MasterChef

The Spanish version of MasterChef is based on the original British television cooking game show created by Franc Roddam in 1990, and is produced by Televisión Española in collaboration with Shine Iberia (Endemol Shine Iberia group).

For the first season, around 9,000 people applied during open castings held from February 4, 2013 in five regions of Spain, and only 15 amateur cooks were selected to compete, ranging from executives to housewives and construction workers.

MasterChef España won the Ondas Award for Best Entertainment Program on Spanish television in October 2013.

The show was filmed at the Estudios Buñuel in Madrid for the first two seasons, then moved to Fuente el Saz de Jarama starting with the third season.

Renowned chef Ferran Adrià, considered one of the best chefs in the world, joined the judging panel for the finale of the first season.

A macro-casting event in Madrid on February 24, 2013, drew over 450 participants, many of whom claimed the selection was a 'pantomime' with finalists already chosen in advance; the production company Shine Iberia denied all accusations.

In season 3, contestant Alberto Sempere was expelled without deliberation after his dish 'León come gamba' received harsh criticism from judges Pepe Rodríguez and Jordi Cruz; the dish became a trending topic on Twitter and inspired numerous memes, leading Cruz to later issue a public apology.

During season 6, host Eva González stepped away from episodes 6 through 13 due to her pregnancy, with judges Samantha Vallejo-Nájera and Pepe Rodríguez temporarily taking over hosting duties while Eva continued to voice over the exterior challenge segments.

Season 8 was notably controversial: contestant Saray was eliminated without deliberation after presenting an unplucked dead bird, and it was revealed that another contestant, Juana, was the concierge for the building of the production company's CEO's sister.

During season 11, social media revealed that contestant Luca's father was a senior executive at Ofistrade, a supplier for the show's sponsor supermarket El Corte Inglés, raising questions about impartiality.