The Big Picture
- Winners of Masterchef go on to achieve great status in the industry, launching cookbooks and appearing on TV shows.
- Some seasons had memorable competitors like Dorian Hunter and Grant Gillon, while others fell short due to lack of drama.
- Season 3 was particularly memorable with Christine Ha, the first blind winner, showcasing impressive culinary skills.
On since 2010, Masterchef is one of the most fun cooking competition series to watch. Headed up by professional celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay alongside other judges, who have included Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich, Christina Tosi, and Aaron Sanchez over the years, the show celebrates home cooks looking to make a name for themselves in the culinary world.
There have been memorable winners through the seasons, many of whom have gone on to achieve great status in the industry. Winners and other competitors have taken major gigs, launched cookbooks, appeared on other TV shows, and realized their dreams. Of the 13 seasons of Masterchef to date, some were better than others for varying reasons.
13 Season 10 (2019)
Winner: Dorian Hunter
Dorian Hunter was an underdog the entire season, so it was wonderful to see her confidence grow as she began to realize that she not only deserved to be there but deserved to win as well. But there wasn’t a lot of drama that season, making many of the episodes fairly dry. It was nice, however, to see young college student Nick DiGiovanni rise up the ranks and place third in the season as well.
The season had some interesting challenges, including making a grilled dessert outdoors on a barbecue and a plating challenge judged by celebrity chef Grant Achatz. The finale also had a new twist whereby one chef was immediately eliminated after the entrée round, which added another level of pressure to the final competition.
12 Season 1 (2010)
Winner: Whitney Miller
The inaugural season of the show set it up for success, but there were a few refinements that needed to be made. The season featured some odd methods of eliminating competitors, a weird voice-over narration, and awkward pacing. There were only 14 people competing following the initial auditions.
Tony Carbone was eliminated from a seemingly unfair elimination test whereby contestants had to identify ingredients and the person who got the fewest correct was sent home. Considering professional chefs on shows like Hell’s Kitchen even have trouble doing this, it seemed like an unfair challenge to a home cook.
11 Season 6 (2015)
Winner: Claudia Sandoval
The saddest part about the sixth season of Masterchef, one of the best Gordon Ramsay reality shows, was that Bastianach departed as a judge, but Tosi came in as a wonderful replacement. She brought a new flavor to the judging panel given her infectiously optimistic and energetic personality and her expertise in baking and creating all types of unique sweet treats.
Unlike other seasons, this season didn’t have a long list of celebrity chef appearances and guest judges, which was disappointing. Fashion designer Tommy Walton was an interesting competitor on the season, adding plenty of personality, frantic energy, and some of the best banter with the judges.
10 Season 9 (2018)
Winner: Gerron Hurt
This season had the largest number of contestants ever at 24, which complicated things a bit. But it’s also the first season to feature a tutor twist whereby each judge was given eight competitors to award an apron to, then mentor them through the competition. The format was an interesting departure from the usual, but it fell into the same trap as shows like The Voice. Too much of the attention is diverted to the judges and them competing against one another versus shedding the spotlight on the contestants themselves.
A shining light was the return of Bastaniach, who had left the show for several seasons. This also, however, meant the departure of Tosi, who was a favorite for her specialty in desserts. Beyond the twist, however, there was nothing especially memorable about this season.
9 Season 2 (2011)
Winner: Jennifer Behm
Following the first season of Masterchef, some elements were fine-tuned for the second season. There were more competitors and Gordon Ramsay was his usual temperamental self, sticking with the on-screen persona that made him so popular from his other shows. The season was especially aspirational given that winner Jennifer Behm was the personification of what the show is about: a former Miss USA contestant who only cooked casually at home, gaining confidence that she had a true talent for the culinary arts after showing what she could do on the show.
Offering skills challenges like knife work, Mystery Box ingredients, team challenges, vegetarian entrées, and more, the season had all the elements that have made Masterchef such a success.
8 Season 13 (2023)
Winner: Grant Gillon
Grant Gillon, a brewery sales director with a special talent for cooking and baking, seemingly came out of nowhere to win the 13th season of Masterchef. Shaking things up this season was the concept of dividing the competitors into four major regions of the United States: West, Northeast, Midwest, and South. For the first few challenges, their fates were tied together, making rooting for fellow competitors crucial to individual games.
The season saw unique contestants like “MD” Madame Donut from Hawaii, who was impressed with her creativity and cultural influences, particularly when the donut shop owner had to compete in a dessert challenge. This season also introduced Daphne Oz as a guest judge, which would lead to her permanent spot in season 14. Fans were also pleased to see Graham Elliott return as a guest judge in one episode. The quality of the cooks, however, wasn’t up to par with some of the earlier seasons.
7 Season 11 (2021)
Winner: Kelsey Murphy
Kelsey Murphy emerged the winner of this season of Masterchef, but runner-up Suu Khin was a stand-out. The young food blogger brought a lot of inspiration from her Burmese culture, which added cultural flare to the season. Chef Alejandro Valdivia also provided interesting banter with the judges, usually involving his refusal to take their advice and consistent attempts to do things his own way and think outside the box, sometimes too far outside of it.
The season saw an impressive list of guest judges as well, including Emeril Lagasse, Curtis Stone, Paula Deen, and Roy Choi. The season started filming at the beginning of 2020 but had to be shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It took almost a year to resume, which may have affected the momentum. But it was still a solid season worth watching.
6 Season 12 (2022)
Winner: Dara Yu
This season of the network reality TV shows was especially impressive, showing how much the show has had an impact on the industry. Dara Yu, the winner of the season, had previously competed in Masterchef Junior. Now that she was of age, she joined the adults in the regular season. She not only showed that she belonged but won the entire season.
The season had some great dramatic moments as well, and fan favorites like Bowen Li who impressed both the judges and the aundinece with his creativity and skill, Willie Mike, known as Big Willie, who proved he was more than just a one-trick pony, Shayne Wells, another returning competitor from Masterchef Junior, and Shanika Patterson, whose feisty personality added entertaining heat to the kitchen. There were several returning contestants in this unofficial “second chance” season. Other familiar faces included several former runners-up and others who had previously competed on the show in earlier seasons dating all the way back to the beginning.
5 Season 4 (2013)
Winner: Luca Manfe
The fourth season of the show had tons of likeable cast members, including Luca Manfe, who went on to win the whole thing. His journey was particularly compelling because he entered the competition in the previous season but didn’t make the cut. He showed that he worked hard to improve himself, was willing to listen and learn, and made it this time around.
Another memorable contestant from the season was Eddie Jackson, a former football cornerback with a talent for cooking, and singer Sasha Foxx who, while eliminated early, was known to break out into song as she cooked. The season is also remembered for the unlikable contestant Krissi Biasiello, who came across as rude, big-mouthed, and hot-tempered. Nonetheless, her inclusion made for good TV.
4 Season 5 (2014)
Winner: Courtney Lapresi
The fifth season of the show was all about drama with clashing personalities and literally too many cooks in the kitchen. Notably, Leslie Gilliams and Joshua “Cutter” Brewer and Dan Wu were at odds with one another throughout. This was the last season before some major changes were made, including the switch from Bastianach to Tosi as a main judge.
The format was now formulaic, the show was in its prime. The challenges were also kicked up a notch, including a Mystery Box challenge that involved aluminum cans with processed meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit that the home chefs had to turn into five-star, high-end dishes. The popular croquembouche challenge was also part of this season, seeing the competitors rush their way to cook and assemble the delectable dessert tower in just 90 minutes.
3 Season 3 (2012)
Winner: Christine Ha
One of the most memorable seasons to date, season 3 stands out because winner Christine Ha was the first blind contestant to compete. She showed that no matter what challenges you face, you can overcome them. Even if she couldn’t visually see how her final dishes looked, each one was more impressive than the next. She baffled the judges as to how she used her knowledge, creativity, and other senses to make dishes that looked (and tasted) as good, often better, than others.
Making her win even more impressive is that the season had a cast full of top-notch cooks, including Mairym “Monti” Carlo, who went on to become a TV show host. What’s more, Ha was also the first Asian winner to win the show. No matter what was thrown at her, even a challenge that involved cooking live crab, she always came out on top.
2 Season 8 (2017)
Winner: Dino Angelo Luciano
Dino Angelo Luciano was the stand-out competitor on this season of the Gordon Ramsay show, a big personality with a rough-around-the-edges look and a heavy accent. He was prone to utter the words “baby doll” with his New York accent. But behind his playfulness was serious talent. His narration as he cooked and banter with the judges made the season highly entertaining, especially when Luciano backed it up with winning dishes every time.
Season 8 is also when Sanchez joined the judging panel, bringing his cultural influence and experience to the table. Luciano was a surprise winner, expected to make it far but never pegged to be the winner. The season also featured major drama between Jeff Philbin and Yachecia Jarmon, who seemingly couldn’t stand one another, as well as the controversial elimination of Brien O’Brien. Many felt that O’Brien was removed because of his sexist remarks and egotistical attitude and not his cooking.
1 Season 7 (2016)
Winner: Shaun O’Neale
There was something about Shaun O’Neale that made fans root for him from the beginning. A well-known DJ in Las Vegas, he never approached anything with ego, listened to every criticism the judges gave him, and worked hard to prove that he belonged in the competition, all with a humble attitude. He was a favorite from the beginning, so it’s no surprise O’Neale won and has enjoyed great success since.
While this season saw the departure of Elliot as a judge, it also opened the door for a different celebrity chef to join as a guest judge in each episode. This brought names like Wolfgang Puck, Richard Blais, Edward Lee, and Daniel Boulud to the show, offering a unique spin from one episode to the next. The fact that this season removed the second chance option for the 20 contestants who didn’t get an apron the first time raised the stakes even higher than ever before.
Every season of Masterchef can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.