MasterChef (US) Trivia

1. How many white aprons did the judges grant to returning competitors?

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 12

Answer: Twenty & 20

This season, "MasterChef" returned in full form with its 'Back to Win' season, pitting past home cooks who made it to the MasterChef Kitchen against each other once more with the aim of taking the top prize at last. Some of these competitors came from the same seasons and some even made it all the way to the finale. The first three episodes of this season saw them face each other for a chance to get back into the game. Ultimately twenty would proceed to the main competition with the earliest being from Season 5, airing back in 2014.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 11

Answer: Fifteen & 15

This season, a new group of home cooks headed to the MasterChef Kitchen to pursue the grand prize with the instruction to cook their signature dish in the audition round. With only forty-five minutes to cook, the chefs had to put themselves on a plate for one of only fifteen white aprons. Additionally, the judges would be accompanied by one of three legendary judges who would contribute their feedback and send participants through to the main competition. The first of these was Emeril Lagasse, the second was Curtis Stone, and the third was Paula Deen. If three of the four judges gave a yes, the apron would be handed over.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 10

Answer: Twenty & 20

For this celebratory tenth season of "MasterChef", Gordon, Aaron, and Joe brought numerous chefs into the MasterChef Kitchen with the intent to bring twenty of them into the competition with white aprons. With forty-five minutes to make a signature dish, the home cooks had to get a unanimous vote from all three judges to make it through to the next round. There was a catch, however, as each judge could hand off a battle pass to give one home cook (each) a final shot for the twentieth apron. Said apron went to Micah, who Gordon supported in the audition to give the second chance.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 9

Answer: Joe Bastianich

Although Gordon Ramsay and Aarón Sanchez return from the previous season of the show, Christina Tosi does not for this ninth outing of "MasterChef", bringing a new crop of home cooks to the MasterChef Kitchen for their shot at the grand prize. Joe actually returned a little bit earlier, replacing Sanchez on the sixth season of "MasterChef Junior" shortly before this season aired. Tosi would come back for "Junior" seasons while Joe would reclaim his spot as third judge on the panel going forward. He previously attended the main seasons as far as season 5.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 8

Answer: Aarón Sanchez

While Season 7 featured a series of rotating judges to compensate for Graham Elliot's departure, Season 8 allowed for the opportunity to insert a permanent co-host alongside Gordon Ramsay and recent mainstay Christina Tosi, who joined in Season 6 to replace Joe Bastianich. Aarón Sanchez, who appeared in three episodes of the show's seventh season, is also known for having appeared on several shows on both the American Food Network and the Cooking Channel. He specializes in Mexican cuisine.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 7

Answer: Twenty & 20

This season, a prospective Top 40 was whittled down to a more sensible Top 20 after a series of head-to-head battles for white aprons with each contestant facing off against one more more others cooking the same hero ingredients and fighting to come out on top. This season, unlike the previous, the dishes were judged solely by Gordon and Christina (due to Graham's departure) and there were no do-overs; the twenty who were culled from the initial forty didn't have a chance to claim a last couple of aprons.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 6

Answer: Christina Tosi

With Joe Bastianich's departure between "MasterChef Junior" season 3 and the start of this 2016 season of the show, "MasterChef" needed a new third judge. And with that, all-star baker, pastry chef, and restauranteur Christina Tosi was brought in to provide her expertise for the sake of the amateur home cooks. With an eye for the technical and a general sweet tooth, Tosi brought with her decades of experience in a side of the kitchen not completely covered on the judging panel thus far. She was introduced to the auditioning contestants on day one.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 5

Answer: Twenty-two

In the very beginning of the competition, after the auditions, thirty competitors were brought to the MasterChef kitchen to get themselves into the game by winning the coveted white apron. Initially, seventeen participants were given their aprons while nine were told to cook a second dish, this time with commonplace ingredients and while avoiding gimmicks. Of those nine, only five received aprons. The three not involved in these numbers were actually sent home during the first hour, mainly by using shoddy techniques as observed by the judges early on.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 4

Answer: Lamb

To get into the MasterChef Kitchen, a few dozen chefs gathered together for a major cookoff in which they had to choose any cut of lamb, take sixty minutes, and create a dish to wow the judges. Three of the chefs were eliminated midway through cooking their dishes while many others were not tasted at all. A large group was sent directly into the finals while others went head-to-head. Ultimately, nineteen were chosen to compete, receiving their aprons.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 3

Answer: Ground beef

After the preliminary cook-offs for the judges, one hundred home cooks were whittled down to thirty-six. The lucky few were required to head to the MasterChef boot camp for a final challenge leading them into the MasterChef kitchen. For this challenge, they needed to cook a dish of their choice using ground beef and an extensive pantry of ingredients. This was designed to bring the thirty-six down to eighteen-- half the original group. With only sixty minutes to wow the judges, half were sent home; twelve immediately and six after further inspection.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 12

Answer: Two

Though they were too young to compete in the main show during their first appearances in the franchise, Dara, Shayne, and Tae-Ho were brought back with the chance of joining the big leagues in the second episode of auditions, facing off against each other for white aprons. Ultimately, Dara and Shayne made it through to the main competition, becoming the first-ever home cooks to cross over into the adult version of the show. Dara previously appeared in "MasterChef Junior" Season 1 while Shayne showed for Season 5. Dara was 12 and Shayne was 13 when each first competed.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 11

Answer: Monkfish

The Top 15 entered the kitchen for the first full round of competition to find that the first Legend to be facing them would be Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who introduced them to their star ingredient for the day, monkfish filet. In this first round, the chefs had to cook any monkfish dish in one hour using a full pantry of fresh ingredients and herbs. The winner, who ended up being Kelsey, got a dinner for two at Morimoto's Las Vegas restaurant; she cooked a pan-seared monkfish with cauliflower two ways and fish sauce caramel. The first home cook to be sent packing, Elyce, stayed in her comfort zone by making baja fish tacos with spicy aioli and chips, a bit too pedestrian for "MasterChef".

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 9

Answer: Eight & 8

As with previous seasons, the judges gave home cooks white aprons to indicate their acceptance into the competition, but this season changed things a bit, allowing each judge to grant eight white aprons, each with a pin with their initials on it. This would indicate that those authors would be mentored by their original chef judge throughout the competition, and with three judges it meant a Top 24 this season. Interestingly, the judge division didn't have a significant role in challenges throughout.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 8

Answer: Twenty & 20

In a procedure similar to the previous couple of seasons, home cooks were invited to Los Angeles to participate in a head-to-head battle for a white apron. Forty chefs came out for their chance and only half of them received the white apron. In some cases, these battles were head-to-head-to-head-to-head (with two white apron winners in those battles). Each cook-off involved a particular type of cuisine with contestants needing to prepare their best fried chicken, scallops, pasta, tacos, duck, veal parmigiana, salmon, steak, or cupcakes to wow the judges. This season, there were no do-overs; if you didn't get an apron on the first shot, you wouldn't be able to redeem yourself.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 7

Answer: Edward Lee

Edward Lee shared the distinction with Kevin Sbraga as both of them visited the MasterChef Kitchen for four consecutive episodes (and, thus, eight different challenges) whereas all other guest judges showed for two or three episodes. Edward Lee was the judge who stretched across the middle of the competition, appearing in episodes eight through eleven to bring forth his expertise. Other judges featured in the third position this season included Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, and Richard Blais

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 6

Answer: Forty

Although a Top 20 was brought in, those twenty contestants were introduced to the first road block in their quest to become America's next MasterChef-- another Top 20. In the audition round, the home cooks went head-to-head, cooking dishes in thirty minutes for the judges in a fight to nab an apron. This meant that twenty chefs would be sent through. When they were selected, the eliminated twenty got one more shot at a final two white aprons (those were given to Stephen and Shelly) to round out the total to twenty-two contestants.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 5

Answer: Soldiers

In the largest team challenge to date, two teams of ten people each were brought into the desert to serve for five hundred U.S. soldiers-in-training, barbecuing out in the sun and gauging their own teammates in a team setting for the first time. With only a couple of hours to prep, the teams ended up serving vastly-different dishes-- one making pork chops and coleslaw with the other making BBQ chicken and potato salad. The former won the challenge by nearly a 2:1 ratio, leading their opponents into the first-ever Pressure Test. Each subsequent team challenge served significantly less people.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 4

Answer: Langoustine

After the nineteen finalists visited the MasterChef Kitchen for the first time and battled it out in the first Mystery Box challenge-- consisting of a potato, a tomato, a few strips of bacon, and a handful of chocolate (and their Pantry Box)-- to gain a major advantage in the next Elimination Test. Natasha won with a technical dessert and got to choose the refined ingredient for the next task-- she chose langoustine. In addition, she would not need to cook this dish. In addition she could save another person from having to cook; she chose Savannah. In the end, Sasha Fox was sent home on a horrible dish of Langoustine and Cheese Grits. When asked by Joe Bastianich "I give you $50 worth of langoustine; what is it worth now?", she responded "...with the grits, about $55."

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 3

Answer: Risotto

For the first Mystery Box, the home cooks were given a duck breast amongst several other ingredients and, when the top three dishes were called to the front, the chefs were shocked to find that they were actually the worst three dishes. In a twist, Samantha was sent home on her very first dish because she served raw duck. Following this, Felix, the winner of the first challenge, was asked to pick from one of the three most intimidating dishes for the Invention Test; she chose Joe's risotto over Graham's clam chowder and Gordon's beef wellington. Although Tali's risotto (containing gooseberries, cranberries, and cherries among other odd things) was heavily criticized for not being a risotto, it was Dave Mac's submission that got him sent home because he failed to clean the dish's mushrooms.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 2

Answer: Molecular gastronomy

The competition was whittled down quickly early on. After the first Mystery Boxes and Invention Tests, the home cooks had their first trip out of the MasterChef Kitchen, serving hundreds at the L.A. Times cafeteria. After a Pressure Test making ravioli, the field was reduced to fifteen. For their second Mystery Box, the cooks made a meal using New Zealand lamb and, going into the Invention Test, Adrien chose to force the other cooks to use coffee in their dessert-themed dishes (while he used nuts). Alvin went home for his Coffee-filled Beignets and Coffee Chicory Pudding, both of which were considered horrible by the judges. Graham went so far as to say it gave what he does a bad name. This challenge was not good for many of the chefs.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 1

Answer: Egg

Immediately after the onion challenge, the twenty-four semi-finalists were introduced to their first cooking challenge-- they were given a single egg (no replacements) and thirty minutes to cook a dish to wow the judges. They were allowed to choose from a wonderful array of additional ingredients, but the egg needed to be the hero of the dish. During the creation process, the judges were disappointed by a lack of three-star, restaurant caliber dishes. While many poached and baked eggs, some baked, deviled, scrambled, made egg rolls, and even created a dessert with their ingredient. Some, however, were daft enough to put eggshells on the plate. When cuts were made, fourteen were left: Slim, Tracy, Jake, Sheetal, Lee, Tony, Faruq, Mike, Sharone, Jenna, David, Sheena, Whitney, and Avis.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 10

Answer: Chicken

The first Team Challenge of the season pitted nine home cooks on the red team (led by Sarah) against nine home cooks on the blue team (lead by Noah) as they served former "MasterChef" contestants at a celebratory tenth anniversary pool party. Both teams made a fried chicken dish, a fish and chips dish, and a burger to offer up and the judges deemed Noah's blue team as the winners. The red team headed back to the MasterChef Kitchen for two Pressure Tests, the first of which involved properly cutting a whole chicken (for which three chefs were saved) and the second of which involved cooking with the pieces they cut (for which Kimberly was sent home).

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 9

Answer: Dungeness crab

After getting through the first couple of eliminations, the Top 22 were brought into the MasterChef Kitchen and taught, by Gordon, how to properly boil, shuck, ice, and break down a dungeness crab. boil it, shuck it, ice it, and break it down. It led a number of home cooks to rely on their ability to learn. Chelsea, in particular, excelled in this challenge, but for those who couldn't muster up a suitable serving of crab, the Elimination Test led them to learn how to make Gordon's crab eggs benedict dish. Two home cooks-- Olusola and Stephanie-- were sent home on this.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 7

Answer: Nick Nappi

After bringing the numbers down to eighteen over the course of the season's first main-competition episode, the contestants were brought to a beautiful wedding venue and expected to split into two teams of nine to cook the appetizers and main course for season 6's third runner-up, Nick Nappi, and his bride-to-be. During this challenge, teams first needed to create and cook a scallop dish to start and then bring forth their best rack of lamb. The win went to Terry's Red Team while the remaining contestants headed straight back to the kitchen to face the possibility of elimination-- no subsequent Pressure Test. They sent home Barbara.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 6

Answer: Knott's Berry Farm

In the first handful of challenges, contestants were whittled down from 22 to 18, completing a couple of Mystery Boxes and engaging with difficult baking challenges for both Elimination Tests and Pressure Tests. In the fourth episode, the Top 20 headed to Knott's Berry Farm and split into two teams (led by Kerry and Darah) to cook for every single person to walk through the gates. It led to amusement park guide Darah's elimination in the subsequent Pressure Test (making cinnamon rolls.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 5

Answer: Tyler

In one of the earlier Elimination Challenges, the home cooks were required to recreate a dish originally made by either "Masterchef" season 4 winner Luca or "Masterchef Junior" season 1 winner Alexander. The dishes they would make were actually chosen by Elizabeth, winner of the previous Mystery Box, and she was required to divvy her competitors out to make either a pancetta-wrapped veal with radicchio and apples or a passion fruit panna cotta with berry coulis and hazelnuts. During the later moments of the competition, Tyler accidentally pulled Jaimee's panna cotta from the blast chiller, serving it and leaving her with a bad dish. The move ended up disqualifying him from the game (a first in the show's five seasons) and sparing the rest from elimination.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 4

Answer: Las Vegas

Heading into the show's second Pressure Test, part of a losing team was forced to battle it out making Eggs Benedict. While some did fine, four of the chefs failed to work to the judges' expectations. What resulted was a trip to Las Vegas for an extended Pressure Test. Beth and Natasha and Kathy and Luca split into two teams to create and serve burgers at Gordon Ramsay's own restaurant, BurGR. Natasha and Beth won, sending their opponents to a final Pressure Test round in which Luca and Kathy had to make Butter-Poached Lobster. Though both showed excellent skill, the judges felt that Luca was the winner, and he was spared.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 3

Answer: Apple pie

After a challenge in which two teams had to serve two hundred U.S. Marines, seven of the eight losing team members had to make apple pies using a pre-allowed amount of ingredients. To everyone's surprise, Frank (who'd never made an apple pie in his life) and Christine (who is blind) made amazing pies, shocking the judges. Michael, who covered his pie in cheddar cheese, was sent home. Following this, the final fifteen were greeted by offal in their Mystery Boxes. Using sheep body parts (including, possibly, a head) they had to make a stellar dish. Much to the others' dismay, Ryan won and got to select who would be cooking with fresh, live Dungeeness Crabs and who would be using canned crab. Ironically, those he tried to favor ended up floundering while others, including Monti and her canned crab and Christine (still blind!) with her live crab, went on to make amazing dishes. Josh and Christine won while Helene was sent home.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 1

Answer: Mandarin oranges

Arriving in the MasterChef kitchen, the home cooks were immediately thrown into their first challenge-- a Mystery Box Challenge. With forty-five minutes and a box of mixed ingredients (including double-cut pork chops, chocolate, a granny smith apple, ciabatta bread, vine tomatoes, cognac, and cinnamon) they could us as much or as little of their supplies as they wished. Although the judges claimed that the chocolate was the devil of the box Sheena created a Cognac-Flavoured Chocolate Mousse (with Candied Lemon Peel). Despite this deviation from the norm, the winner was Whitney, who'd never cooked a pork chop before, with a minimalistic, but perfect Southern-Fried Pork Chop and Coleslaw. Because she won the Mystery Box Challenge, Whitney got to choose the ingredient used for the Elimination Challenge to follow (giving her an advantage). Choosing between Chinese mushrooms, mandarin oranges, and duck, she needed to strategically pick the one needed to make a Chinese dish. She chose the oranges. Mike won the challenge with Nutty Orange Chicken with Peppers while Avis was sent home for a dated Chinese Orange Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry. The contestants were soon shocked, however, when the judges decided to send Sheena home as well for her Warm Mandarin Salad and Pickled Cabbage (considered put together in five minutes by Chef Ramsey). The contestants were all chastized for playing everything too safe and boring. Joe Bastianich, specifically, asked the contestants to get into the spirit of the competition.

From Quiz "MasterChef (US)" - Season 11

Answer: Three & 3

While other seasons have leaned hard into the Mystery Box Challenge as a staple task placed in front of the fledgling home cooks, this season only featured three across its run, each with different unique requirements. The first of these was inspired by Michael Mina, who prepared a Meat Roulette for the Top 12, giving each cook a different cut of beef to work with. Jonathan Waxman had a California-themed Mystery Box for the Top 10, forcing them to work with five specific ingredients. Ludo Lefebvre had the last one for the Top 5, giving them nothing more than a seventy-five minute timer and asking them to make French bistro cuisine.

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Last Updated Dec 26 2025 8:54 PM

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