For those who've won over the past 14 seasons, the hefty cash prize hasn't gone astray in helping them chase their dream. From opening restaurants to writing cookbooks and donating to charity, each MasterChef winner has found their own purpose to put their $250,000 prize money towards.
A recent MasterChef winner has revealed the surprising way he spent his $250,000 prize money, dishing on one very generous detail. Justin Narayan was crowned the thirteenth winner of MasterChef Australia in 2021, when he was just 27 years old and worked a day job as a youth pastor.
The prize for winning the show is a combination of the experience you gain by taking part and what winning can mean for your career after the show airs. Like many other popular televised British cooking competitions, including Bake Off, there is no financial reward for winning MasterChef.
Yep, reports on the show have revealed that contestants are actually only paid slightly more than the legal minimum wage. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a mere $630 allowance each week was handed out to the 2013 contestants, which is only slightly more than the minimum $583 a week for an entry level cook.
The winner of each season wins $250,000, a MasterChef trophy, and the title of MasterChef. Some seasons have also added other prizes such as a cookbook deal.
10. Contestants have to buy any ingredients they require to practice dishes to make at home and aren't given any money towards it - but ingredients and a full pantry are provided in the MasterChef kitchens.
All of your living expenses are paid for by production.
Contestants on the show are put up in a hotel for the duration of filming. Additionally, their transportation and food expenses are paid for by the show.
Aside from the $250,000 prize money the winner receives, many contestants go on to build successful careers in the food industry, publishing cookbooks, hosting television shows and Good Food and Wine events, and even open their own cooking schools and restaurants.
With the judges rumoured to be taking home around $500,000 a year with Ten, the show's rampant popularity and critical acclaim could see bigger fees negotiated for future seasons.
Do the MasterChef contestants have to buy their own ingredients? If the contestants wish to practice cooking up their food masterpieces at home, then they are expected to foot the bill for the ingredients, and they aren't reimbursed.
Season 3: Christine Hà
She's one of the most successful of the "MasterChef" winners, with around 158,000 followers on her Instagram account and a bestselling cookbook, "Recipes from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food," which came as the result of a publishing deal she inked as part of her win.
Do the MasterChef contestants have to buy their own ingredients? If the contestants wish to practice cooking up their food masterpieces at home, then they are expected to foot the bill for the ingredients, and they aren't reimbursed.
Despite her lack of social media success and TV appearances, Hannah Miles, MasterChef 2007 finalist, claims the top position when it comes to the greatest number of books published. She has published 32 books since appearing on our screens, with her first book, 'The Big Book of Cakes & Cookies', published in 2009.
MasterChef US and UK
Of course, we're all curious where that veritable smorgasbord of delights ends up after filming is over. As it turns out, the crew gets first dibs, Marketplace reported. All leftovers and unused pantry items are then donated to MEND – a support service charity based in LA.
Krissi is unarguably the most hated contestant in the history of the show despite her resilience and strong cooking abilities.
Hailing from across the country, MasterChef contestants travel to Melbourne for filming, where they are put up in serviced apartment accommodation. A reliable source close to production tells Refinery29 Australia that usually two contestants share an apartment, but each has their own bedroom within the unit.
Justine Schofield One of the most successful MasterChef alumni, season one's Justine told Woman's Day that the show changed her life "in a massive way". The bubbly blonde now shares her culinary skills with the masses on Everyday Gourmet cooking with fresh produce from Mission Foods, Cadbury and more.
Salary Highlights
Gordon Ramsay's salary per episode is $225,000. He typically earns around $45 million per year from his media and restaurant empire.
But some skeptical fans have long wondered how realistic of a portrayal the show provides since not everything that takes place in the studio makes it to the edits. Nonetheless, the contestants are highly unlikely to receive a copy of the recipes in advance.
Production staff takes each cook's phone before they come on set and hold on to them for the duration of filming. When not filming, the contestants are allowed contact with their family but aren't allowed to discuss any details of the filming, or broadcast where they are on social media.
And they don't get to keep the aprons they wear on the show. But they are sent nice new ones in the post later. This is so no one is spotted with a MasterChef apron before the series goes out on TV.
ONE MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CLEAN-UP
Dishwasher Leigh Dowling is one of over 200 crew that make the MasterChef dream a reality. "Leigh washes everything you see," executive producer Margaret Bashfield reveals.
While former MasterChef: The Professionals star Rosanna Moseley told the Birmingham Mail: "The food stays there for a bit after you've finished so they can get good shots of it. "So it can be cold by the time the judges get to it - especially if you're last to be judged - but they take that into consideration."
The LA-based "MasterChef" puts competitors in an undisclosed hotel during the duration of their stay. Distractify explains that this is necessary as they can be summoned to the show as early as 3:00 a.m. and can work up to 12 hours per day.
"What happens is that it gets ground down and cooked into compost, and that goes back into the gardens at Masterchef because that's a huge part of the show, the fact that we grow fruits and vegetables and herbs that the contestants can use," she told The Design Files.