''MasterChef Israel'' ( he, מאסטר שף) is an Israeli reality cooking competition show that debuted on 14 October 2010 by Keshet on
Channel 2 (from 2017
Keshet 12). It is based on the global
MasterChef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and J ...
competitive cooking show television format. The show was very well received and highly acclaimed, achieving excellent reviews and high ratings.
Format
The premise of the show is a cooking competition between amateur cooks, competing for the title of "MasterChef" and a kitchen renovation. The first few episodes of every series are audition episodes where contestants cook to a panel of judges who decide based on a dish cooked in front of them whether or not to pass the contestant to the next level, where a large number of the contestants chosen in the auditions are eliminated through a series of tests, until 12–14 are chosen as the show's final cast, and the members of the season's "Nivheret" (Selected Team).
The members of the "Nivheret" compete in different challenges every episodes, such as the mystery Box Challenge, the Invention Test, Dish Recreation Challenges and Taste Challenges.
Mystery Box Challenge
In the Mystery Box Challenge contestants receive a number of ingredients of which they are to make a dish of their choice. The contestants are allowed to use any number of the ingredients they are given as they wish, and are free to leave out any ingredients.
The Invention Test
The Invention Test requires of the contestants to make a dish, usually with a certain requirement, such as that the dish should cost no more than a certain price, the dish should contain a certain ingredient or be an adaption of other dishes. The Invention Test is usually the challenge that leads to eliminations.
Dish Recreation Test
In the Dish Recreation Test contestants are asked to recreate a complex dish made by a guest chef, usually with a recipe at hand.
Taste Challenges
In Taste Challenges the contestants are given a dish to taste, and are asked to name ingredients in the dish, for every ingredient they name correctly they score a point, until their first mistake. The contestant with the lowest score is usually eliminated.
Judges
The first season judges were
Haim Cohen,
Eyal Shani
Eyal Shani ( he, אייל שני) is an Israeli chef noted for creating the Miznon restaurant chain.
Culinary career
Shani, a self-taught chef, opened the Israeli fine dining restaurant, Ocean, in 1989. After closing Ocean, he spent several years ...
,
Michal Ansky
Michal Ansky ( he, מיכל אנסקי; born 11 October 1980), is an Israeli gastronomist, food journalist and television personality.
Biography
Michal Ansky was born Gabrielle Ansky and raised in Jerusalem, to Jewish parents. Her father Alex ...
, and
Rafi Adar
Rafi Adar ( he, רפי אדר, born 1946) is an Israeli chef. He was a judge on MasterChef Israel
''MasterChef Israel'' ( he, מאסטר שף) is an Israeli reality cooking competition show that debuted on 14 October 2010 by Keshet on Chann ...
, all successful restaurateurs in Israel.
After the first season was concluded, Eyal Shani became famous, due to his eccentric treatment of food as poetry in the show, though Haim Cohen was the most famous of the judges, Shani became the symbol of the show and became a cultural icon in Israel.
In the second season, Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani and Michal Ansky continued as judges with
Yonatan Roshfeld Yonatan Roshfeld ( he, יונתן רושפלד, born 10 January 1969) is an Israeli chef known for his work on television. He was a judge on the television cooking competition ''MasterChef Israel'' from the second season to the sixth. He opened the ...
, chef of the
Herbert Samuel restaurant
The Herbert Samuel restaurant ( he, הרברט סמואל) is a kosher fine-dining restaurant in Herzliya, Israel. It was established as a branch of a non-kosher restaurant in Tel Aviv that has since closed.
Herbert Samuel in Tel Aviv often ap ...
, brought in to replace Rafi Adar.
In the seventh season, Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani and Michal Ansky continued as judges with
Israel Aharoni
Israel Aharoni (1882 - 1946 he, ישראל אהרוני) was a zoologist in Ottoman and British Palestine widely known as the "first Hebrew zoologist."
Aharoni is best known for collecting a litter of Syrian hamsters on an expedition to Ale ...
, a famous Israeli chef, brought in to replace Yonatan Roshfeld.
In the tenth season,
Ruti Broudo was added as a fifth judge alongside the existing panel of judges in which Ansky continued while being pregnant during filimg.
Season 1 (2010)
First aired on 14 October 2010, the first season of MasterChef received very high ratings and resulted in a large cook book that held all of the recipes shown on the first season.
Contestants
Elimination table
Season 2 (2011)
The show was picked up for a second season in November 2010, a month after the first season first aired. the show began airing in June 2011, with the new judge, Yonatan Roshfeld.
Contestants
Junior MasterChef (2012)
*
Junior MasterChef Israel premiered on 20 April 2012 the judges will be the same as ''MasterChef Israel''.
Contestants
Season 3 (2012–13)
Contestants
Season 4 (2014)
Contestants
MasterChef VIP (2015)
Contestants
Season 5 (2015)
Contestants
Season 6 (2016)
Contestants
Season 7 (2017–18)
Contestants
Season 8 (2019)
Contestants
VIP Special
Season 9 (2021)
Contestants
VIP Special 1
VIP Special 2
Season 10 (2022)
Season 10 began on 15 June 2022, Ruti Broudo joined as a fifth judge.
During the season Eyal Shani was criticized after he discriminated against a contestant who lives in
Bat Ayin
Bat Ayin ( he, בַּת עַיִן, lit., "daughter of the eye" or "apple of the eye", i. e., pupil, ar, بات عاين) is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron. It was founded in 1989 by Rabbi Y ...
based on his residence. Critics called for Shani's removal from the show.
Contestants
VIP Special
See also
*
Israeli television
Television in Israel refers to television broadcasting services in the State of Israel, inaugurated on March 24, 1966. Initially, there was one state-owned channel, operated jointly by the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the Israeli Educational ...
*
Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israe ...
References
External links
MasterChefs page on Keshet's website (Hebrew)
{{MasterChef
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Channel 2 (Israeli TV channel) original programming
2010 Israeli television series debuts
Israeli reality television series
Israeli television series based on British television series
Channel 12 (Israel) original programming