A strong performance on MasterChef can help launch a YouTube career — just ask Nick DiGiovanni — but can careers built on YouTube translate to MasterChef? That’s the question Banijay Entertainment is asking with MasterChef Creators, a spinoff of the Brazilian version of MasterChef that will air exclusively on YouTube.
Banijay has turned to YouTube stars to find new audiences for some of its formats, and it’s now applying that strategy to MasterChef. The cooking competition comes from Endemol Shine, a Banijay subsidiary, and Endemol teamed up with YouTube to bring a creator-led version of the show to life.
“The partnership between YouTube and Endemol Shine Brasil stems from our Brand Solutions division’s ongoing mission to translate trends, and create relevant initiatives for brands and audiences,” said Google Head of Content Projects Esly Paiva in a statement. “By featuring creators as both hosts and contestants in MasterChef Creators, we strengthen their connection with fan communities and the show’s followers. Additionally, we celebrate the growing trend of YouTube content consumption on connected TVs, by leveraging a classic television format.”
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On MasterChef Creators, judges Helena Rizzo, Henrique Fogaça, and Erick Jacquin (pictured above) will be joined by hosts Fih and Edu, who reach more than three million subcribers on their Diva Depressão channel. The proceedings will be broadcast on another hub that has benefitted from the rise of digital cooking content: The official MasterChef Brasil YouTube channel.
Like in many content categories, cooking shows are reaching out to younger generations by including creators as participants and judges. A notable example of that trend is the Korean Netflix original Culinary Class Wars, which featured a challenge that turned famous influencers into restaurant patrons.
In the food world, there is also an interesting effect happening in the other direction: Creators are making their fans more interested in the sort of haute cuisine one finds on MasterChef. Through in-person gatherings and videos from accomplished chefs (including DiGiovanni and high-end steak master Guga), YouTube and TikTok viewers are evolving their taste buds and pushing restaurants to adopt feed-friendly dishes.
MasterChef Creators will give reality TV fans a chance to see how far the internet’s culinary community has come. The first of three weekly episodes will drop on May 6.