- Meet this year’s 16 contenders
- They will replicate Jordi Cruz’s trompe l’oeil, use nuts as legumes, discover swicy and tiny food and memorise recipes that self-destruct
- With Marta Díaz, Alejandro G. Palomo, Susana Díaz, Nicolás Vallejo-Nágera, Laura Londoño, Ferran Adrià, Dabiz Muñoz and Jordi Roca as guests
- Premiere: Monday 9 September, at 22:50, on La 1 and RTVE Play
Cristina Cifuentes, Pitingo, Marina Rivers, Juan Luis Cano, Topacio Fresh, Raúl Gómez, Hiba Abouk, Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú, Itziar Miranda, Pelayo Díaz, Rubén Ochandiano, Nerea Garmendia, Jose Lamuño, Inés Hernand, Francis Lorenzo y María León son los aspirantes que sorprenderán en esta nueva edición de ‘MasterChef Celebrity’, producido por RTVE en colaboración con Shine Iberia, y que se estrena en La 1 el 9 de septiembre.
Presentation at the FesTVal of Vitoria
The stars of ‘MasterChef Celebrity’ have presented this ninth edition at the FesTVal in Vitoria. María Eizaguirre Comendador, RTVE’s Director of Communication and Participation, presented the event and announced the premiere: On Monday 9, after David Broncano’s ‘La revuelta’. It’s going to be an unforgettable Monday, with lots of good people, and another edition of laughter and great moments in ‘MasterChef’’.
For Miriam García Corrales, director of Entertainment at RTVE, this programme is ‘the jewel in the crown’. She also highlighted the ability of ‘MasterChef’ to adapt, reinvent itself, never do anything the same. It always surprises you, and adapts to the latest gastronomic and technological trends. “They are always on the cutting edge”.
Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, said that the contestants “come to have fun, to learn, because almost all of them cooked very little, and they all come to win”. Of course, “the judges are the ones who have the most fun. They are like in a ball pool”. “There are classic tests that work very well and new ones, we never lose sight of gastronomic trends, we do games, and we continue in incredible outdoors to keep showing wonderful places”.
The three judges joked about the casting, but also highlighted the virtues of this ninth edition: “We have a lot of fun, hilarious tests and a lot of cooking”, said Samantha. “It’s a very nice edition in which we’ve had a great time”, Pepe recalled.”‘I’ve been sweetened, and that can only be achieved with a lot of effort and by making a good evolution”, said Jordi. The contestants have highlighted how much they have learned in ‘MasterChef’ and the great team they have formed.
For Cristina Cifuentes, “learning something new is very stimulating” and “we have loved and helped each other a lot”. Topacio Fresh was “completely happy and would be on ‘MasterChef’ again, but with these colleagues”. Itziar Miranda believes that “it teaches you very valuable things: to cook, which is an act of love, but also to be comfortable in your vulnerability”, and for José Lamuño, “it teaches you to value yourself, to better yourself, not to throw in the towel, and that anything is possible”.
They also agree on some of the values conveyed by the programme and, in particular, by this year’s casting: “We have made a very diverse, colourful and fun group”, said Marina Rivers. “I’m very lucky to have shared this experience with these people, and this programme also has the message of uniting diversity”, said Inés Hernand. “Everyone here is finger-licking good”, added María León. And for Nerea Garmendia, “it is a pleasure and an honour to present MasterChef in my homeland and to be part of an unforgettable cast”.
The programme is already part of the history of television entertainment, in the opinion of many celebrities: “It is a brutal entertainment programme and it is a luxury to be part of this television history”, said Raúl Gómez. Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú highlighted its value “because with ‘MasterChef’, you go to bed with a smile on your face”. “I’ve enjoyed it a lot, although there are culinary words that don’t and never will come out in my life”, joked Pitingo. For Pelayo Díaz, “more than a job, it has been an amusement park”.
Other aspirants have emphasised culinary values, such as Juan Luis Cano, who says he “had the dream of being a chef”, or Hiba Abouk, for whom ‘it is a very difficult profession and I respect it a lot because it has to do with art. Of all of them, the one who becomes the best cook will win the trophy and 75,000 euros, which he or she can donate to an NGO. The duelists, together with a companion, will attend a weekend cooking course at the Basque Culinary Center’s Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences in San Sebastian. In addition, the winner of each programme will receive 4,000 euros to donate to the NGO of their choice. Pepe Rodríguez, Samantha Vallejo-Nágera and Jordi Cruz have been tasting celebrities’ dishes for almost a decade. Now, the new contestants will demonstrate the culinary skills they are learning, as many have the help of professionals and practice at home.
El Monaguillo, Nicolás Vallejo-Nágera or Ferran Adrià, among the guests
Among the guests, names such as the influencer Marta Díaz; the senator and former president of the Junta de Andalucía Susana Díaz; the actors Lydia Bosch, Carles Sans and Jedet; the singer Concha Buika; the designer and judge of ‘Maestros de la Costura’ Alejandro G. Palomo; the businessman Nicolás Vallejo-Nágera; and the comedian El Monaguillo. Also, aspirants from ‘MasterChef’, ‘MasterChef Junior’, ‘MasterChef Abuelos’ and ‘MasterChef Celebrity’: the winners Laura Londoño, Lorena Castell, Juanma Castaño, Miki Nadal, Raquel Meroño and Ona Carbonell; or the participants Eduardo Casanova, Álvaro Escassi, Jesulín de Ubrique, Blanca Romero, Tania Llasera, Bibiana Fernández, Anabel Alonso, La Terremoto, Eduardo Navarrete, Florentino Fernández and Boris Izaguirre. In addition, Juanjo, Lucas, Bea, Violeta and Kiara, among other ‘OT 2023’ students, will give an exclusive performance on ‘MasterChef Celebrity 9’. Nor will there be no shortage of big names in gastronomy: Ferran Adrià, Martín Berasategui (12 Repsol Suns), Dabiz Muñoz (four Repsol Suns), Jordi Roca (three Repsol Suns), Francis Paniego (three Repsol Suns), Toño Pérez (three Repsol Suns), Jesús Sánchez (three Repsol Suns), Paco Morales (three Repsol Suns), Javi Estévez (one Repsol Sun), Ferdinando Bernardi (one Repsol Sun), Korean Luke Jang and the Spanish chef taking London by storm, José Pizarro.
Self-destructing recipes, dogs as diners and a crossover with ‘MasterChef Portugal’
The contestants will replicate two dishes by Jordi Cruz that go beyond the trompe l’oeil, use nuts as legumes, receive cakes with hidden messages (the burn away cakes) and cook for very fine ‘snouts’: 15 dogs with very refined tastes. In addition, they will have to be very agile to memorise an avant-garde recipe that will self-destruct in 10 minutes. They will also be introduced to new gastronomic proposals: Swicy (an acronym for sweet and spicy) and tiny food. Chef Lydia del Olmo (one Sol Repsol) will teach them about the benefits of hydroponics, the symbol of sustainable culture. And they will play fun games to gain advantages, such as ‘El Precio Exacto’, ‘El cuatro en raya’ and a particular ‘Looking for Wally’. In the team competitions, they will celebrate Madrid’s San Isidro festival; they will prepare a menu inspired by the traditional gastronomy of the Empordà region at Peralada Castle; they will visit “the most beautiful garden in Spain”, Lur Garden (Guipúzcoa); they will pay tribute to the elderly with Padre Ángel; they will serve a menu in Islas Cíes, designed by chefs Xosé Magalhaes, Luis Veira, Lucía Freitas and Daniel López; and they will take over the kitchens of Dani García in Bibo Tarifa, under the orders of chefs Rakel Cernicharo and Marcos Morán. In Cascais (Portugal), they will cook at the Chefs On Fire festival and we will attend a crossover with the three members of the ‘MasterChef Portugal’ jury: Pedro Pena, Oscar Geadas and Teresa Horta.
First programme: Monday 9 September
The contestants will make their debut by reproducing various dishes by chef Francis Paniego, accompanied by Ona Carbonell and Raquel Meroño, winners of the third and fifth editions of ‘MasterChef Celebrity’. In the first outdoor test, they will travel to the heart of Empordà (Girona), where the magnificent Peralada Castle is located, one of the architectural, historical and cultural jewels of Catalonia. At its feet, the teams will cook for 150 guests a menu inspired by the traditional gastronomy of the Empordà signed by Paco Pérez. Finally, the kitchen will be home to an orchard with 38 species of vegetables and fruit trees that will bear fruit in weeks or months. The jury will ask the black aprons to guess which fruits and vegetables they are. Afterwards, they will have to prepare a vegetarian, savoury or sweet dish, following the recommendations of chef Jesús Sánchez and María, duelist of ‘MasterChef 12.
‘MasterChef’ joins MasterChef World community
‘MasterChef’ consolidates its position on social networks with nearly 5.5 million followers. In the last edition of ‘MasterChef 12’ an extra 3,600,000 views were generated on Instagram and TikTok, thanks to the digital participation of some of the most powerful creators of these platforms, such as Xurso Carreño, Jorge Cyrus and Carolina Iglesias. In ‘MasterChef Celebrity 9’, the social networks will join the MasterChef World community, the official app of the programme, to continue publicising the candidates’ projects. And the Instagram profile of ‘MasterChef’ will offer more recipes and tips with ‘The Kitchen’, a space led by Raquel Meroño. In addition, the book ‘La Biblia saludable de MasterChef’ contains the best recipes for healthy eating, with seasonal products. The MasterChef Restaurant offers the best dishes from the programme and the chance to meet the contestants. Fans also have the opportunity to improve their skills with the MasterChef School, directed by Jordi Cruz, as well as feeling like a real contestant with the board game and the official video game. MasterChef Celebrity 9′ is sponsored by Electrodomésticos Bosch, Pescanova and Zurich Seguros.
GALLERY
