Is Masterchef coming back?

Although the new TV season has only just started, the BBC is already working on its schedule for next year. The cooking show “Masterchef” is expected to return to the screen, “Weekend” learned. Chef Ilian Kustev and restaurateur Yavor Sarafov already have a safe place there. However, the youngest member of the jury from the broadcast of season 8 in 2023, Alexander Taralezhkov, is still in question.

The problem with Taralezhkov is his permanent address in the UK. Top Chef, who surprised viewers last fall, may not be able to organize his schedule until he is in Sofia for the filming of the upcoming season 9. taking up a large part of his time. For the filming of the previous season of the show, the young chef was torn between Bulgaria and England, because there was no one to manage his recently created restaurant. It was very difficult for him to control his business, and he almost got shares from the movement except the fee, which was not much.

For the other two in the jury, the advertisement on BTV was very useful, but Taralezhkov works in England, and there only Bulgarian emigrants watch Bulgarian television, who rarely visit his restaurant. On the other hand, there was a rumor in our country that he had arranged a gay wedding, which made all his distant aunts and cousins ​​feel strange. The chef realized that his popularity only brought him trouble, so he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue appearing on our television.

However, Ilian Kustev was very happy with his participation in the hobby chef competition. After the show he was invited to appear at all sorts of social events, he got a part, albeit a small one, in the BBC comedy series Sunny Beach, and in the theater the his guests in the show Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Marian Bachev and Diana Lyubenova. Rumors of a relationship with former apprentice Laura, who did well on the show, did not cause him problems with the official partner, but only boosted his reputation as a person known women liking women, which turned out to be a perfect ad for women. he decided to publish a cookbook. In it, the playboy in a chef’s apron collected just 69 author’s recipes, and the number is certainly not accidental.

Yavor Sarafov was also satisfied with his appearance in “Masterchef”, and BBC – with him. Television often invites him to various shows and it is only a matter of time before he stands again against the hobby chefs from “Masterchef”.

BTV is already considering options to replace Taralezhkov with another person to start work for the new season of the show. If they find him soon enough, or if they manage to convince Taralezhkov himself to participate again, the show could be back as early as spring, if not, most likely they off it until they fall. 2024 is the second year in which television does not film the cooking show since it entered Bulgaria in 2015 until now. The first time there was such a break was in 2022. Then the team was looking for a jury, after the member at the time Andre Tokev went to prison for driving under the influence of alcohol, his colleague Petar Mikhalchev left, and the third star Sylvena Roe decided to make her own show, which, however, did not succeed and remained in one season only

Last year’s edition of “Masterchef” was also no sensation. The rating was not bad, but far below the television’s expectations. The participants disappointed with the lack of knowledge in basic areas of culinary art. Many of the hobby chefs who qualified for the competition could not even make basic recipes such as a homemade cupcake. This became a source of strong criticism from fans of the show. We hope that, in the future, there will be more good chefs instead of imposters, which the producers think could be interesting with other features.