MasterChef India – Hindi

Did You Know?

• Junior MasterChef India premiered on 17 August 2013 on StarPlus and was won by Sarthak Bhardwaj on 2 November 2013.
• Celebrity MasterChef premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 27 January 2025, hosted by Farah Khan, with judges Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar; Gaurav Khanna won on 11 April 2025.
• Season 1 opened with an average rating of 2.6 TVR, and the finale garnered 4.2 TVR.

Format

MasterChef is based on the Australian series MasterChef. The competition takes place on a soundstage in Mumbai, India, featuring a large kitchen area with cooking stations overlooked by a balcony, a well-stocked pantry, a freezer and fridge area, and a fine-dining restaurant seating area used for certain challenges. While the format has varied slightly across seasons, several challenge types are regularly featured. In the Mystery Box, cooks receive identical ingredients and must create a dish using only those within a fixed time; judges select three dishes based on appearance, taste, and ingredient use, and the best performer gains an advantage. The Elimination Test involves judges evaluating all dishes on taste and visual appeal, providing feedback, and nominating the weakest dish for elimination. The Pressure Test is a timed elimination round where losing team members must produce a standard dish requiring high finesse, judged on taste, visual appeal, and technique, with the weakest chef eliminated. When the competition narrows to finalists, they compete in a three-course cook-off; all courses are judged, and an overall winner is crowned. The winner of the seventh season received ₹25,00,000, a MasterChef trophy, and the title.

Series overview

The series has produced multiple seasons, including MasterChef, Junior MasterChef, and Celebrity MasterChef. MasterChef India 1 aired from 16 October 2010 to 25 December 2010 on StarPlus, hosted by Akshay Kumar, Kunal Kapur, and Ajay Chopra, and was won by Pankaj Bhadouria. MasterChef India 2 aired from 22 October 2011 to 1 January 2012 on StarPlus, hosted by Vikas Khanna, Kunal Kapur, and Ajay Chopra, and was won by Shipra Khanna; Nita Mehta and Bijou Thaangjam also participated. MasterChef India 3 aired from 11 March 2013 to 9 June 2013 on StarPlus, shifting from weekends to weekdays, hosted by Vikas Khanna, Kunal Kapur, and Sanjeev Kapoor, and was won by Ripudaman Handa. MasterChef India 4 aired from 26 January 2015 to 12 April 2015 on StarPlus, introducing a pure vegetarian format for the first time in MasterChef history, hosted by Sanjeev Kapoor, Vikas Khanna, and Ranveer Brar, written by Gunjan Joshi, and won by Nikita Gandhi. MasterChef India 5 aired from 1 October 2016 to 25 December 2016 on StarPlus, hosted by Vikas Khanna, Kunal Kapur, and Zorawar Kalra; Kirti Bhoutika won, with Ashima Arora as runner-up. MasterChef India 6 aired from 7 December 2019 to 1 March 2020 on StarPlus, hosted by Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, and Vineet Bhatia, written by Gunjan Joshi, and won by Abinas Nayak, with Oindrila Bala as runner-up. The seventh season aired from 2 January 2023 to 31 March 2023 on SET and streamed on SonyLIV, hosted by Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, and Garima Arora; Nayanjyoti Saikia won ₹25,00,000, with Santa Sarmah as first runner-up and Suvarna Bagul as second runner-up, each receiving ₹5,00,000. After the finale, a spinoff titled MasterChef India – MasterClass was announced, featuring the same judges and contestants but with judges cooking for contestants. The eighth season aired from 16 October to 8 December 2023 exclusively on SonyLIV, hosted by Pooja Dhingra, Vikas Khanna, and Ranveer Brar, and was won by Mohammed Ashiq from Mangalore.