Here we are: like every December, the long-awaited appointment with returns Master Chef Italy. The most loved cooking show (Sky Original produced by Endemol Shine Italy) is ready to keep us glued to the TV with its exciting competition between aspiring chefs with ever more complicated dishes.
To judge their work in the kitchen we find, for the fourth year in a row, a jury composed of three extraordinary and very nice chefs: Bruno Barbieri, Antonino Cannavacciuolo and Giorgio Locatelli.
We met them before the start of this 12th edition (broadcast from 15 December, at 21.15, on Sky Uno and streaming on NOW) to find out more.
The word to the judges
The identikit of the competitors of this twelfth edition? More and more cosmopolitan and international. The judges also confirm this. «A change is needed in this old Europe, which must enhance the talent of those who arrive» – explains Giorgio Locatelli.
«MasterChef it has become a world. We have created a machine in which there is everything: gastronomic culture, young people who want to create their own history and their work. There is the possibility for many people to establish themselves and find their own way» – he says Bruno Barbieri. Antonino Cannavacciuolo explains: «This year there will also be trials with foreign chefs who have made a name for themselves in Italy. Many come here and create movement, they bring their products which they then mix with Italian ones». «We had guests who represented something: spirituality in the kitchen, the evolution of the product, the idea of the fusion of cultures. Each of them brought a message» – adds Locatelli.
Barbieri continues with the previews: «Great space will be given to young people, not only among the competitors, but also among the guests. This time, in addition to us, there will also be an external commissioner who will do one more check. Get ready, because there will be some wonderful surprises. After so many editions it is important to renew. I’ve done them all and I must say that things have changed a bit for me».
«Anyway, I’m following the English edition and I notice that there it’s difficult to have three Michelin stars, instead it is here» – says Locateli referring to Cannavacciuolo, who underlines how much MasterChef has contributed to his growth: «It’s continuous training. For example, I brought to my menu a certain type of rice cooking by a chef who had come to us».
One of the reasons for the success of the program, despite the twelve years behind it, is certainly the alchemy between the three judges. In this regard, Barbieri reveals: «When we shot a special, after we hadn’t seen each other for months, it was immediately perceived how much we missed each other. We have become true friends.”
The rehearsals, the external ones and the special guests
The path of aspiring chefs always starts from Live Cooking, where with three “yes” you gain direct access to the Masterclass and with two the gray apron and access to the intermediate phase of the Challenges. Thus the twenty official competitors will be chosen who, during the various episodes, will have to face some challenges that have become iconic, namely: Mystery Box, Invention Test, Pressure Test and Skill Test.
There will also be outdoor rehearsals, which will have Bassano del Grappa, the Marmore Falls, Tropea and Cervinia as locations.
And as always there will be the hand of special guests from the world of catering, who will subject the chefs to insidious tests: we are talking about Jeremy Chan, Iginio Massari, Davide Scabin, Mauro Colagreco, Enrico Crippa and Giancarlo Perbellini.
We remind you that MasterChef has a plastic-free and eco-friendly approach: all food-related consumer products (plates, glasses, cutlery, trays, napkins) are compostable and eco-sustainable in nature. The collaboration with Last Minute Market has also been confirmed to recover the surplus left unused during the recording of the episodes in favor of the non-profit organization Opera Cardinal Ferrari which runs a canteen for people in difficulty in Milan.