Is the Food in Cooking Shows Cold by the Time the Judges Can Taste It?

Ever wonder whether the food in cooking shows like MasterChef or Hell’s Kitchen stays warm by the time judges actually taste it? If so, you’re definitely not an “idiot sandwich” for speculating.

“On cooking shows, doesn’t the food get cold before anyone is able to actually taste it?” Us Weekly reader Laura C. from Frederick, Maryland, asked Us in the latest issue of the magazine, on newsstands now.

Fans of these hit cooking shows know that Gordon Ramsay often loses his cool when sampling just-made food that’s not piping hot (remember the “ice f—king cold” garnish?). But filming a TV show takes time — how can the food possibly stay warm?

Michael Heyerman, MasterChef executive producer and SVP, Unscripted Original Series, Endemol Shine North America, told Us that “immediately after the cook is done, we do our best to expedite the tasting process so the judges can eat fresh, warm food,” yet, unlike your average restaurant, heat lamps are forbidden on the show.

“We never use heating lamps,” Heyerman said. “Everyone understands there is a process to making a television show, and food might have to sit out for a little longer than in a regular restaurant. While temperature is, of course, important, the judges take technique and taste into consideration.”

While Ramsay isn’t known for his understanding and empathetic demeanor, Heyerman says he “knows the process of making a cooking show very well” — the chef has worked on over a dozen shows over the last two decades, after all — and he “can look past that and judge on flavor and technique.”

Previous contestants on Ramsay’s shows concur — while the food may look appetizing on TV, its temperature leaves something to be desired.

“It’s cold. It has usually been sitting there for maybe two and half hours at that point,” MasterChef: Legends contestant Kelsey Murphy told FOX 59 in 2021. “After we finish cooking, they have to take our finished plate, and they have to beauty it. They have to take their cameras, their lighting, and bring it up front [to] take these beautiful pictures of it and get that for the camera before the judges go into it and eat it and judge it.”

Murphy also revealed that while the food may be cold by the time it hits the judges’ taste buds, most of the time they have already sampled the dishes from the contestants’ cooking stations.

“What happens is as soon as we are done cooking, we leave set, and the judges come out and they taste all of our food when it is hot,” Murphy added. “So we leave all of our extra meats, all of our extra sauces, everything that we have cooked is left on our station and it’s piping hot. So they immediately come around and taste everything so they know, pretty much, exactly what our dish is going to taste like.”