MasterChef (American TV series) season 1

MasterChef
Season 1
Promotional poster for season 1, featuring judge Gordon Ramsay
Judges
No. of contestants14
WinnerWhitney Miller
Runner-upDavid Miller
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseJuly 27 (2010-07-27) –
September 15, 2010 (2010-09-15)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2

The first season of the American competitive reality television series MasterChef ran from July 27 to September 15, 2010 on Fox.

Whitney Miller was the winner of this inaugural season, with David Miller as the runner-up.

Top 14

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Contestant Age Hometown Occupation Status
Whitney Miller 22 Poplarville, Mississippi College Student Winner September 15
David Miller 29 Boston, Massachusetts Software Engineer Runner-Up September 15
Lee Knaz 27 Venice, California Bartender Eliminated September 15
Sheetal Bhagat 37 Chicago, Illinois Teacher
Sharone Hakman 28 Los Angeles, California Financial Advisor Eliminated September 8
Mike Kim 34 Redondo Beach, California Server
Jake Gandolfo 38 Santa Cruz, California Construction Worker Eliminated September 1
Tracy Nailor 42 Atlanta, Georgia Doctor
Kim Dung "Slim" Huynh 22 Harvey, Louisiana College Student
Anthony "Tony" Carbone 31 Boston, Massachusetts Server Eliminated August 25
Faruq Jenkins 30 Glendale, California Bartender
Jenna Hamiter 23 Euless, Texas Homemaker Eliminated August 18
Avis White 47 Vacherie, Louisiana Elderly Caregiver
Sheena Zadeh 26 Anaheim, California Marketing Executive

Elimination table

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Place Contestant Episode
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1 Whitney WIN IN PT HIGH IN PT IN LOW WIN HIGH WIN LOW WIN IMM WIN WINNER
2 David IN IN PT IN IN WIN IN IN WIN IN IN WIN IMM WIN IMM RUNNER-UP
3 Lee IN IN WIN IN IN PT WIN WIN LOW IN LOW HIGH IMM IMM ELIM
4 Sheetal IN IN WIN IN IN WIN HIGH LOW WIN WIN LOW IN IMM ELIM
5 Sharone IN IN PT WIN IMM WIN HIGH IN WIN HIGH IN LOW ELIM
6 Mike IN WIN WIN IN LOW WIN IN IN PT IN ELIM
7 Jake HIGH IN WIN HIGH WIN PT IN IN ELIM
Tracy IN IN WIN IN IN PT IN LOW ELIM
9 Slim IN IN PT IN LOW WIN IN ELIM
10 Tony IN IN WIN IN IN ELIM
11 Faruq IN LOW PT IN ELIM
12 Jenna IN IN ELIM
13 Avis IN ELIM
Sheena HIGH ELIM
  (WINNER) This cook won the competition.
  (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place.
  (WIN) The cook won an individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge, Elimination Test, or Pressure Test)
  (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.
  (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in an individual challenge, but didn't win.
  (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge.
  (IMM) The cook didn't have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination.
  (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge and competed in the Pressure Test.
  (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge or Pressure Test, but advanced.
  (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.

Episodes

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No.TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Auditions #1"July 27, 2010 (2010-07-27)n/a

  • Auditions Round 1: Today Sharone, Tracy, Mike, Slim, Jake, Tony and Lee get aprons.
2"Auditions #2"August 3, 2010 (2010-08-03)n/a

  • Auditions Round 2: Today Whitney B., Whitney M., Faruq, Avis, David, Sheena, Hollie, Joe, Jennifer, Ryan, Adele, Dominic, Scott, Max, Charmaine, Sheetal, Jenna, and six more contestants get spots.
3"Top 14 Chefs Revealed"August 10, 2010 (2010-08-10)n/a

  • Skills Test Part 1: The first part of this episode involved the final 30 cutting onions both coarsely and finely diced, with any contestant being unable to cut onions to the judges' exacting standards being immediately eliminated. Paul, Ryan, Joe, Scott, Jennifer, and Hollie were eliminated during this stage, leaving 24 remaining contestants.
  • Skills Test Part 2: The remaining contestants were each given a single egg, and were given 30 minutes to make a dish with the egg as the centerpiece. Max, Whitney B., Charmaine, Derryl, Adeliz, Josh, Robin, Tamar, Roberto, and Asmina were eliminated in this test, leaving Avis, David, Faruq, Jake, Jenna, Slim, Lee, Mike, Sharone, Sheena, Sheetal, Tony, Tracy and Whitney M. to advance.
4"Top 14 Chefs Compete, Part 1"August 18, 2010 (2010-08-18)n/a

  • Mystery Box Challenge: The contestants were given their first Mystery Box. Sheena's, Jake's and Whitney's were the top three, and Whitney cooked the best dish.
  • Challenge Winner: Whitney Miller
  • Elimination Test: Whitney was allowed to select the key ingredient used by both herself and her competitors in the Elimination Test, which revolved around cooking Chinese cuisine. Whitney selected Mandarin oranges. Mike's dish was deemed the best and he was made team captain in the next round. Whitney, Slim, Tony, Jenna, Tracy, Sheetal, David, Lee and Sharone also did well enough to move on in the competition.
  • Winner: Mike Kim
  • Bottom three: Sheena Zadeh, Faruq Jenkins and Avis White
  • Eliminated: Sheena Zadeh and Avis White
5"Top 14 Chefs Compete, Part 2"August 18, 2010 (2010-08-18)n/a

  • Team Challenge: The team challenge saw the chefs being asked to cook for 100 Marines, with the judges deciding on the winning team. Mike captains the Blue Team, and chose Jake, Lee, Tracy, Tony and Sheetal to join him, leaving Sharone, David, Whitney, Slim, Faruq and Jenna to form the Red Team. Sharone took the role of team captain. The Blue team were named the winners.
  • Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Jake Gandolfo, Lee Knaz, Mike Kim, Sheetal Bhagat, Tony Carbone and Tracy Nailor
  • Pressure Test: Graham cooked a pot of Texas chili for the Red Team members, who were called up one at a time and asked to taste it, then name an ingredient. Whoever named the fewest ingredients before taking an incorrect guess would be eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Jenna Hamiter
6"Top 11 compete, Part 1"August 25, 2010 (2010-08-25)n/a

  • Mystery Box Challenge: This challenge required the contestants to bake cupcakes. Whitney, Jake, and Sharone were the top three. Sharone's cupcake gave him the win.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Sharone Hakman
  • Special Challenge/Elimination Test: Sharone was introduced to chef Cat Cora and shown three of her signature dishes, one of which he and all the other contestants would have to replicate. He chose a truffled halibut. Sharone was also told that if he could cook the dish to a better standard than Cora herself, he would get a direct entry into the final four. The judges did not consider Sharone's dish better than Cora's own version. Jake was the winner of this challenge.
  • Winner: Jake Gandolfo
  • Bottom three: Faruq Jenkins, Mike Kim and Slim Huynh
  • Eliminated: Faruq Jenkins
7"Top 11 compete, Part 2"August 25, 2010 (2010-08-25)n/a

  • Team Challenge: The teams had to cook hamburgers for 100 truckers. The truckers themselves would vote for the winner. As the Blue Team captain, Jake chose Tracy, Whitney, Lee and Tony, leaving Sharone, Mike, David, Slim, and Sheetal as the Red team, with Sharone again becoming the captain. The Red Team won the challenge.
  • Team Challenge Winners/Immune: David Miller, Mike Kim, Sharone Hakman, Sheetal Bhagat and Slim Huynh
  • Pressure Test: The Blue team members were tasked with identifying ingredients, some everyday, and some exotic. Whoever identified the fewest items before getting one wrong would be sent home.
  • Eliminated: Tony Carbone
8"Top 9 compete, Part 1"September 1, 2010 (2010-09-01)n/a

  • Mystery Box Challenge: All contestants were required to use a live Dungeness crab. Sharone, Lee and Sheetal were the top three. The judges named Lee as the best overall dish.
  • Challenge Winner: Lee Knaz
  • Elimination Test: Lee would choose one of three ingredients to work with and Lee selected passion fruit. Lee was judged to be the winner.
  • Winner: Lee Knaz
  • Bottom four: Sheetal Bhagat, Slim Huynh, Tracy Nailor and Whitney Miller
  • Eliminated: Slim Huynh
9"Top 9 compete, Part 2"September 1, 2010 (2010-09-01)n/a

  • Team Challenge: This team challenge was to cook for 230 guests at a wedding reception. Lee led the Blue Team and chose Mike, Jake and Tracy to join him, leaving Sharone, Whitney, David and Sheetal to form the Red Team. Sharone took charge of the Red Team once again. The Red Team were announced as the winners.
  • Team Challenge Winners/Immune: David Miller, Sharone Hakman, Sheetal Bhagat and Whitney Miller
  • Pressure Test: The Blue Team members were given 90 minutes to cook a pasta dish.
  • Bottom three: Jake Gandolfo, Lee Knaz and Tracy Nailor
  • Eliminated: Jake Gandolfo and Tracy Nailor
10"Top 6 Compete, Part 1"September 8, 2010 (2010-09-08)n/a

  • Mystery Box: This Mystery Box highlighted venison. Sharone, Sheetal and Whitney were selected as the top three. Sheetal's dish was judged to be the best.
  • Challenge Winner: Sheetal Bhagat
  • Elimination Test: Sheetal was told that the theme for this test would be dessert. She chose vanilla for everyone to work with. Whitney's dessert won her the test.
  • Winner: Whitney Miller
  • Bottom three: Lee Knaz, Mike Kim and Sheetal Bhagat
  • Eliminated: Mike Kim
11"Top 6 Compete, Part 2"September 8, 2010 (2010-09-08)n/a

  • Individual Challenge: The final five were told to prepare a dish for three professional food critics. Whitney had an hour and a quarter in which to cook her food, while the other four contestants had just an hour. David's dish was judged to be the best. Sharone and Whitney scored the lowest, becoming the bottom two.
  • Challenge Winner: David Miller
  • Bottom two: Sharone Hakman and Whitney Miller
  • Pressure Test: Sharone and Whitney were each asked to cook a chocolate soufflé.
  • Eliminated: Sharone Hakman
12"Winner Revealed, Part 1"September 15, 2010 (2010-09-15)n/a

  • Semi-Final 1: The episode began with the first of two one-on-one cook-offs. The challenges were decided by a draw: Ramsay picked David who was allowed to choose his competition, selecting Sheetal. In the semi-finals, the judges would each name a dish for the contestants to cook. David won sending Sheetal home.
  • Eliminated: Sheetal Bhagat
  • Semi-Final 2: For the second semi-final, Lee and Whitney were again asked to make three dishes chosen by the judges. Whitney advanced through to the final, eliminating Lee.
  • Eliminated: Lee Knaz
13"Winner Revealed, Part 2"September 15, 2010 (2010-09-15)n/a

  • Final: In the final cook-off, the two finalists were given two hours to cook whatever they desired for an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. Whitney chose an appetizer of sweet shrimp on crispy corn bread with black eyed pea purée, country fried chicken for the entrée, and a white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. David decided to cook a sea scallop ceviche with a cream of pea and mint soup for the appetizer, beef Wellington for the entrée, and a nectarine crepe suzette for dessert.
  • Final Two: David Miller and Whitney Miller
  • Winner Chosen: Whitney was chosen as the first winner of the revival version of MasterChef.
  • MasterChef Winner: Whitney Miller

References

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