The delicious-looking dishes contestants make on MasterChef can raise your hunger level.
And the show itself can raise some big questions.
From surprise run-ins to what happens to all of the extra food, here are the untold truths
that MasterChef superfans need to know.
You might think that after auditions are held casting decisions are made right away, or
at least relatively quickly, but according to former cast member Elise Mayfield, who
competed on season 5, after you audition in person, there's a bit of a waiting game as
producers and the like move through all the different, finalizing steps it takes to put
together the cast.
Mayfield waited for about four months before being told she was being brought to L.A, at
which point they gave her about 10 days' notice to pack up a few months' worth of clothes
and get herself to Los Angeles.
By the time contestants head to L.A., it might seem like things are pretty finalized, but
they're not.
Mayfield was told to prepare on being there for a few months, and that was just the last
audition.
She went on to say that everyone was put up in a hotel together, no one knew anyone else,
and that since most people were pretty friendly, it was easy to get to know people.
When it came down to the competition, though, they cooked, they talked to producers, and
suddenly 70 were cut.
"Elise, your time is done in the MasterChef kitchen."
Contestant Jessie Glenn, who never actually appeared on the show, added a bit more behind-the-scenes
info when she wrote about her experience.
Potentials, she said, have to pay their own way to L.A., and they don't just cook, they
take a two-hour-long personality test, which she says gave producers the angles to craft
personalities and plot lines during the show.
This was when they also answered questions about potential arrest records or other shadiness
that might be dug up once they were associated with the MasterChef brand.
Glenn said the whole thing was pretty invasive.
It's not a coincidence that Glenn has been one of the only contestants to speak freely
about the personality tests, the exit interviews, and the questions producers asked to guide
the show.
Most of the contestants sign strict nondisclosure agreements but there was an exception with
Glenn.
According to Healthline, when she was handed the contract and started asking questions
about it, the fact that she never signed got lost in the shuffle.
Most of what you see, she claimed, happened because of answers contestants had given during
interviews well in advance of filming.
She didn't have good things to say about the process, and she also talked about life after
MasterChef, and what happened when she got home.
She described bouts of crying and depression, and how she found that she wasn't alone in
feeling it.
As she had discussions with other runners-up about how the show took its toll on everyone.
Not only is Sandee Birdsong a master producer on all manner of culinary competition shows,
she was actually a contestant on one too.
Birdsong competed on the third season of Top Chef.
She was voted off second and watched the remainder of the season behind the scenes, which is
how she knew she wanted to be a producer on culinary competition shows.
That just goes to show: you never know where you'll find your purpose.
Revenge is said to be best served cold, but what about food in cooking competitions?
In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris
said that by the time the dishes are evaluated by the judging panel, they're actually quite
cold.
Though the dishes you see on TV make your mouth water, they're not nearly as piping
hot as they may seem.
So when you're watching them take a bite and they appear to enjoy it, it's likely they're
just faking that enjoyment.
To taste the food when it's actually edible, judges taste food at each of the contestants'
stations around the kitchen throughout the competition.
In an interview with Lucky Peach, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior judge, Chef Christina
Tosi, the judges taste while the contestants are cooking so they have a better understanding
of who's really doing well and who's struggling.
"Luca, what's going on?"
"My water is not boiling."
"No, it's definitely not, are you giving up?"
"No, I'm not giving up, but how do you want me to make the water boil?"
The judges are more fair and balanced than you might think by just watching the show.
According to Tosi, there's a lot that has to happen before anyone even starts cooking.
Introducing the challenge, going over the rules and regulations, and even getting the
contestants into the kitchen can take quite a bit of time.
You might think they all walk in, run over the challenge and rules, and begin, but the
reality is a little more mundane than that.
There's a lot of waiting around, checking that everyone really does understand what's
expected of them, and giving contestants a little time to remember things they might've
forgotten amidst the stress of the situation.
If you've ever marveled over MasterChef contestants' ability to present the most beautiful dishes
you've ever seen, even under all the pressure and stress they're dealing with, you might
be disappointed.
"Don't drop it!"
"Why use the spatula?"
Judge Christina Tosi disclosed that there's time between when the contestants have to
stop working and when the judges will evaluate the dishes so that each contestant can make
their dish picture-perfect.
Pretty takes time, patience and skill.
It doesn't just happen.
For those of us who are sitting at home watching these home cooks tear it up in the MasterChef
kitchen, it can be intimidating.
Those home chefs clearly know what they're doing, but according to the blog of one runner-up,
that's not always the case.
They say contestants were given cooking classes on challenges where there was a level of technique
required.
Particularly the baking challenges, when they had to whip up things like pie crusts and
pastry cream.
Which...sort of makes sense.
How many times, after all, do contestants mention the fact that they've never worked
with a particular ingredient or made a certain dish, but still manage to do it?
"It's a peacock right?"
"It's not a peacock."
"What is this?"
"It's a turkey."
"Losers!"
A producer of the show told The Mail on Sunday they had never made their guidance a secret,
but it might not be the same on all international versions of the show.
According to MasterChef UK's Andrew Kojima, they didn't get any classes at all.
Have you ever wondered just what happens to all of the food left over at the end of a
MasterChef challenge?
MasterChef UK host Gregg Wallace told The Sun that it all gets eaten up by the crew,
"I can hear you breathing, and yes, you can finish her pasta."
"Thank God, I'm so hungry."
Some of them even carry their own utensils around with them just in case the opportunity
to nosh should arise, which, at some point, on a culinary competition show, it most definitely
will.
Gordon Ramsay might have a reputation as being a hothead...
"In your restaurant before we come in, do you cook spaghetti before the customer orders
it?"
"Never, chef."
"So why are you doing it here!?"
"It was wrong."
"Oh, was it really wrong?"
...but he's not the only MasterChef judge with a temper.
In May 2017, Australian judge George Calombaris was charged with assault after shoving a 19-year-old
football fan at a match in Sydney.
According to the BBC, Calombaris issued an apology after the incident, which he said
came to a head after the other man shouted abusive comments that included references
to his family and another recent scandal he was involved with.
In April, ABC News reported Calombaris's restaurants were being investigated for a problem with
their payroll system that led to 162 of their employees being underpaid to the tune of 2.6
million Australian dollars.
The employees were paid an average of $16,000 each, but that wasn't the end of Calombaris'
problems.
Also in May 2017, the Sydney Morning Herald reported he and one of his Hellenic Republic
restaurants were being sued over an alleged food poisoning outbreak.
The restaurant closed for 24 hours and dozens of people were made sick by norovirus, which
the Victoria Department of Health traced to one of their employees.
We all know where meat comes from, but it's safe to say no one tunes in to MasterChef
to see animals slaughtered live on television.
It's happened more than once, though, and there's been backlash.
In 2010, one contestant was required to kill a crab in order to prepare her dish.
The only problem was that she's a practicing Hindu chef.
Ramsay offered to do the killing for her, but the vegetarian chef went ahead with it
anyway.
In 2014, one contestant on Vietnam's MasterChef killed a turtle on air.
The animal was beaten with a wooden spoon before being beheaded by a distraught contestant,
and the outrage prompted an official apology from the broadcaster.
Ukraine's MasterChef has gotten flak for showing the live slaughter of animals, and viewers
of MasterChef UK were outraged at a dish featuring crocodile.
Backlash hasn't just been online, either, and in January 2017, an outdoor challenge
on MasterChef Australia was disrupted by vegan protesters holding signs reading,
"I am not an ingredient.
I am someone."
It's impossible to tell just what goes on behind the scenes of any reality show, but
for most of them, it's hard to avoid the occasional scandal, MasterChef included.
In 2013, former MasterChef contestant Marie Porter not only came forward with claims about
the hostile environment the show fostered for female contestants, but also claimed to
know about multiple types of abuse.
According to Porter's statement,
"One friend was sexually harassed by the judges to the point that she had her lawyers get
her edited out of the show completely."
Other contestants have commented their support for her and her claims, but with tight restrictions
placed on show participants as to what they can and can't say, the truth remains elusive.
For their part, MasterChef has denied the allegations.
The idea of letting Gordon Ramsay critique your child's cooking might terrify any parent,
but if we've learned anything from MasterChef Junior, it's that Ramsay has a bit of a soft
spot for young chefs.
When Ramsay's critique of a dish made by aspiring restaurateur Logan in 2014 made the 12-year-old
cry, Ramsay stepped forward to give the boy a hug and tell him it's not the end of the
world.
Tears?
Gone.
It's not the only time he's been seen encouraging the kids instead of unleashing his world-famous
temper, but even went so far as to say that he considers crying healthy.
He went on to say that it's a better way to deal with emotions than bottling it up inside,
and also says that for their time on the show, the MasterChef Junior kids are getting the
chance to experience reality.
Having kids use real knives seems a little dicey, doesn't it?
After all, the kids use knives as real and as sharp as the ones on the adult version
of the show.
Don't worry.
In an interview with HuffPost, showrunner and executive producer of both MasterChef
and MasterChef Junior, Robin Ashbrook, confessed that each row of contestants has a medic.
Even though you don't see them, the medics are keeping a close eye on the kids cooking,
ready to jump to action if anyone gets hurt.
While, of course, cuts happen, especially when you're dealing with sharp knives, limited
time periods, and lots of competition and pressure, it may surprise you to learn that
the kids are less likely to cut themselves.
Despite the emphasis on safety, the medics standing by on MasterChef have earned their
keep more than once.
In 2016, one Masterchef Australian contestant burned her hand when reflexively reaching
out to smooth out some caramel, hot out of the oven.
She needed medical attention, but ended up getting eliminated that round.
That's the season after two MasterChef Australia contestants suffered major injuries after
they were told to run out onto the field of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Injuries are a part of working in the kitchen, and in 2015, MasterChef Junior contestant
Addison Olsa Smith proved just how tough these kids are.
Days before she headed off to the show, she was working with a cooking coach at her home
when she nearly lost a finger to a blender.
She competed with gloves protecting her injured finger and its stitches, that's commitment!
While competing on the third season of MasterChef, contestant and eventual runner-up Josh Marks
was a runaway favorite and set to take the culinary world by storm.
"Remarkable.
This dish shows the best of who you are as a person, and your ability as a cook.
No doubt, congratulations."
"Thank you, chef."
After the show ended, however, everything changed for Marks.
He experienced panic attacks, according to reporting from Chicago Magazine, with the
first one occurring while Marks and his mother were in New York for the viewing party for
the season finale.
He was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later, paranoid schizophrenia, and was
experiencing occasional episodes of psychosis.
Sadly, Marks ended his own life in October of 2013.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or chat online with
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).