
;Legend chart
| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Fourth Season (2016)
;Legend chart| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Fifth Season (2017)
;Legend chart| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Sixth Season (2018)
The casting of the sixth season finished on January 15, 2018, 150 of the 23.000 participant was chosen to be challengers, in which only 15 will be candidates to win the program. It was released on April 22, 2018 in La 1. It will be the most demanding season.Despite being pregnant, Eva González will not be replaced, although she will be absent after the 6th episode.
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Episode of elimination | Place finished | |
| Marta Verona | 22 | Nutritionism student | Madrid | Episode 13 | Winner | |
 Ketty Fresneda | 28 | Dietitian | Pontevedra | Episode 13 | Runner-up | |
 Oxana Retinskaia | 52 | Housekeeper | Gijón | Episode 13 | 3rd | - |
| Toni Carceller | 33 | Community manager | Valencia | Episode 13 | 4th | |
| Daniel Escribano | 32 | Firefighter | Madrid | Episode 5 / Episode 12 | 5th | |
| Sofía Janer | 22 | Tourism student | Barcelona | Episode 11 | 6th | - |
| Víctor Gonzalo | 34 | Telecommunications engineer | Barcelona | Episode 10 | 7th | |
| Jon Marín | 52 | Innkeeper | Bilbao | Episode 9 | 8th | |
| Fabio Fernández-Amo | 35 | Financier | Madrid | Episode 8 | 9th | |
| Jorge Esteban | 27 | Journalist | Granada | Episode 7 | 10th | |
| Marina Arnal | 53 | Merchant | Valencia | Episode 6 | 11th | |
| Ramón Martín | 41 | Bus driver | Madrid | Episode 4 | 12th | |
| Eva Sakay | 40 | Saleswoman | Barcelona | Episode 3 | 13th | |
| Loli Rodríguez | 71 | Retiree | Sevilla | Episode 2 | 14th | |
| Fernando de Alvear | 42 | Winemaker | Madrid | Episode 1 | 15th |
Weekly summary
;Legend chart| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Ratings
Seventh Season (2019)
For the very first season, there was no host and the three judges did her work as host during the tasks.Contestants
Weekly summary
;Legend chart| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |
Eighth Season (2020)
The show begun on April 14, 2020. Almost 30,000 people attended the castings but only 50 went to the final phase where the judges decided which one attended the first task.Contestants
Weekly summary
;Legend chart| : The contestant entered the game | : The contestant entered the game, after the rest of the contestants |
| : The contestant won immunity by winning the team challenge | : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by other contestant |
| : Despite losing the team challenge, the contestant was granted immunity by the jury | : The contestant was the best in the elimination task and was saved |
| : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved | : The contestant ended up in the elimination task and was saved at the last moment |
| Best: The contestant drew the best dish of the initial challenge | Best: The contestant was considered the best one on the team challenge |