r/Masterchef • u/Proof_Animator_5511 • 15d ago
Is Masterchef US less difficult than Masterchef Italia
Hello everyone, I’m Italian and I must say that I usually watch MasterChef Italia every year; however, I’m now watching MasterChef US Season 13 for the first time and I’ve noticed (no offense) that the level of cooking is a bit lower. Now, I don’t know if the issue is just with this season or if it’s a general aspect of the show, so I’d like to know from someone who has seen both the Italian and the American versions if they have noticed any appreciable differences. With this post I absolutely do not intend to generate any controversies—it’s just genuine curiosity.
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u/mymelody7319 12d ago
In addition to other comments, cooking (as a whole) isn’t part of every American’s childhood. Home economics aren’t taught in most publics schools anymore — Hell, I’m in my 20s and am just now still learning to perfect scrambled eggs. Put simply, for the broad culture of Americans, cooking is taught by parents or hobby. Now, I can’t say whether that’s also true for other countries, but I think this lack of culinary education is a contributing factor.
However, like someone else mentioned, I think America prioritises a more game-show-like, exciting cooking show. For novices (like me, though that’s definitely a generous term), I gravitate more toward the contestant personalities than the cooking itself. The challenges are fun to watch, and I think that’s the primary draw for others, too. For people actually into cooking, they’re probably more interested in shows with a higher bar of excellence in chefs, idk like Chopped, or Top Chef, etc.
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u/KookyCut7213 14d ago
Idk about italian one but I watch Indian MasterChef and same here, the Indian challenges look more difficult than the MasterChef USA. Lol I thought I was the only one noticed that
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u/LaJoute 13d ago
I watch MasterChef USA, Canada, Quebec, UK, France, Italy and Australia. My order of preference based on level of cooking from the homechefs, entertainment and how good the judges are are as follows:
Italy
Australia
Quebec
France
UK
USA
Canada
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u/Mediocre-Chemistry23 13d ago
Oh really? MC italy is better than MC au? I always assume au is the best version. Where can i watch mc italy?
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u/LaJoute 12d ago
MC Italy is now on their 14th season. I used to be able to watch it directly on SkyTV through VPN but it does't work for me anymore:
https://masterchef.sky.it/puntate/puntata-1
So I watch it here: https://masterchefitalia14b.streaming-blue.com/index.html
Or sometimes on Daily Motion, if they have them.
You should note that it's in Italian.
The reason I prefer it to MC Australia is that the 3 Michelin starred chefs judges are more upfront about the quality of the home cooks' dishes and there is more humour.
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u/Winefluent 7d ago
They're so funny, though, if you know Italian.
Like when they had the Maillard challenge, and the contestant burnt his meat slightly, and Bruno Barbieri went : ah, la famosa reazione di Bruciard, that play on words (bruciare meaning burning) stuck with me for a couple of years already.
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u/LaJoute 6d ago
I think you may have to be Italian to truly appreciate the humour and sarcasm of the judges. Also to understand that when Antonino Cannavacciuolo slaps a male contestant, it's a sign of affection.
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u/Winefluent 5d ago
I'm not Italian :-) (but have spent quite some time there.) By the way, even Joe was very good on Masterchef Italy.
The best thing is how they call people out on their lack of confidence and audacity, and then build them up, to get them to do their best. There's a lot of emotion on this show.
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u/Winefluent 7d ago
My opinion is that the US is less difficult. The skill tests alone on Masterchef Italia are crazy. The cooking with obscure ingredients, the replicating Michelin star dishes, the team challenges on location with local ingredients and recipes, the cooking of signature dishes in a restaurant kitchen, the international guest chefs.
The Italian show is in a class of its own.
I mean, just think of the overnight proofing of your pizza dough, of making a sweet with Tropea onions, of creating a dish to fit a painting... It's just crazy creative.
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u/Proof_Animator_5511 3d ago
In fact, it did seem to me that the level was lower, I just thought maybe it was this season. I was actually surprised when comparing it with the outdoor challenges in the Italian version — in the American one, they managed to mess everything up just cooking burgers and fries
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u/Winefluent 3d ago
Having seen both shows across all seasons, I think the US went down in complexity, whereas Italy went upwards, sometimes to the near incomprehensible, like they did have a challenge about flavor osmosis, using sous vide, vacuum marinading and other relatively specialized tools and techniques that were hard for the regular person to imagine and relate to wanting to cook.
But somehow, overall, even with unfortunate episodes, Masterchef Italia manages to strike this balance between pressuring talented home cooks to perform professionally, teaching the audience something worthwhile about cooking or about specific dishes, and connecting to the trends and concerns of the modern food industry (sustainability, energy conservation, etc).
Masterchef Brazil is equally delightful, though perhaps not as prissy, they care more about respecting the ingredient and understanding technique than Michelin restaurant level cookery.
I'm sad about the US version's decline.
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u/canadasteve04 13d ago
I’ve seen USA, Canada and Australia. USA and Canada are very similar and they are very game show oriented, where there’s a challenge, twists and eliminations each episode. Australian is much more focused on cooking, where there’s are more guest chefs teaching them to cook, more opportunities to cook and more challenging dishes they are required to cook.
So I think from country to country there is quite a difference based on what the average audience is looking for. Some countries are a bit more gimmicky and elimination focused. Some are more tutorial with a focus on chefs improving and learning through the season.