MasterChef Romania is the Romanian version of the television cooking game show, open to amateur and home chefs. The first series started in March 2012 and was broadcast by Pro TV channel in Romania. The show was hosted by Romanian actor Răzvan Fodor.[1] The panel was completed by Cătălin Scărlătescu, Sorin Bontea and Florin Dumitrescu. They were replaced in season 4 by Patrizia Paglieri, Adrian Hădean and Florin Scripcă[2] Starting with the 6th Season, the MasterChef panel has been replaced by chefs Răzvan Exarhu, Samuel le Torriellec and Liviu Popescu.[3] Seventh season had the panel was once again replaced by Joseph Hadad, Cosmin Tudoran and Silviu Chelaru, former participant of the show.

MasterChef România
Directed byMarius Toader, Monica Senchiu - Media Factory (4-6), Mona Segal (1-3)
Presented byRăzvan Fodor (1-6)
No Host (7-8)
Gina Pistol (9)
JudgesRadu Dumitrescu (8)
Cosmin Tudoran (7)
Silviu Chelaru (7)
Joseph Hadad (7-8)
Răzvan Exarhu (6)
Samuel le Torriellec (6)
Liviu Popescu (6)
Patrizia Paglieri (4-5)
Florin Scripcă "FOA" (4-5, 8)
Adrian Hădean (4-5)
Cătălin Scărlătescu (1-3, 9)
Sorin Bontea (1-3, 9)
Florin Dumitrescu (1-3, 9)
Theme music composerKaty Perry
Opening themeHot n Cold (only in the second season)
Country of originRomania
Original languageRomanian
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes207 aired
Production
Running time120 minutes (season 1-6, 8)
60 minutes (season 7)
180 minutes (season 9)
Production companiesFremantleMedia (2012-2013)
Shine Group (2014)
Endemol Shine Group (2015-2019)
Banijay (2022-present)
Original release
NetworkPro TV
Release20 March 2012 (2012-03-20) –
11 December 2024 (2024-12-11)

The first season started on 20 March 2012 on PRO TV and lasted until 6 June.[4]

The second season was broadcast between 5 March and 28 May 2013.[5]

The third season was broadcast between 18 March and 10 June 2014.[6]

The fourth season started on 15 September 2014 and concluded on 23 December 2014.[7]

The fifth season started on 14 September 2015 and lasted until 14 December 2015.[8]

The sixth season started on 13 February 2017 and lasted until 15 May 2017.

The seventh season starts on 9 September 2019 and lasted until 14 November 2019.

The eight season starts on 12 January 2022 and lasted until 2 June 2022.

Challenges

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Of all the amateur chefs who audition nationwide, one hundred are chosen to cook their signature dish for the three judges. Each judge takes a taste of the dish and gives his opinion before voting a "yes" or a "no". At least two "yes" votes are required to earn a white MasterChef apron, allowing the competitor to advance.

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 wish, and are free to leave any ingredients out. Once the dishes are finished, the judges choose three of the dishes to taste. The winner receives an advantage in the following elimination challenge.

The off-site team challenge involves the contestants being split into two teams, blue and red, which consist of equal numbers and are given a task, for example, running a restaurant or catering for a party or wedding. After the task has been completed, the teams are given the results, which can be determined by third party votes. Members of the losing team compete in an elimination challenge.

A "pressure test" challenge involves competitors who failed in a previous challenge (i.e. the three worst performers in an individual challenge or the losing team in a group challenge). The competitors are given a dish that they then must create in a particular time frame. Once the contestants have finished cooking, the dishes are taken to the judges to be tasted, who then criticize, vote and eliminate one or more contestants.

Seasons

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Series summary

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Season Season Premiere Date Season Finale Date No. of Finalists No of Episodes Winner Runner-up Judges Presenter
1 20 March 2012 6 June 2012 21 13 Petru Buiucă Mimi Nicolae Cătălin Scărlătescu
Sorin Bontea
Florin Dumitrescu
Răzvan Fodor
2 5 March 2013 28 May 2013 24 14 Aida Parascan Alex Hora
3 18 March 2014 10 June 2014 22 13 Jesica Zamfir Irina Bucșă
4 15 September 2014 23 December 2014 24 25 Ciprian Ogarcă Odette Mândruță Patrizia Paglieri
Adrian Hădean
Florin Scripcă
5 14 September 2015 14 December 2015 24 26 Andrei Voica Liviu Balint
6 13 February 2017 15 May 2017 24 26 Robert Petrescu Ana Demian Răzvan Exarhu
Samuel le Torriellec
Liviu Popescu
7 9 September 2019 14 November 2019 18 39 Alina Gologan Cezar Marin Joseph Hadad
Silviu Chelaru
Cosmin Tudoran
No host
8 12 January 2022 2 June 2022 14 26 Gabriela Dima Marco Genna Joseph Hadad
Radu Dumitrescu
Florin Scripcă
9 10 September 2024 11 December 2024 20 27 Cătălin Scărlătescu
Sorin Bontea
Florin Dumitrescu
Gina Pistol

Overview

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The first episode aired on 20 March 2012. The winner was 23-year-old office manager, Petru Buiucă,[9] who defeated Mimi Nicolae in the grand final. Buiucă received a cheque of 50,000 euros.[10]

The second season started on 5 March 2013. The grand prize was won by Aida Parascan,[11] a housewife that lives with her family in Italy, but came especially back to Romania to take part at the show. The prize remained the same, 50,000 euros.[citation needed]

The third season started on 18 March 2014.[12]

The fourth season started on 15 September 2014. The winner of this season was announced on 23 December 2014 and is Ciprian Ogarcă.[citation needed]

The fifth season started on 14 September 2015.[8] The winner of this season was announced on 14 December 2015 and is Andrei Voica.[13]

The sixth season was on air in spring 2017. The winner of this season is Robert Petrescu.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Andronache, Carmen Maria (10 February 2012). "Show-ul MasterChef de la ProTV, prezentat de Răzvan Fodor" [The show MasterChef from ProTV, presented by Răzvan Fodor]. Pagina de media (in Romanian). Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. ^ ""MasterChef" are din toamnă un nou juriu de excepție : Patrizia Paglieri, Adrian Hădean și Florin Scripcă" ["MasterChef" has from this autumn a new jury of exception: Patrizia Paglieri, Adrian Hădean and Florin Scripcă]. Pro TV (in Romanian). 2 July 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Cel mai urmărit cooking show din România, MasterChef, are un nou juriu!" (in Romanian). 30 August 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  4. ^ "MasterChef, din 20 martie pe ProTV". Refresh.ro. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  5. ^ "MasterChef - 5 Martie 2013 Online". Runvideo. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  6. ^ ""MasterChef", cel mai bun debut de sezon din istoria show-ului de la ProTV. 3 milioane de romani au urmarit prima editie". protv.ro. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ "MASTERCHEF luni 15 SEPTEMBRIE 2014: MasterChef a debutat LUNI, la Pro TV". Voceatransilvaniei.ro/. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Noul sezon "MasterChef" debutează pe 14 septembrie, la PRO TV. Impresiile celor trei juraţi despre noii concurenţi". Ştirile Pro TV. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Primul MasterChef din Romania este Petru Buiuca. Iata probele din finala". Stirileprotv.ro. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  10. ^ "AcasaTV - Ce a facut Petru Buiuca, castigatiorul MasterChef , cu banii castigati - Stiri". Acasatv.ro. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  11. ^ Petru Luca (29 May 2013). "EXCLUSIV! Aida Parascan, castigatoarea Masterchef,... | WOWBiz". Wowbiz.ro. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  12. ^ Madalina Cerban (10 March 2014). ""MasterChef" revine la Pro TV pe 18 martie". Mediafax.ro. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Masterchef | ProTv". Masterchef.protv.ro. Retrieved 2 April 2017.