Borja R. Catela Madrid
Madrid
Updated Sunday, March 31, 2024-9:27 p.m.
Interview Laura Londoño, the winner of MasterChef Celebrity 8 who left everything for talent: "I had tremendous pressure"
The stoves are lit again in the
MasterChef
kitchens for the twelfth time since its premiere in 2013. This Monday, at 10:50 p.m., the new contestants of RTVE's culinary
talent
will seek to succeed
Eneko Fernández
, the winner of the 2023 edition , taking their places in the kitchens of the La 1 program.
"This program is fun, it is entertainment, it is valuing effort, camaraderie and diversity, and for everything it teaches about tolerance, overcoming limitations and healthy eating," comments
Miriam García Corrales
, RTVE Entertainment Director. "The most difficult thing about a format is to maintain it.
We have had 34 seasons and more than 300 programs
. This year the
casting
is a tribute to family and emotions. This is a
talent
with a lot of truth, which is why so many people show up, and the "You can see the result," acknowledged
Macarena Rey
, CEO of Shine Iberia, the producer of the program.
This year's candidates include
a guitarist from Mónica Naranjo
;
a Spanish-Moroccan jeweler
;
a real estate agent
who recorded videos cooking in the houses he sells;
a mother of a large family with six children
; a culinary student who saw his dream of cooking in the army cut short when he was
classified as unfit due to his diabetes
;
an aerospace engineer and goat farmer
;
a
drum-loving talent scout;
a former flat-earther legionnaire
calling himself 'a library on legs'; and
the director of a diet cooking company
, who worked for Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth, a Saudi princess, and the English royal family.
The winner will take home
100,000 euros , the
MasterChef
Spain trophy
and the possibility of publishing their own recipe book. In addition, the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences Basque Culinary Center of San Sebastián awards three prizes to the program's contestants: a Master's Degree in Cuisine, Technique and Product for the winner; a Master of Sweet Cuisine and Restaurant Pastry for the second place, and a Specialization Course of between five and eight weeks for the third.
It also highlights that in this edition of
MasterChef
there will be more than 1,500 guests who will participate in outdoor tests in the kitchens that will be installed in such impressive enclaves as
at the foot of the Sagrada Familia
in Barcelona,
the Cathedral of San Salvador
in Oviedo, they will travel to the
Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
; or to the
albero of the Equestrian School of Jerez de la Frontera
, homeland of Jesulín de Ubrique, among other places.
Likewise, there will be no shortage of visits from the winners of other
talent
editions , both anonymous and
celebrities
, such as
Juanma Castaño
,
Miki Nadal
,
Raquel Meroño
,
Carlos Maldonado
,
Eneko
,
María Lo
,
Marta Verona
and
Loreto
.
Participants from
La 1's culinary
talent such as
Toñi Moreno
,
Álvaro Escassi
,
Blanca Romero
,
Eduardo Casanova
or
La Terremoto de Alcorcón
, among others, will also pass through the kitchens and
MasterChef
tests .
"Our success is doing our job well every day"
Pepe Rodriguez
As a good kitchen space, an ingredient that is never missing in all editions of the program are
the great chefs
who evaluate the contestants' creations together with the jury.
Martín Berasategui
,
Jordi Roca
,
Oriol Castro
,
Francis Paniego
,
Nacho Manzano
,
Toño Pérez
,
Pepa Muñoz
,
Cristina Oria
, the pastry chef
Montse Abellà
or
Virgilio Martínez
, Peruvian chef of the Central restaurant, will be together with
Pepe Rodríguez
,
Samantha Vallejo-Nágera
and
Jordi Cruz
.
And if there is something that has not changed in all the seasons and editions of
MasterChef,
it is the jury. Whether in the anonymous version, the
celebrity
version or the junior version,
Pepe, Samantha and Jordi are always there, like the first day.
The Toledo native highlights that "we have been evolving over the years and seasons, but
we continue to have fun with what we do
." His partner, for his part, comments that "we take the evaluation of the participants very seriously because we are dealing with people who want to change their lives." Finally, Cruz assures that " this year's
casting
is entertaining.
There is a very cool cast and very passionate people
who take it very seriously and are very competitive."
Many participants have passed through the MasterChef
kitchens
who have been chosen from among thousands of applicants, but what is striking is that some of them have tried to participate on several occasions: "There is one who has appeared three times and has a passion... he has put a lot of work into it. It's amazing. When we tell him something good, he recognizes that it is the best day of his life," says Vallejo-Nágera. But...
Have the judges noticed that people now come much more prepared than in the first seasons?
The Madrid native assures that "it is true that we have seen over the years that the level has evolved, it has improved, they give us dishes that they know we like because they watch the program. What we want them to show us is a different cuisine." The chef adds that "there are people who have signed up every year. They are very insistent and ask us to come back. Many want to leave their jobs and appear on
MasterChef
. It's amazing."
Vallejo-Nágera also highlights that another of the incentives of the program "is arriving and finding a different and fun test every day": "Although we have previous meetings, we are always surprised by how they place everything in the supermarket or the reactions of the participants. For us It's a lot of fun, but we also get serious because we are valuing people who are looking to turn their lives around and
we demand a lot from them every day
."
Of this year's contestants, the judge highlights that "
they are very crybabies
, they do it even when we tell them that something is good. The emotion and passion there is is incredible." Cruz assures that "the important thing is the balance between the fact that it is a television program and they have to talk to make the format attractive to the viewer, but it
is also a reflection of a very hard profession
. We have to achieve that balance between being taken seriously. serious, but at the same time they have fun; they are unique people, but at the same time normal. It's complicated."
Pepe Rodríguez, Samantha Vallejo-Nágera and Jordi Cruz have been the jury since 2013
The three have been together since 2013 and recognize that they have changed a lot over these years: "We have been evolving.
In each program we put one hundred percent of ourselves because we know that we have to give everything
. I think that that professionalism that we each have "One in our profession we transfer it to
MasterChef
and to television, and I speak both for myself and for my colleagues. That professional deformation of being the best in our restaurants and on TV," says Rodríguez. "And that also has to be noted so that we always like what we do, so that the viewer perceives it, but also the contestants.
Our success is doing our job well every day
," adds the chef.