Think you have what it takes to make it in the MasterChef kitchen? After 10 seasons of the reality cooking competition, we’re diving into what truly goes on behind-the-scenes. From 12-hour days to a strict no recipe policy, we’ve rounded up the juiciest, most surprising rules that even the show’s biggest fans probably don’t know.
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You must meet the age requirement.
All applicants must be 18 or older. If you don’t meet the age requirement, you can always apply for MasterChef Junior.
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You have to be an American citizen.
Since its conception, MasterChef has inspired franchises all around the world. However, to compete on the U.S. version of the show, you must be a legal citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
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Professional chefs are not allowed.
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You have to apply.
Aside from some pre-registration online, it’s relatively easy to attend an open casting call for MasterChef. You just have to prepare your best dish and bring it in to be sampled by a panel of expert chefs. Piece of cake.
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Prepare for criticism.
Gordon Ramsay doesn’t attend the open calls, but the panel of judges includes people who could give him a run for his money. “The chefs were tasting food and also critiquing, so people were getting critiqued on the spot which was not something I had expected. Then, on top of that, you’re also talking to producers who wanna know what your personality is like,” former contestant Elise Mayfield told AV Club.
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You can’t reheat or cool food for your audition.
Making sure your dish is the proper temperature before it’s served is up to you. Mayfield told AV Club her trick: “So I came in with two insulated lunch bags. One of them was an aluminum foil takeout container and I had a sock—a clean sock!—full of rice that I had heated up in the microwave, along with these glove warmer things so I had that and a heated bag of rice in the insulated lunch bag.”
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You may not hear back for months.
After your audition, the casting department and producers can take a long time to make their final decisions on the cast. According to Mayfield from season five, it took four months before she got a final decision from production.
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If you make it, you must travel to California.
Filming for MasterChef takes place in Los Angeles. If you make it to the competition round of the show, that means packing up your knives and heading out west.
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You won’t get a big heads up.
Although casting takes months, once you hear back from production, you don’t have a lot of time to get to LA. One season five competitor had just 10 days to pack for Los Angeles after learning she made it on the show.
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You must pass one final audition.
About 100 applicants make the journey out to Los Angeles and are put up in a hotel by production. After they arrive, there’s one more round of auditions and 70 people are sent home. “I was basically told, ‘This is not a guarantee that you’re on the show, this is not a guarantee you’re going to meet the judges, this is a not guarantee of anything. It’s just the final audition,'” Mayfield once said.
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You have to undergo a psychological evaluation.
During the last round of auditions, each prospective contestant has to meet with production’s psychologist for a formal evaluation. According to former contestant Jessie Glenn, you are never showed the results, so it’s unclear what they are looking for in the evaluation.
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You have to meet with a private investigator.
Contestants are also required to meet with a private investigator who will perform a background check on you. The investigative meeting felt “invasive,” one former contestant said.
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You have to take time off from your job.
When contestants journey to Los Angeles, they have to plan as if they will be gone for the entirety of filming. Producers tell them to pack as if they’ll be gone for a few months and most quit their jobs for the show, while some are lucky enough to just take a leave of absence. “For me, I was really lucky because I was able to keep my job,” Mayfield said: “A lot of people really quit their jobs to go to that show,”
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You have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Most of the show’s behind-the-scenes secrets will remain secret, as the contestants are required to sign NDAs before officially joining the show. However, there’s one contestant who didn’t sign the show’s tightly bound contract: season three’s Jessie Glenn. According to Healthline, Glenn began asking questions when she received the contract and the show didn’t notice she hadn’t signed it until after she was eliminated.
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All of your living expenses are paid for by production.
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You’re also paid a salary.
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Your wardrobe is chosen for you.
From the first day of filming, the wardrobe department has a specific outfit picked out for each contestant. Mayfield explained that you are told what to wear in the kitchen.
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You get your hair and makeup done before filming.
To make sure each contestant is camera-ready, production takes care of hair and makeup. “To hear, ‘OK, we’re going to hair and makeup,’ and then to actually pull into Paramount Pictures, that moment was nuts. That’s the moment when it’s like, ‘Oh, this is really happening. This is happening right now,'” Mayfield said of the moment the experience really hit her.
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You don’t meet the hosts until the first episode.
The first day of filming can be a bit overwhelming, because that’s when contestants are taken to the kitchen set for the first time and meet the judges. Mayfield said: “And then Gordon Ramsay walks out and, like, Joe [Bastianich] and Graham [Elliot]. I think there is this moment of me, if I remember from the first episode, where I’m fanning myself and crying and that is totally legit. I was super overwhelmed.”
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Sometimes your first challenge is to make something familiar.
On the show’s fifth season, the contestants made their signature dish. Whatever that may be, the contestants cooked what they thought would show off their skills to the judges.
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You can’t use recipes while cooking.
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There’s a team watching to make sure you follow the rules.
MasterChef doesn’t mess around. There’s a special group from production that acts as standards-and-practices officials to make sure no one has an unfair advantage. “Everyone has the exact same advantages, and we want them to leverage those advantages fairly,” MasterChef judge Christina Tosi told Lucky Peach.
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You really do cook only one dish.
Although some shows have contestants make multiple dishes for judges and beauty shots, the chefs on MasterChef make only one that’ll either get them to the next round or send them home. “Preparing two dishes just complicates things and takes away from the focus of the competition,” judge Christina said.
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Your food is tasted before judging.
According to MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris, the contestant’s dishes are ice cold by the time they land on the judge’s table. Because of this, the judges sneak bites off camera when the food is still hot.
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The time limits are real.
Although there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes action on set, there’s one thing MasterChef doesn’t fudge—the one-hour time limit. “They’re real, and when they say the clock started, the clock started,” Mayfield said.
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Prepare for a lot of down time on set.
There may be time constraints during the challenge, but after time is up, contestants have a long time to wait before judging begins. In that time, the “beauty shots” (AKA those close-up shots of the food you love to watch so much) and the judges are checking out each station to get a better sense of each dish before tasting it.
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The mystery boxes are real too.
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You must wear a mic while cooking.
The contestants have mics placed on the lapel of their apron. According to Mayfield, the mics are super sensitive and can pick up everything you say—even if you’re whispering.
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Everyone gets an equal amount of attention.
While there isn’t enough time to show it in every episode, the judges always aim to be fair with the advice they give to contestants and make sure to give an equal amount. “We’re probably the most fair people in the world—it just didn’t make the cut, because we weren’t interesting enough when we said it (or my hair was out of place),” judge Christina told Lucky Peach. “We want everyone to succeed.”
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You must understand the challenge before filming begins.
According to one of the judges, it can take hours to get everything sorted. “Stress does strange things to people—so immediately after we have painstakingly gone through every single aspect of what we’re shooting, they stop paying attention, or they can’t remember where to stand, or they start before you say so. They think it’s a steak challenge even though you said gnocchi,” judge Christina told Lucky Peach.
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You’re given cooking lessons before some challenges.
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Wasting food is not allowed.
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You have to prepare for long days on set.
Those days in the kitchen are no joke. The contestants on MasterChef are expected to film for 12 hours a day when they’re competing.
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Medics are always on set.
There have been episodes where contestants have sliced a finger or even fainted during a challenge. In those instances, the show’s team of medics, who are on standby during each episode, tend to the contestants.
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Your contact with loved ones is limited.
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There are no phones allowed on set.
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You must film an exit interview.
After you’re eliminated, the last thing you probably want is a camera in your face, but all contestants must film an exit interview before heading home. Hey, it is a reality TV show.
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You can return home after elimination.
Unlike some reality shows, where contestants must stay on location until the show wraps filming, the contestants on MasterChef are allowed to return home immediately upon elimination.
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You can’t tell anyone where you were.
Per the confidentiality agreement, contestants can’t speak about the show until after it premieres—which can be months. “I had disappeared for almost two months and then I wasn’t able to talk about where I had been, so it was a little like I was in the CIA,” Mayfield said.
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If you win, you get a monetary prize.
The champion of MasterChef isn’t just given a trophy and accolades—there’s a cash prize in it for them. The winner of the season takes home a cool $250,000 for dominating the cooking competition.
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