Is Masterchef Scripted? Former Contestants Spill The Beans! 2023 Update!

Think you have all that it takes to make the MasterChef kitchen? After ten seasons of the reality cooking competition, we’re diving into what truly goes on behind the scenes, which raises the question, Is MasterChef scripted? Only we have all the details of the behind-the-scenes of the reality TV fakery!

If you take 300 people and push them to an extreme level, some will die under pressure. We believe that producers of all the reality shows know this is true. And, elements of reality show casting are horrific enough to deserve a transparent discussion. Full of dangerous, dirty secrets; no one can talk about the full details except me, an unlikely candidate from the start. The only explanation is that my interest was accelerated by a desire to please, an unconscious understanding of pop culture, and pathological curiosity. 

MasterChef is entertainment, first and foremost. It is not accurate, and it is not a competition. It is highly engineered fiction and designed to keep you watching from episode to episode. There is nothing real about the MasterChef reality TV show.

We’ve rounded up some of the juiciest, most surprising rules that even the show’s biggest fans probably don’t know.

Is MasterChef Scripted or Real? Let’s Reveal The Hidden Secrets!

While sometimes it seems almost impossible for some contestants to whip up something decent in the given time, most of them never fail to wow the audience with their impressive spreads. But there are glaringly obvious reasons as to how they’re managing to do it.

#1 The Plot Of Masterchef Series | Is Masterchef Scripted Or Real?

During the fifth season of Masterchef, the contestants made their signature dish. Whatever that may be, the contestants cooked what they thought would show off their skills to the judges.

From what I’ve read elsewhere by former contestants, what seems to happen, although, of course, not necessarily in the sequence you see, and it’s highly edited. They are actually “home cooks” (not pros) there, don’t know what’s in the mystery box, have to cook in 60 minutes or whatever the time limit is, are not allowed written recipes on site, etc. That means the judges don’t know what’s going to be made by any given person nor how well he or she may do.

#2 Masterchef Is The No.1 Reality TV Show | Most Of The Part Is Scripted

Due to editing and logistics, what’s not “real” is that they don’t go straight from a team challenge in the desert right into the kitchen for a pressure test; there may be a couple of days between. The whole filming is about three months long, so there are many days of hanging around the hotel or whatever, and it’s all choreographed, Masterchef is ultimately a great entertainment show.

I suspect but don’t know that certain contestants are maneuvered into being winners, but I’m a cynic. It’s easy enough to engineer wins and losses such that person X emerges as the winner.

Additionally, the contestants go through extensive auditions, but those are about cooking skills and personality. That implies those we see may not be the best cooks, but rather good cooks who will be exciting or dramatic to watch, and I’ve read they go through “makeup” before the filming and are told in some way what to wear each time (hard to believe given what some of them wear!).

#3 Is The Cooking Real Or Part Of The Script?

The straight and simple answer here is sort of. Some challenges of the show last 60 minutes each, also it has been confirmed by producers that an average filming day lasts a little longer, presumably to make time for filming scenes or specific shots during and between challenges.

Executive producer Margaret previously revealed that some days could drag on for 12 hours once filming has wrapped for each contestant! Additionally, ex-contestant Alice said that there was no compromise with each challenge which makes things even more stressful for contestants when you add cameras to the mix.

#4 Are The Judges Partial On The Show? Discrimination Amongst Contestants

We can say favoritism is everywhere. Although the new judges of the cooking show, Jock, Melissa, and Andy, have said there’s no favoritism when it comes to the Masterchef competition, do you ever think the old ones missed the mark? 

It turns out to be a reason behind every controversy. Alice divulged that some judges were partial to playing favorites, but it didn’t skew the overall outcome of the task.

She also explained that Calombaris was usually interested in those who wanted to be a famous chef, given that was his own experience.

Meanwhile, Matt took contestants who loved talking or writing about the food. Gary was just a stickler for those who took a standard approach to the cuisines.

Are the final plates tidied up before being presented?

Taste is one thing, but the presentation of the dish is a whole thing in itself. who often leave plating up till the very last minute in their rush to get each dish cooked and prepared.

#5 Drama Is The Key Ingredient For A Hit Masterchef Recipe

If you have a sixth sense like us, you’ll definitely notice that there is a peculiar knack for said plates to make them look very tidy despite seeing contestants fussing over their final dishes.

Well, it seems like there is a little bit of extra help at play here. When the show first started airing, judges and producers admitted to allowing contestants to re-plate their dishes before presenting them to the judges.

At filming for the upcoming season in LA last month, contestants were provided with seemingly homemade posters and pieces of flair to jazz up the audition shots.

The production staff handed out signs that have things like ‘Star Quality. It was supposed to look like the contestants had brought them, but no one did. It was so fake.

#6 Is MasterChef Staged? Are There Some Evidence?

Well, this is one of those questions that people are actually very fond of when it comes to MasterChef. Having said that it’s important to look for the evidence that direct us to a conclusion. As per some sources, there are no evidences that indicate whether the show is scripted or not.

Even if it is scripted let me tell you that contestants of such shows are supposed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. And signing this agreement clearly means that no one can reveal anything regarding the authenticity of the show. Further, even the show is not staged it does not mean that you get to see all the sequences in their original versions. Of course, they are edited in such a way that they look very natural.

After wrapping up the shooting, the production team sits to edit the sequences. Even while filming, the team prepare the setup in a way that helps them to shoot organically.

#7 What The Contestant Of The Show Experienced?

Ben Starr, one of the contestants of season 2, shared in an interview that the show is an “engineered fiction”, that makes the audiences curious to watch episodes till the end. In other words, the former contestant of the show hinted that the show is not very much real.

After the interview, Ben came up with a follow-up article and mentioned that he wished to clear a few points about the show. The aim of writing the article was to request people to perceive such shows as a part of entertainment rather than reality. Also, he requested people not to judge the characters of shows because there are numerous other productive things they can do.

About his experience on MasterChef, Ben shared that he had a great team but wishes to be known as Benn Starr and not the contestant of MasterChef.

Final Word

So we can conclude, ‘Is Masterchef scripted’. Although there is a lot of behind-the-scenes action on set, there’s one thing MasterChef doesn’t fudge, and that is the one-hour time limit. 

The days in the kitchen are not a joke. The contestants on MasterChef are expected to film for 12 hours a day when they’re competing. They’re honest, and when they say the clock starts, the clock starts. There are no reality show contestants who will openly discuss the process of casting and filming a significant reality show because the contracts contestants sign contain nondisclosure agreements. Masterchef is a great entertainment show, and as an audience, it is totally up to you and your faith in the show.