MasterChef Italia facts for kids

MasterChef Italia is a super popular Italian TV show about cooking. It's like a big cooking competition where amateur chefs (people who love to cook but aren't professionals) show off their skills. The show is based on the famous MasterChef series from other countries. It first aired in Italy on September 21, 2011, on Sky Uno.

The main goal for contestants is to impress a panel of famous chefs and food experts. If they win, they get a big prize: €100,000 in gold coins! They also get to publish their very own recipe book. This show became so famous that other TV shows even made funny parodies of it!

About MasterChef Italia

Meet the Judges

The judges on MasterChef Italia are very important. They are famous chefs and a restaurateur who taste the food and decide who stays and who goes home.

The main judges have been:

• Bruno Barbieri
• Carlo Cracco (he was a judge until Season 6)
• Joe Bastianich (he was a judge until Season 8, and also a judge on MasterChef U.S.)
• Antonino Cannavacciuolo (he joined from Season 5)
• Antonia Klugmann (she was a judge for Season 7, the first woman judge!)
• Giorgio Locatelli (he joined from Season 8)

The show also has voiceovers by Simone D'Andrea and Luisa Ziliotto.

How the Show Works

Contestants face different cooking challenges in each episode. These challenges test their creativity, cooking knowledge, and ability to work under pressure.

Mystery Box Challenge

In this challenge, contestants get a special box with secret ingredients. They have to use these ingredients to create a dish. The judges pick the three best dishes. The winner gets a special advantage for the next challenge!

Invention Test

Here, contestants must create a dish based on a theme or a specific ingredient chosen by the judges. Sometimes, a famous guest chef helps decide the challenge. The winner of the Mystery Box gets an advantage, like choosing ingredients or even skipping the test! The judges taste all the dishes. They pick a winner and also decide who cooked the worst dishes. At least one person with the worst dish gets eliminated.

Team Challenge

This is an exciting test where contestants work in teams. They usually cook outside the MasterChef kitchen for a large group of people. They've cooked in cool places like Norwegian fjords, the Vatican, and Naples. The team that wins the Invention Test gets to choose their team members and sometimes even the menu! The guests they cook for vote for the winning team.

Pressure Test

The losing team from the Team Challenge has to compete in this test. They face tough tasks, often with very little time. This challenge is all about handling pressure. At least one person from the losing team is eliminated after this test.

The Final

The last two (or sometimes three) contestants battle it out in the grand finale. They have two hours to create their very own special tasting menu. This menu must have at least four courses. It's the ultimate test to see who becomes the next MasterChef!

MasterChef Italia Seasons

Season One

The first season of MasterChef Italia aired from September 21 to December 7, 2011. The big winner was Spyros Theodoridis. After the season, there were also two special episodes that showed behind-the-scenes moments and comments from the contestants.

Season Two

The second season started casting in February 2012. It aired from December 13, 2012, to February 21, 2013. The winner of this season was Tiziana Stefanelli, who was a lawyer. Before the season, there were special introductory episodes about the judges.

Season Three

Casting for the third season began in February 2013. This season ran from December 19, 2013, to March 6, 2014. The winner was Francesco Federico Ferrero, a medical intern. The winner was announced live in Milan, which was a first for the show!

Season Four

The fourth season started casting in February 2014 and aired from December 18, 2014. Stefano Callegaro was the winner. Interestingly, his name was leaked to the media before the final episode aired!

Season Five

Casting for the fifth season opened in February 2015. This season started on December 18, 2015. It brought a new judge, Antonino Cannavacciuolo, to the show. The Season Finale was on March 3, 2016, and Erica Liverani won.

Season Six

The sixth season started casting in February 2016. It aired in the second half of 2016. The winner of this season was Valerio Braschi, who was only 18 years old. He became the youngest winner in MasterChef history!

Season Seven

Casting for the seventh season began in February 2017. This season aired from December 2017 to April 2018. Carlo Cracco left the show, and Antonia Klugmann became the first woman judge. Simone Scipioni was the winner of this season.

Season Eight

The eighth season of MasterChef Italia aired from December 2018 to April 2019. Antonia Klugmann left after one season, and chef Giorgio Locatelli joined as a new judge. Valeria Raciti from Sicily won this season. She later published her own cookbook called "Amore curiosità istinto. La mia cucina felice."

Season Nine

The ninth season of MasterChef started airing in December 2019. By this time, Joe Bastianich had left the show after eight seasons. This meant Bruno Barbieri was the only judge left from the very first season! Antonio Lorenzon was the winner of this season.

Season Ten

The tenth season of MasterChef began airing on December 17, 2020. One of the contestants was an American journalist named Maxwell Alexander. The winner of this milestone season was Francesco Aquila.

Season Eleven

The eleventh season of MasterChef started on December 16, 2021. The winner of this season was Tracy Eboigbodin.

MasterChef Spin-Offs

Celebrity MasterChef Italia

In 2017, a special version of the show called Celebrity MasterChef Italia aired. In this show, famous Italian celebrities competed against each other in the kitchen. The first season was won by Roberta Capua, who is a well-known Italian TV host.

Celebrity MasterChef Italia 2

The second season of Celebrity MasterChef Italia aired in 2018. This season also featured famous Italian personalities showing off their cooking skills. The winner was Anna Tatangelo, a popular Italian singer.

Junior MasterChef Italia

On April 16, 2013, it was announced that a spin-off called Junior MasterChef Italia would be made. This version of the show was for younger chefs, specifically children between 8 and 13 years old. The casting started on April 17, 2013. The judges for Junior MasterChef Italia were Bruno Barbieri, Lidia Bastianich, and Alessandro Borghese. The first season aired from March 13 to April 10, 2014. After three seasons, the show took a break.

See also

In Spanish: MasterChef (Italia) para niños