MasterChef Italia
MasterChef Italia is the Italian version of culinary talent show MasterChef. The first edition was aired from 21 September to 7 December 2011 on Sky Uno.
The judges are chefs Bruno Barbieri, Carlo Cracco, Antonino Cannavacciuolo by the fifth edition and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. Voiceovers are made by Simone D'Andrea and Luisa Ziliotto for the first five editions, Stefania Nali for the sixth and seventh and Ilaria Egitto from the eighth. Carlo Cracco quit the program after the end of 6th season and was replaced by Antonia Klugmann in the 7th. Antonia Klugmann was in turn replaced by Giorgio Locatelli for Season 8.
MasterChef Italia winners earn €100,000 in gold coins and get to publish a recipe book.
The success of the first edition included parodies of the program, including The Scoured, Crozza in Wonderland and Made in Sud with the parody ''Mastrochef''
Format
Mystery Box Challenge: participants have to prepare a dish following the instructions of the judges and the ingredients contained in their Mystery Boxes. The judges taste the three most interesting dishes, and the winner is given an advantage for the next challenge.Invention Test: the participants have to re-create a dish decided by the judges or, often, by a guest. The winner of the Mystery Box Challenge is given an advantage over the other participants, which could go as far as being exempted from the challenge. The duration of this test is variable, and here the judges, after tasting all dishes, nominate the winner of the test and the three cooks with the worst outcome, and between them at least one is eliminated.Team Challenge: in this test, the candidates are divided into two teams and have to prepare dishes to be served in a particular situation, usually outside MasterChef's kitchen, and for a considerable number of people, ranging from 100 to 10. MasterChef Italia has visited several locations in Italy and abroad, including Norwegian fjords, the Vatican, Naples. The winner of the invention test can choose the components of either teams and, at times, the courses to prepare, or have other particular advantages, such as advice from local chefs. The winning team will be voted upon by the guests they prepared food for, by simple majority. Pressure Test: the members of the losing team will compete against each other in a task, usually with a very strict time limit, until at least one of them is eliminated.Duel: if foreseen, the worst competitor in the Invention Test and the worst competitor in the Pressure Test or the two worst competitors in the Pressure Test compete in a very demanding test with very little time available, at the end of which one of the two is eliminated.Skill Test: present since the ninth edition and alternated in the episodes with the sequence of Team Challenge and Pressure Test, requires the competitors to take a surprise exam on a specific skill, divided into three steps, each assigned to a judge, where the worst is eliminated.Golden Mystery Box: the competitors must create a dish using all or some of the ingredients found inside a box, often with unexpected events and additional rules that make everything more difficult, regarding the particular cooking technique or the obligatory or prohibited use of a particular ingredient or tool. At the end of the test, the judges move between the stations to observe the dishes and then taste the best dishes, usually more than 3. The winners go up to the balcony and directly access the outdoor test or the next Skill Test.Black Mystery Box: the competitors must create a dish using all or some of the ingredients found inside a box, often with unexpected events and additional rules that make everything more difficult, regarding the particular cooking technique or the obligatory or prohibited use of a particular ingredient or tool. At the end of the test, the judges move between the stations to observe the dishes and the winning competitor receives a lesson in the MasterChef Magazine. The judges then call the worst dishes, and the 3 worst will face a Pressure Test.Stress Test: introduced in the thirteenth edition, competitors must pass a skills exam in 10 minutes, to demonstrate that they are able to work under pressure. The test is led by a "shadow" chef whose identity is revealed shortly before the start of the test.The Final: in the Season Finale, the two remaining participants face each other in a 2-hour long duel, during which they have to serve their own degustation menu, composed of at least four courses.Season One
The first season of MasterChef Italy aired from 21 September to 7 December in 2011 on Sky and saw Spyros Theodoridis come out the winner. In addition, on 21 and 28 December, two special episodes were aired dedicated to the background and to the comments of the protagonists.Season Two
In February 2012 Sky Italy opened up the casting for the second edition.The winner of the second edition was attorney Tiziana Stefanelli. Unlike the previous edition, the first MasterChef aired on Sky One from 13 December 2012 to 21 February 2013. On days 19, 20 and 21 November 2012, three special introductory episodes had aired: Joe Bastianich: Family Affairs, Carlo Cracco:The Squaring Of The Egg and Bruno Barbieri: Chef 7-Star. In addition, the three judges were guests in an episode of X Factor Italy, of That Heavenly Goal! and The Barbarian Invasions.