MasterChef Is Bringing Back One Of Its Best Challenges, And I Don't Know Why It Took So Long

In the midst of gimmick seasons, judging changes and Covid-related abnormalities, MasterChef quietly stopped doing one of its best challenges. For its first ten seasons, the pressure test was used consistently as a way to determine how some contestants got eliminated, but then suddenly, it was gone without explanation. Now it’s back, and I’m confused but also really fired up.

Before we start cooking, let’s do a little prep work here and talk about what the pressure test is and how it was used. As I said, MasterChef has undergone a lot of format changes over the years, but at its most basic, the show works with an every other week structure.

The first week, contestants compete in a challenge inside the MasterChef Kitchen. Typically, it’s a mystery box that requires each player to make a dish using the ingredients in their box, or sometimes based only on a specific protein in their box. Now and again, it's something a lot weirder like the beloved tag team challenge, but regardless, it always takes place inside the MasterChef kitchen.

The second week, the surviving contestants split into teams and do a challenge where each group cooks for like a large group of randoms at a weird location. Maybe it'll be a hundred hungry farmers. One team might choose to make steak tacos with slaw and corn, and the other might choose to make a chicken sandwich with fries and green beans.

That’s where the pressure test used to come in. The losing team would see some or all of its members compete in a short timed challenge back in the MasterChef kitchen to determine who goes home. Typically, it would force them to do something like make a perfect poached egg or cook a steak to exactly medium rare. More often than not, it would be something they were capable of doing, but the pressure of potentially going home would make it harder to execute.

It was always riveting to watch, but unfortunately, in more recent seasons, the show stopped doing it. Instead, Gordon Ramsay and the judges would eliminate whoever they felt did worst in the team challenge itself and immediately send them home. In fairness, that format allowed us to see a little more of what actually happened during the challenge. It also eliminated an entirely separate shoot for the crew, but in cutting those corners, it also removed one of the most compelling elements of the show.

To be honest, I assumed we’d never see the pressure test again, but then, out of nowhere, Ramsay told the contestants on last week’s episode that the losing team would head into a pressure test. I audibly gasped and pointed at my television like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It’s apparently going to kick off during the next episode, and I am elated.

There’s no obvious right answer for long-running reality shows. If you stick too closely to the same format, some fans get bored and eventually bail on the show. If you tinker with the specifics too often, however, other fans will get frustrated and stop watching. It’s a delicate balance, which is why I don’t blame MasterChef for experimenting and getting rid of the pressure test for awhile. That being said, I cannot believe it took them this long to bring it back. Producers had to know fans have been clamoring for it.

Regardless, I’m just glad to see it back. MasterChef hit the TV release schedule a little more than a month ago, and you can watch it with me on Wednesdays on FOX or the next day on Hulu.