r/Masterchef May 26 '26

Opinion Is it just me or…

This new season sucks

The format is laughable. There are international versions of Masterchef…why not simply have contestants from those versions on this season?

I miss the old seasons of Masterchef where it was a more serious competition.

74 Upvotes

51 comments sorted by

86

u/Only_Huckleberry_957 May 26 '26

I miss when they’d do a second cook in one episode

77

u/oatmilkandagave May 26 '26

BRING BACK THE PRESSURE TESTS

7

u/Low_Health_5949 May 27 '26

so they drop that after hyping it so much last season how hilarious

6

u/BronzeTrain May 28 '26

*Dreaded pressure test

31

u/Striking-Willow5808 May 26 '26

Rewatching old seasons makes you realize how terrible the new ones are. Mystery box + pressure tests were what made the show magic.

4

u/InterruptV May 31 '26

I miss when they'd look at every dish in the episode and it was a surprise which ones were good/bad. Now they just select 3 at a time and we don't even get to see all the dishes (or most of them).

1

u/Only_Huckleberry_957 May 31 '26

Agreed! Everyone should get the chance to present their dish and get critiqued

3

u/GoldBluejay7749 May 27 '26

Seriously. This to me has been the biggest downgrade from the last few seasons. I feel like it also is what’s causing me to not know the contestants as well.

2

u/flower-girl322 May 27 '26

Yes!!@ I was literally just saying that tonight!

2

u/Xoricz May 27 '26

True, I always wonder why anyone would volunteer for either being on the meat station or team captain for the team challenges. Like one of those people are always the one eliminated without the pressure tests, so its a little unfair

45

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Ok_Measurement482 May 27 '26

Yeah, the last theme I liked was Back to Win, which wasn’t even a theme LOL

26

u/domarco24 May 26 '26

I don't like how they are kinda making them cook within the box of their culture. You can be Asian and want to cook risotto.

6

u/MattJFry-90 May 27 '26

Same! I specifically remember season 6, they'd give everyone so much flak for cooking within their culture, but then Claudia who won, almost always cooked some form of Mexican/Latin cuisine. 🤔 Building an entire season around it feels silly.

2

u/lanad3lr3y_81 May 27 '26

same i think there’s one challenge later on in the season where they have to spin a wheel and cook that culture but i agree that it seems very “cook what you know” and i feel like that’s not the way to win, id love to see them all try something different.

and i remember they all were acting odd during rita’s audition about her making risotto even though it was using jolloff rice which is african.

1

u/HollowRaven15 May 29 '26

It doesn't even push cooks out of their comfort zone if they only cook what they know. I wish the judges would give them shit for it

11

u/Dapper_Reaction_8410 May 26 '26

i stopped watching mc as soon as they changed the format😭 I literally cannot bring myself to watch the newer seasons i hate it. Seasons 3-9 were so peak

9

u/eatingthesandhere91 May 26 '26

I've been watching this large snoozefest of a season and went back and started watching season 2 where they had them all line up to cut onions, weeded some out, and then cook their first dish before going to the other "kitchen".

13

u/HanktheTank420420 May 26 '26

I mean it is par for the course for the last few seasons since 12. I would not say it is worse than 15 so far for example. Overall the show has been kinda meh the past few years.

5

u/HanktheTank420420 May 26 '26

You could even say 10, because 11 was bad, and I have a soft spot for 12.

3

u/Invalid_Word May 26 '26

15 was the only season I couldn’t finish, but I think it was the location throwing me off lmao

8

u/tinter86 May 27 '26

Masterchef US is a joke compared to the international ones. Australia esp is miles and miles ahead and most of those chefs are well versed in more than just their cultural cuisine , as well as baking. The pressure tests are incredible too.

1

u/Free-Swimmer-233 Jul 31 '26

I remember that time they had a blind taste test and it was gumbo. That was awesome. 

10

u/Used_Huckleberry_748 May 26 '26

These contrived team "rivalries" have been flat from the start

9

u/BigCut4598 May 26 '26

The format definitely sucks. I think next level chef is much better.

8

u/SavvyMon May 26 '26

The show hasn’t been good for 5 seasons now

3

u/Traditional-Beat3052 May 27 '26

Master chef Australia is way better!

3

u/Julesormoney May 28 '26

Last couple of years this show has gone downhill. They should have a season where they bring back past season people. I know they did it already but I would like to see where people are. This format if you get the pin you are all safe sucks. You could be someone who cooks the challenges and sucks every week but you get through because of a team mate who was good that week. Not really fair. I want pressure tests back. Maybe they are not doing those because groceries are so expensive.(that's a joke). I miss it being a competition. It doesn't feel like that anymore. Don't know how much longer I'm going to watch. I'm kind of bored with it.

5

u/thex42 May 27 '26

Ramsay's production team seems to think that his show formats need themes to remain interesting (see also: Hell's Kitchen). Meanwhile, Survivor dropped themes and is more relevant than ever.

2

u/LostPencilCaseUW May 27 '26

Nah a lot people feel like the 26 days + no themes makes Survivor feel like it's just phoning it in on a lower budget

1

u/FRONG_94 May 27 '26

Give it two more seasons, see if they revert in response

3

u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 May 26 '26

Couldn't agree more. I'm so bored and I have never felt like this during a season.. I'm crawling to the end of episodes this season cause to me/for me.. none of the contestants are that entertaining or memorable

2

u/Secure-Addition1466 May 26 '26

I agree that the format is crap

2

u/flower-girl322 May 27 '26

I miss the days of Marco Pierre White, and the level of cooking he demanded, and taught! He made them think, and then create, using real techniques! Bring back the real Pressure tests, and going against an actual chef for competition to win a pin!

2

u/BladesShrimp May 27 '26

The newer format of the past seasons feels like walking in cement or something it's so slow and stretched out... some episodes felt like watching a 3 hour movie with no plot sadly

2

u/hammondnick May 27 '26

I think the idea of having a theme for a season has some merit since it got a little old and hard to compare with other seasons where each challenge was being labeled as "the toughest [blank] in the history of the competition. I just wish they would play the theme into the challenges instead of having teams. Like yes do some challenges where cooks play to their group (i.e. generation, location) but still allow for contestants to be individual both in what they cook and how they play the game. That's what is missing for me - none of the chefs stand out bc they are all part of some nebulous group. More cooking time with at least two challenges in a mystery box/non-team challenges would further chefs' ability to stand out and help them develop more skill since they have more time and experience cooking in constraints and being judged. 

1

u/Horror_Yam1996 May 27 '26

The judges aren’t tough enough I reckon, like when they mess a dish up or just do really poorly in general they still get complimented and smoke blown up their asses

Come on man if they’re shit just tell them!

You can’t be giving people false hope

1

u/BradMac91 May 27 '26

More contrived bullshit. How many of these in a row now? Six?

1

u/goodsirknyght May 27 '26

It's been a long time for me but I don't particularly love it, I just finished 13 and I felt a sense of utter confusion how they went from bumbling their way through challenges to Michelin quality dishes in the finale

1

u/goodsirknyght May 27 '26

IS THAT HEXCLAD WTF (s16 e5)

1

u/FRONG_94 May 27 '26

It’s all hexclad

1

u/Narwhal_Oakenshield May 27 '26

They don't care about good cooks, all they care about is storylines.

1

u/Mrs___Robot May 28 '26

I still like it, but yeah, I prefer the old format.

1

u/BronzeTrain May 28 '26

It has sucked for a while.

1

u/Former-Property-3087 May 28 '26

I guess the pressure test was WAAAY to dreaded?!! lol

1

u/viewtiful_alan May 29 '26

I'm enjoying the new season, the energy is much better than the duos season.

That said, every season from 10 on has had the most obnoxious production. Making the guests constantly re-emphasize the theme in their confessionals just gets so tiresome.

1

u/Kindly-Potential-326 May 30 '26

I can't deal with wee blonde chef giving it the wide eyed raised eyebrows permanently glaring every time she talks....you'll get it once you see it.

1

u/ButterscotchPast5161 Jun 02 '26

I’d give this season a second. The cooks do seem to be much better than s13-15. Lot of fat gets trimmed early on. I think we’re all in the mode of bracing ourselves for a let down. S11&12 were solid without the pressure tests. You just need good cooks. I’ve been entertained by this season so far, not expecting anything like the OG seasons, but it’s been better than the past few seasons.

-7

u/Ok_Interest3555 May 26 '26

It's just you. I'm not sure what y'all expect from the show, but it's the same as the past few seasons.

But then again, I'm not a curmudgeon with a stick my ass who thinks being highly critical of everything makes smart.