As a foodie + amateur cook, I adore culinary reality shows, especially MasterChef. But lately, they’re all about sob stories and unnecessary cursing—just cook and crown a winner already! While Scott Kang drew me in with his looks and talent (thank you, social media) - it is the format of the show that made be stick. Was planning to see only Triple Star's parts and skip the rest, but Korean show-makers really know how to deliver a crisp, thrilling show with really intense cliffhangers. I mean really when those challenges ended at a cliffhanger and the beats of ending credits rolled in - I was like ARGGGHHH no I NEED to watch the next episode - who won and who was eliminated!

Though am not going to deny the fact that most of it is scripted and I was not really thrilled with the winner (he kind of had a cocky attitude from day 1 and the way he survived in last 8 made it pretty straightforward that they all knew the winner then and there). Still it was great to see - all the chef, their amazing work and some backstories!

The rating on MDL is for drama/movies as ACTING here would mean something else, so this is what I mean with my ratings:
1) Story = Format of the Reality Show: Was it thrilling, exciting and stuck to focus of cooking!
2) Acting = Talent of the Chefs, and Rating Mechanism by Judges, their Comments etc
Rest are as the word suggests.

Overall: Recommend watching this - as a way to pass time, and especially if you do like reality shows!

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❤️Special Mention - My Favorite Chefs & Why ❤️
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1) Triple Star (should have been the winner, but I guess it would have been obvious then too)
2) Chef Cooking Maniac - what a cutie, and his backstory really echoed on a personal level. #appearences-are-not-everything
3) Chef Edward Lee - what a genius! Made some of the most ingenious dishes.
4) Chef Choi Hyun-seok - love his salt theatrics before this show, and here what a cunning and winning mindset he had. I think he shocked himself with his own result in the survivor challenge. Or it was scripted.
5) Chef Jung Ji Sun - I think want to see more of her - loved every dish she made, especially dimsums. No wonder she is called the Queen of DimSums!