MasterChef Judge Ate One Bite of 215 Contest Dishes

Posted by Epicurious on January 13, 2010 at 11:11:54:

I Ate 215 Home-Cooks' Signature Dishes on Sunday...
by Tanya Steel
And my stomach is still recovering. This past Sunday was the first regional judging for FOX's upcoming MasterChef series, which is going to be like American Idol but for food. I was one of two judges for the New York auditions, and more than 400 people came for the casting, standing in 14 degree temperatures for hours waiting to be seen. One lady, who mentioned her recipe was inspired by Epicurious, stayed in her car from 10 p.m. the night before to guarantee her place in line.

I tried one bite of 215 contestants' dishes. The most common ingredient? Chicken. I must have eaten three whole chickens by the time the six-hour judging was done. Ceviche was surprisingly popular. Crab cakes were served up to me ten different ways. Mango and avocado seemed as ubiquitous as Tila Tequila. Italian was the inspirational cuisine for the majority. Strangely, there were few desserts or baked goods.

My overall assessment: We definitely had the Carrie Underwood and the William Huang of food come through those doors. For those who are more Carrie than William, there are auditions going on around the country. Go to 3 Ball Productions to find out when they will be in your neighborhood. And what did I eat after the 10,000 calories I ingested? Nothing until 4 p.m. the next day, when I slowly ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ahhhhh....

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