Well, as it turns out, after the judges have a taste, the contestants are allowed to eat the food. They're even encouraged to take it home in doggy bags.
MasterChef US and UK
Of course, we're all curious where that veritable smorgasbord of delights ends up after filming is over. As it turns out, the crew gets first dibs, Marketplace reported. All leftovers and unused pantry items are then donated to MEND – a support service charity based in LA.
While most of the cooked food is eaten by the judges, and the contestants often have a nibble as well, sometimes there are leftovers and the lucky contenders are encouraged to take it home!
Jim Mullan -- the CEO of Second Bite -- -- told 10 daily that items from the cooking competition's larder always end up heading to a good home. "The 'MasterChef' pantry is replenished on an almost daily basis while the program is shooting and we collect daily from the MasterChef studios," he said.
However, with not all of it actually being consumed, you can't help but wonder where all the leftover ingredients and uneaten food end up. Channel 10 confirmed to Refinery29 Australia last year that the produce doesn't go to waste, with several charities receiving what's left in the pantry and on the cooking benches.
Leftover produce and perishables from MasterChef's ginormous pantry are donated to SecondBite, a not-for-profit food rescue organisation that helps end food waste and food insecurity in Australia.
Speaking in 2017, former MasterChef finalist Jack Layer explained that John and Gregg start eating the food while it's being cooked. When the cameras aren't on them, they have a little nibble of bits in the pan as they are walking around watching the contestants.
The contestants put their lives on hold, but that doesn't mean their responsibilities freeze and bills don't have to be paid. The contestants on MasterChef do get some money, but it's probably nowhere near what you think and in some aspects, contestants actually pay the show.
It's the question that perplexes MasterChef Australia fans year after year: by the time the contestants bring up their dishes for the three judges to taste, aren't they cold? The answer is yes. "They try our dish as we're cooking it," Steph reveals.
Contestants have to buy any ingredients they require to practice dishes to make at home and aren't given any money towards it - but ingredients and a full pantry are provided in the MasterChef kitchens.
We did some digging, and according to reports, Network Ten generally pays contestants a little more than the legal minimum wage to appear on the competition reality series.
So it seems that all the MasterChef contestants stay in a hotel together (in separate rooms, of course). What makes setting accommodations easier for a show like MasterChef is that for the most part, contestants are visiting the same location for the duration of filming.
But some skeptical fans have long wondered how realistic of a portrayal the show provides since not everything that takes place in the studio makes it to the edits. Nonetheless, the contestants are highly unlikely to receive a copy of the recipes in advance.
Do the MasterChef judges taste every dish? Yes, the judges taste every dish. Due to time constraints in terms of episode length, we sometimes don't see the judges tasting every contestant's dish, but rest assured, they take their job of eating other people's food very seriously.
In 2013, "MasterChef" judges and producers were accused of sexual, mental, and physical harassment by former contestants. Many accusations came from a blog post by former contestant Marie Porter, where she describes how friends she met on the show were allegedly sexually and physically harassed by judges and producers.
When cooking for guest judges the staring times for each contestant are staggered, in this instance the food is served hot. It isn't. The process of setting up good shots of the food and of the judges eating it usually takes so long that the food is just cold by the end of the tasting.
To get an accurate representation of the composition of the final plate, the judges taste each individual element as it's being prepared. Makes sense, right? In fact, the final temperature of the food isn't usually taken into consideration at all, as it wouldn't be fair on the contestants who are judged last.
And they don't get to keep the aprons they wear on the show. But they are sent nice new ones in the post later. This is so no one is spotted with a MasterChef apron before the series goes out on TV.
Contestants don't always get along.
MasterChef brings together the best up and coming cooks from all around the country. But sometimes they don't always get along. “There were a few little arguments here and there, but nothing massive, and that's normal – because every friendship, every relationship, has arguments.
All of your living expenses are paid for by production.
Contestants on the show are put up in a hotel for the duration of filming. Additionally, their transportation and food expenses are paid for by the show.
When it comes to contestants who've owned the most restaurants, Thomasina Miers sits in first place. After her win in the MasterChef kitchen back in 2005, she opened her first Wahaca restaurant in London in 2007.
Refinery29 Australia reported last year that contestants have previously been put up in a serviced apartment, with two people in an apartment with their own bedrooms. In 2020, news.com.au revealed that contestants usually live in "a multimillion-dollar mansion".
The only catch? "They are not allowed to stop and read a recipe from a cookbook while we are filming. Anything they pull from the cookbooks must be memorized," says the producer. And that's not all: "Masterchef" contestants are, indeed, as clueless about challenges as they appear to be on-screen.
At the end of tapings and seasons, unused ingredients will usually go home with the show's producers. Like most of the other shows already mentioned, uneaten parts of the meals also go to feed the show's crew.