1You must meet the age requirement.
FOX//Getty ImagesAll applicants must be 18 or older. If you don't meet the age requirement, you can always apply for MasterChef Junior.
2You have to be an American citizen.
David Buchan//Getty ImagesSince its conception, MasterChef has inspired franchises all around the world. However, to compete on the U.S. version of the show, you must be a legal citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
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3Professional chefs are not allowed.
FOX//Getty Images 4You have to apply.
FOX//Getty ImagesAside from some pre-registration online, it's relatively easy to attend an open casting call for MasterChef. You just have to prepare your best dish and bring it in to be sampled by a panel of expert chefs. Piece of cake.
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5Prepare for criticism.
FOX//Getty ImagesGordon Ramsay doesn't attend the open calls, but the panel of judges includes people who could give him a run for his money. "The chefs were tasting food and also critiquing, so people were getting critiqued on the spot which was not something I had expected. Then, on top of that, you're also talking to producers who wanna know what your personality is like," former contestant Elise Mayfield told AV Club.
6You can't reheat or cool food for your audition.
FOX//Getty ImagesMaking sure your dish is the proper temperature before it's served is up to you. Mayfield told AV Club her trick: "So I came in with two insulated lunch bags. One of them was an aluminum foil takeout container and I had a sock—a clean sock!—full of rice that I had heated up in the microwave, along with these glove warmer things so I had that and a heated bag of rice in the insulated lunch bag."
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7You may not hear back for months.
FOX//Getty ImagesAfter your audition, the casting department and producers can take a long time to make their final decisions on the cast. According to Mayfield from season five, it took four months before she got a final decision from production.
8If you make it, you must travel to California.
Stephen Dunn//Getty ImagesFilming for MasterChef takes place in Los Angeles. If you make it to the competition round of the show, that means packing up your knives and heading out west.
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9You won't get a big heads up.
FOX//Getty ImagesAlthough casting takes months, once you hear back from production, you don’t have a lot of time to get to LA. One season five competitor had just 10 days to pack for Los Angeles after learning she made it on the show.
10You must pass one final audition.
FOX//Getty ImagesAbout 100 applicants make the journey out to Los Angeles and are put up in a hotel by production. After they arrive, there's one more round of auditions and 70 people are sent home. "I was basically told, 'This is not a guarantee that you're on the show, this is not a guarantee you're going to meet the judges, this is a not guarantee of anything. It's just the final audition,'" Mayfield once said.
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11You have to undergo a psychological evaluation.
FOX//Getty ImagesDuring the last round of auditions, each prospective contestant has to meet with production's psychologist for a formal evaluation. According to former contestant Jessie Glenn, you are never showed the results, so it's unclear what they are looking for in the evaluation.
12You have to meet with a private investigator.
FOX//Getty ImagesContestants are also required to meet with a private investigator who will perform a background check on you. The investigative meeting felt "invasive," one former contestant said.
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13You have to take time off from your job.
FOX//Getty ImagesWhen contestants journey to Los Angeles, they have to plan as if they will be gone for the entirety of filming. Producers tell them to pack as if they’ll be gone for a few months and most quit their jobs for the show, while some are lucky enough to just take a leave of absence. "For me, I was really lucky because I was able to keep my job," Mayfield said: "A lot of people really quit their jobs to go to that show,"
14You have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
FOX//Getty ImagesMost of the show’s behind-the-scenes secrets will remain secret, as the contestants are required to sign NDAs before officially joining the show. However, there's one contestant who didn't sign the show's tightly bound contract: season three's Jessie Glenn. According to Healthline, Glenn began asking questions when she received the contract and the show didn’t notice she hadn’t signed it until after she was eliminated.
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15All of your living expenses are paid for by production.
FOX//Getty Images 16You're also paid a salary.
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17Your wardrobe is chosen for you.
FOX//Getty ImagesFrom the first day of filming, the wardrobe department has a specific outfit picked out for each contestant. Mayfield explained that you are told what to wear in the kitchen.
18You get your hair and makeup done before filming.
FOX//Getty ImagesTo make sure each contestant is camera-ready, production takes care of hair and makeup. "To hear, 'OK, we're going to hair and makeup,' and then to actually pull into Paramount Pictures, that moment was nuts. That's the moment when it's like, 'Oh, this is really happening. This is happening right now,'" Mayfield said of the moment the experience really hit her.
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19You don't meet the hosts until the first episode.
FOX//Getty ImagesThe first day of filming can be a bit overwhelming, because that's when contestants are taken to the kitchen set for the first time and meet the judges. Mayfield said: "And then Gordon Ramsay walks out and, like, Joe [Bastianich] and Graham [Elliot]. I think there is this moment of me, if I remember from the first episode, where I'm fanning myself and crying and that is totally legit. I was super overwhelmed."
20Sometimes your first challenge is to make something familiar.
FOX//Getty ImagesOn the show's fifth season, the contestants made their signature dish. Whatever that may be, the contestants cooked what they thought would show off their skills to the judges.
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