# MasterChef Israel

MasterChef Israel (Hebrew: מאסטר שף) is an Israeli reality cooking competition show that debuted on 14 October 2010 by Keshet on Channel 2 (from 2017 Keshet 12). It is based on the global MasterChef competitive cooking show television format. The show was very well received and highly acclaimed, achieving excellent reviews and high ratings.

## Format

The premise of the show is a cooking competition between amateur cooks, competing for the title of "MasterChef" and a kitchen renovation. The first few episodes of every series are audition episodes where contestants cook to a panel of judges who decide based on a dish cooked in front of them whether or not to pass the contestant to the next level, where a large number of the contestants chosen in the auditions are eliminated through a series of tests, until 12–14 are chosen as the show's final cast, and the members of the season's "Nivheret" (Selected Team).
The members of the "Nivheret" compete in different challenges every episodes, such as the mystery Box Challenge, the Invention Test, Dish Recreation Challenges and Taste Challenges.

### Mystery Box Challenge

In the Mystery Box Challenge contestants receive a number of ingredients of which they are to make a dish of their choice. The contestants are allowed to use any number of the ingredients they are given as they wish, and are free to leave out any ingredients.

### The Invention Test

The Invention Test requires of the contestants to make a dish, usually with a certain requirement, such as that the dish should cost no more than a certain price, the dish should contain a certain ingredient or be an adaption of other dishes. The Invention Test is usually the challenge that leads to eliminations.

### Dish Recreation Test

In the Dish Recreation Test contestants are asked to recreate a complex dish made by a guest chef, usually with a recipe at hand.

### Taste Challenges

In Taste Challenges the contestants are given a dish to taste, and are asked to name ingredients in the dish, for every ingredient they name correctly they score a point, until their first mistake. The contestant with the lowest score is usually eliminated.

## Judges

The first season judges were Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani, Michal Ansky, and Rafi Adar, all successful restaurateurs in Israel.
After the first season was concluded, Eyal Shani became famous, due to his eccentric treatment of food as poetry in the show, though Haim Cohen was the most famous of the judges, Shani became the symbol of the show and became a cultural icon in Israel.
In the second season, Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani and Michal Ansky continued as judges with Yonatan Roshfeld, chef of the Herbert Samuel restaurant, brought in to replace Rafi Adar.
In the seventh season, Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani and Michal Ansky continued as judges with Israel Aharoni, a famous Israeli chef, brought in to replace Yonatan Roshfeld.
In the tenth season, Ruti Broudo was added as a fifth judge alongside the existing panel of judges in which Ansky continued while being pregnant during filimg.
In the eleventh season, Michal Ansky quit the show and thus the number of judges returned back to 4.

## Season 1 (2010)

First aired on 14 October 2010, the first season of MasterChef received very high ratings and resulted in a large cook book that held all of the recipes shown on the first season.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Ina Kravetsky | Winner |
| Elkana Bitton | 2nd |
| Smadar (Smadi) Vaknin | 3rd |
| Aviva Fibko | 4th |
| Itzik Harel | 5th |
| Musa Abu Sris | 6th |
| Ran Vasiliver | 7th |
| Morria Ka'atavi | 8th |
| Adi Mizrahi | 9th |
| Gal Leibowitz | 10th |
| Galit Bonfeld | 11th |
| Aviv Ezer Fischler | 12th |

## Season 2 (2011)

The show was picked up for a second season in November 2010, a month after the first season first aired. the show began airing in June 2011, with the new judge, Yonatan Roshfeld.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Avi Levy | Winner |
| Eliav Sasson | 2nd |
| Emmanuel Rosenzweig | 3rd |
| Shai Sarmani | 4th |
| Gili Halfteck | 5th |
| Iris Kaspi | 6th |
| Yossi Azulay | 7th |
| Sima Ifargen | 8th |
| Elisa Hammer | 9th |
| Ilan Weissbrod | 10th |
| Zohar Arnon | 11th |
| Jennifer Sunny | 12th |
| Moshe Sassoon | 13th |
| Rachel Kadosh Mashan | 14th |

## Junior MasterChef (2012)

* Junior MasterChef Israel premiered on 20 April 2012 the judges will be the same as MasterChef Israel.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Daniel Tirosh | Winner |
| Dana Sharon | 2nd |
| Stav Choen | 3rd |
| Radi Halvi | 4th |
| Shaked Snerch | 5th |
| Roy Vresano | 6th |
| Rean Vice | 7th |
| Amit Shabu | 8th |
| Oded Ovadia | 9th |
| Sivan Klika | 10th |
| Nil Shatraunber | 11th |
| Lihi Naim | 12th |
| Yarden Hamo | 13th |
| Dana Kozinitzki | 14th |
| Itay Choen | 15th |
| Avia Dozali | 16th |

## Season 3 (2012–13)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Tom Franz | Winner |
| Salma Fyumi | 2nd |
| Jackie Azulay | 3rd |
| Paulin Shoval | 4th |
| Dalia Alchadf | 5th |
| Mia Ben Tzvi | 6th |
| Eti Levi | 7th |
| Beni Ben Israel | 8th |
| Shai Brandas | 9th |
| Shelly Harman | 10th |
| Vicky Jan | 11th |
| Itay Elimelech | 12th |
| Elinor Rachamim | 13th |
| Snir Nekar | 14th |

## Season 4 (2014)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Nof Ethamna Ismail | Winner |
| Ido Kronenberg | 2nd |
| Masrat Woldmichael | 3rd |
| Shlomo Ezran | 4th |
| Ricky Soysa | 5th |
| Tzila Ofer | 6th |
| Serenada Dilvski | 7th |
| Shai Tobol | 8th |
| Eitan Slomon | 9th |
| Asher Levi | 10th |
| Josh Steel | 11th |
| Lior Slomon | 12th |
| Moran Sasa | 13th |
| Lary Suesman | 14th |

## MasterChef VIP (2015)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Shai Avivi | Winner |
| Pnina Tornai | 2nd |
| Aya Kramreman | 3rd |
| Betty Rockawy | 4th |
| Shlomo Scharf | 5th |
| Norman Issa | 6th |
| Eden Harel | 7th |
| Avi Nosbaum | 8th |
| Noam Tur | 9th |
| Shlomi Eldar | 10th |
| Dorit Rabinyan | 11th |
| Eti Levi | 12th |

## Season 5 (2015)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Massimiliano De Matteo | Winner |
| Rachel Ben Elul | 2nd |
| Lama Shchada | 3rd |
| Michal Epstein | 4th |
| Ron Soriano | 5th |
| Iv Anan | 6th |
| Eyal Geresh | 7th |
| Racheli Kadosh | 8th |
| Rut Ruzovski | 9th |
| Misha Lederman | 10th |
| Natali Finkelstein | 11th |
| Ben Aviad | 12th |

## Season 6 (2016)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Tom Aviv | Winner |
| Yehonatan Biton | 2nd |
| Sofi Porat | 3rd |
| Shira Betzalel | 4th |
| Liron Asulin | 5th |
| Diana Rachmani | 6th |
| Matan Chaliva | 7th |
| Amit Haya Twito | 8th |
| Eli Mitzri | 9th |
| Yacky Algranti | 10th |
| Gal Ofir | 11th |
| Neria Cohen | 12th |

## Season 7 (2017–18)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Yehuda Amar | Winner |
| Amichai Shrapstein | 2nd |
| Yehoyada Nizri | 3rd |
| Edi Babaeib | 4th |
| Victoria Goberman | 5th |
| Bar Pines | 6th |
| Muzna Bishara | 7th |
| Sivan Amar | 8th |
| Nadia Awid | 9th |
| Bar Eilon | 10th |
| Itzik Batashvili | 11th |
| Liron Partosh | 12th |
| Larisa Slapian Ashed | 13th |
| Yochay Golan | 14th |

## Season 8 (2019)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Vanessa Vidal | Winner |
| Shahar Levi | 2nd |
| Gal Kaspers | 3rd |
| Lior Ohayon | 4th |
| Farrah Raslan | 5th |
| Yotam Aranovich | 6th |
| Jana Khein | 7th |
| Costa Osadchy | 8th |
| Albert Ifraimov | 9th |
| Nimrod Zioni | 10th |
| Ruhama Hershdorfer | 11th |
| Dana Elharar | 12th |
| Adi Sivan | 13th |
| Arnon Naim | 14th |
| Tahel Kedem | 15th |
| Sagi Keren | 16th |

#### VIP Special

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Itay Levi | Winner |
| Ofira Asayag | 2nd |
| Eli Ildis | 3rd |
| Itzik Cohen | 4th |
| Tahounia Rubel | 5th |
| Nesli Barda | 6th |
| Eitan Cabel | 7th |
| Dana Grotsky | 8th |

## Season 9 (2021)
### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Ithiela Hayat | Winner |
| Hofit Sarmili | 2nd |
| Asaf Day | 3rd |
| Adi Weinberg | 4th |
| Guy Bimka | 5th |
| Tair Mordoch | 6th |
| Manal Ismail | 7th |
| Haim Cohen | 8th |
| Bat-Shai Oz | 9th |
| Eti Morad | 10th |
| Eden Gindi | 11th |
| Meital Raichel | 12th |
| Irakli Gonswili | 13th |
| Shemi Afniar | 14th |
| Avner Rosenthalis | 15th |

#### VIP Special 1

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Kobi Oz | Winner |
| Albert Escola | Competitor |
| Hana Laszlo | Competitor |
| Lihi Lapid | Competitor |
| Moshe Peretz | Competitor |
| Ruslana Rodina | Competitor |
| Yifat Shasha-Biton | Competitor |

#### VIP Special 2

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Dudi Amsalem | Winner |
| Aki Avni | Competitor |
| Alex Hazanov | Competitor |
| Avraham Tal | Competitor |
| Einav Boublil | Competitor |
| Lea Snirer | Competitor |
| Shimon Bouskilla | Competitor |

## Season 10 (2022)

Season 10 began on 15 June 2022, Ruti Broudo joined as a fifth judge.
During the season Eyal Shani was criticized after he discriminated against a contestant who lives in Bat Ayin based on his residence. Critics called for Shani's removal from the show.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Hillel Gardi | Winner |
| Yaniv Shahar | 2nd |
| Michal Motil | 3rd |
| Sivan Brick Hen | 4th |
| Shani Ben Shimol | 5th |
| Omer Shaysh | 6th |
| Giselle Sarah Lellouche | 7th |
| Gal Moran Yisraeli | 8th |
| Elad Elzara | 9th |
| David Cohen | 10th |
| Sarah Malka | 11th |
| Shoval Katony | 12th |
| Mastawal Mogas | 13th |
| Hamos Guetta | 14th |
| Or Wangenheim | 15th |
| Eden Yam Reuven | 16th |
| Qmars Malkan | 17th |
| Michal Lahav | 18th |
| Inessa Binyamin | 19th |
| Haim Rabinovich | 20th |

#### VIP Special

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Yarden Gerbi | Winner |
| Michal Amdursky | 2nd |
| Didi Harari | 3rd |
| Avi Kakon | Competitor |
| Dana Frider | Competitor |
| Stéphane Legar | Competitor |
| Tuvia Tzafir | Competitor |

## Season 11 (2024)

Season 11 first aired on 2 March 2024. Michal Ansky left the show, leaving 4 judges.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Place Finished |
| Natalie Mizrahi Amaral | Winner |
| Astar Biton | 2nd |
| Itay Dagan | 3rd |
| Nissim Zelite | 4th |
| Raya Erica Marian | 5th |
| Miri Ezra | 6th |
| Avishag Pe'er | 7th |
| Bar Levy | 8th |
| Arye Rozenshtock | 9th |
| Amit Bazyler | 10th |
| Pusha Chernov | 11th |
| Lior Shnaidman | 12th |
| Ziv Shapira | 13th |
| Danit Sofer | 14th |
| Ori Aharonovich | 15th |

## MasterChef All-Stars (2024)

MasterChef All-Stars Israel will first air on 12 October 2024. Michal Ansky returned the show, with chefs Yuval Ben-Netia and Avi Biton added as new judges as well.

### Contestants

| Contestant | Original season | Place Finished |
| Michal Epstein | 5 | Winner |
| Amichai Shrapstein | 7 | 2nd |
| Rachel Ben Elul | 5 | 3rd |
| Hofit Sarmili | 9 | 4th |
| Farrah Raslan | 8 | 5th |
| Lior Ohayon | 8 | 6th |
| Albert Ifraimov | 8 | 7th |
| Yehoyada Nizri | 7 | 8th |
| Smadar (Smadi) Vaknin | 1 | 9th |
| Roy Vresano | Junior | 10th |
| Eitan Slomon | 4 | 11th |