MasterChef Thailand (season 1) is a Thai competitive reality TV series that premiered on Channel 7 on June 4, 2017. The show welcomes the presenters which includes the host Piyathida Mittiraroch, alongside the judges , , and Pongtawat Chalermkittichai. More than 1,000 people across the country applied for the show this year, and 100 made it to the audition round. After the auditions, 38 contestants received the apron, but only 16 made it to the MasterChef as the real contestants of this season.รับสมัครมาสเตอร์เชฟ ประเทศไทย พร้อมชิงเงินรางวัล 1 ล้านบาท , พร้อมเป็นมาสเตอร์เชฟคนแรกของประเทศไทย
This debut season is won by Paweenuch "Kaew" Yodpreechawijit against Alisa "Lisa" Dawson, who finished in second place.
Contestants Top 16 Contestant Age Hometown Occupation Status Number of Wins Paweenuch Yodpreechawijit (Kaew) 24 Pathum Thani Unemployed 4 Alisa Dawson (Lisa) 29 Bangkok English teacher 7 Nutnicha Bunlert (Ploy) 26 Pathum Thani Air hostess 5 Jumlong Sriraksa 31 Rayong Fishing pond owner 4 Suthakorn Suwanchote (Pao) 29 Bangkok Food stylist 5 Tanakorn Suwankot (Ying Aod) 20 Mukdahan Student 3 Suwijak Pruektayanon (Mark) 19 Chiang Mai Student 1 Ksynn Detcharoen (Aof) 34 Bangkok Steward 4 Luksanawadee Sripornsawat (Nam Fon) 27 Yala Trader 3 Nikul Phayungpong (Nick) 29 Bangkok Racer 2 Butchaka Rojjanai (Bua) 25 Bangkok Unemployed 2 Marisa Virojworakul (Mink) 18 Phang Nga Student 0 Rujikorn Mungmee (Kaw Oat) 26 Bangkok Executive trade marketing man 1 Apipong Detsupha (Oak) 34 Bangkok Magician 0 Pongsakorn Jirasathit (Bank) 26 Chiang Mai DJ 0 Sureeporn Na Takuatung (Chompu) 56 Bangkok Self-employed 0 Notes: Future appearances:
Kaew appeared as one of the special guests in Episode 14 of Season 2, presenting a Pressure Test challenge from her cookbook. Almost every contestants in this season were among the guest judges for the Team Challenge in Episode 5 of Junior Season 1. In 2020, MasterChef All-Stars premiered featuring past contestants. Lisa, Ploy, Jumlong and Nick competed in this season. Kaew was one of the guest judge in Episode 1 of All-Stars. She later appeared as a special guest in Episode 12. Kaew, Lisa and Ploy appeared to be one of the chef helpers in Celebrity Season 1. Kaew and Ploy later returned as chef helpers in Celebrity Season 3. Lisa appeared to be one of the guest judge in the Team Challenge of Episode 10 of Season 4. Ploy appeared as a special guest in Episode 10 of Season 6. In 2025, Kaew and Ploy returned to compete in The Professionals season. Ploy made into the grand finale despite not winning the title.
Elimination table Place Contestant Episode 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112/13 14 15 16 17 1KaewLOW INNPT IN INPTHIGHWINPTHIGH INWINIMMHIGHINPTLOWWINWINNER 2Lisa IN INWIN IN INWINWINIMMPT INWIN ELIM RETWINWINWIN IN IN 3PloyWINHIGHWINHIGHINWINHIGHINLOWINLOWWINIMMININWINLOWLOWFINALISTJumlongLOW IN LOW INHIGH LOW IN INWIN IN INWINIMM INWINPTWININ FINALIST 5PaoHIGH INWININLOWWININHIGHWINWINIMMPTIMMIN LOWWININ ELIM 6Ying AodININWINININWINININWINININPTIMMININWIN ELIM 7MarkININPTHIGHLOWPTININWINHIGHINPTIMMHIGHIN ELIM 8AofININPTIN WINWINININWININHIGHWINIMMIN ELIM 9NamfonININWINWININWINININLOWINELIM NickINWIN LOWINIMM LOWIN LOWWININ ELIM 11BuaININ WINININWININ LOW ELIM 12MinkININPTININPTIN ELIM 13Kaw Oat IN LOWWIN IN IN ELIM OakHIGH INPT INLOWELIM 15Bank IN LOW ELIM 16Chompu IN ELIM
(WINNER) This cook won the competition. (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place. (ELIM) This cook was eliminated at the Finals. (WIN) The cook won an individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge or Invention Test). (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round. (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in an individual challenge, but didn't win. (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge. (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in a team challenge. (IMM) The cook didn't have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination. (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge and competed in the Pressure Test. (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, did not compete in the Pressure Test, and advanced. (OUT) The cook came back for a chance to win re-entry into the competition but lost in Special Mystery Box Challenge. (OUT) The cook came back for a chance to win re-entry into the competition, won in Special Mystery Box Challenge but lost in Special Pressure Test. (RET) The cook won the Reinstation Challenge and returned to the competition. (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, but wasn't the last person to advance. (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, and the last person to advance. (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge and they were the only person from their team to advance (LOW) The cook was eliminated but saved from elimination. (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.
Episodes
Episode 1 Original airdate: Sunday 4 June 2017 Auditions Round 1
Episode 2 Original airdate: Sunday 11 June 2017 Auditions Round 2
Episode 3 Original airdate: Sunday 18 June 2017 Auditions Round 3
Episode 4 Original airdate: Sunday 25 June 2017 Skills Test: For the first part of the episode, the top 38 will have to cut about 5 tons of ginger. The ginger must be finely diced and sliced. Any contestants who aren't able to meet the judges' standard will be eliminated immediately. 14 contestants were eliminated in this test, leaving only 24 contestants to the next round. Cooking Test: The remaining 24 contestants were given only one short mackerel each, and were given only 60 minutes to make a dish with short mackerel as the centerpiece. Pong, Perth, Pichit, Earth, Dollaya, Pung, Ae, and Ching were eliminated in this test. The rest were advanced to the next episode.
Episode 5 Original airdate: Sunday 2 July 2017 Mystery Box Challenge 1: The contestants were given their first Mystery Box. Pao's, Oak's, and Ploy's were the top three dishes. The best dish was Ploy's. Challenge Winner: Ploy Invention Test 1: As the winner of the mystery box challenge, Ploy was given a choice to select one of the three rare and expensive ingredients. She chose the great scallops. She is also given 5 minutes of shopping time, while others got only 3 minutes. Ploy's and Nick's dishes were the best dishes in this test. Nick was the winner. The rest except for Bank, Kaw Oat, and Chompu did well enough and move on to the next competition. Winner: Nick Bottom three: Bank, Kaw Oat, Chompu Eliminated: Chompu
Episode 6 Original airdate: Sunday 9 July 2017 Team Challenge 1: Contestants were separated into two teams. Each team must serve 101 tuk-tuk drivers. The theme of the dish was "East Meets West". The dish must have at least 1 kind of protein, 1 kind of vegetable, and 1 kind of flour on it. The team that reaches 51 votes from the drivers first will win. The red team won the challenge when reaching 51 votes first. Team captainMember PloyLisa, Pao, Nam Fon, Ying Aod, Kaw Oat and BuaNickKaew, Oak, Mark, Jum Long, Aof, Ming and Bank
Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Ploy, Lisa, Pao, Nam Fon, Ying Aod, Kaw Oat, Bua (Red team) Pressure Test 1: The blue team lost the team challenge. But the team captain can choose 1 member to get immune. Nick (team captain) choose Kaew. The other member that not got immune were asked to cooked 4 types of egg dishes correctly. They were, boiled egg, scrambled egg, fried egg, and poached egg dishes within 25 minutes. Nick, Jumlong, and Bank were the bottom three. Bank was eliminated. Immune: Kaew Bottom three: Nick, Jumlong, Bank Eliminated: Bank
Episode 7 Original airdate: Sunday 16 July 2017 Mystery Box Challenge 2: The contestants were given their second Mystery Box. The main ingredient was a lobster. The best dishes were Ploy's, Mark's, and Nam Fon's. The best dish was Nam Fon's. Challenge Winner: Nam Fon After the challenge, Nick suffered from shrimp allergy, making him unable to compete in the next round. The judges gave him an immunity in the next round due to his allergy. Immune: Nick Invention Test 2: As the winner from the last challenge, Nam Fon was given a choice to select one of three ingredients for herself, and the rest of the contestants. The theme of the dish was "Modern Thai Traditional Food." She chose cat fish spawns for herself, and shrimps for the rest of the contestants. Same as the last invention test, Nam Fon was given 5 minutes of shopping time, while others got only 3 minutes. The two best dishes were Jumlong's, and Aof's. Aof's dish was the best in this round. The bottom three dishes were Oak's, Pao's, Mark's. The judges decided that Mark's dishes were the worst out of the three. Winner: Aof Bottom three: Oak, Pao, Mark Due to Nick's sickness, the judges decided that nobody will be eliminated this week. Mark, who was going to be eliminated, was safe. Eliminated: None
Episode 8 Original airdate: Sunday 23 July 2017 Team Challenge 2: Contestants were separated into two teams. Each team must serve 129 ancient car collectors. The theme of the dish was "Ancient Thai cuisine". The dish must have at least 1 kind of Thai entrée, and 1 kind of Thai dessert. The team that reaches 65 votes from the car collectors first will win. During the challenge, the blue team, leads by Aof, cannot serves the food to around 30 car collectors because the time had run out. In the meantime, the red team, leads by Jumlong, serves their food to every single one and serves more food to the collectors who want to eat more. However, the blue team won the challenge because of the taste of their food. Team captainMember Jum LongNick, Kaew, Mark, Oak, Mink and Kaw OatAofYing Aod, Lisa, Nam Fon, Ploy, Aof, Pao and Bua Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Ploy, Nam Fon, Pao, Aof, Lisa, Ying Yod, Bua (Blue team) Pressure Test 2: In this test, there was no contestants in the red team who was saved in this round because the judge needed to eliminate 2 contestants in this week. The topic of this test was to cook ancient Pad thai correctly, that is noodle and prawns must not be overcooked, sauce must smell less of tamarind, and the sauce must use only tamarind, coconut sugar, and fish sauce. During the contest, Nick, who is allergic to prawns, have a hard time to cook this menu, according to his interview, which is caused him to be the bottom four, along with Oak, Kao Oat, and Jumlong. Luckily, Nick and Jumlong were saved from this elimination and caused another 2 contestants to be eliminated from the contest. Bottom Four: Nick, Oak, Kao Oat, Jumlong Eliminated: Oak, Kao Oat
Episode 9 Original airdate: Sunday 30 July 2017 Mystery Box Challenge 3: In this mystery box, the contestants have to cook the food which the main ingredient is pig head. Ploy, Kaew and Lisa is the top 3 dishes in this competition. Lisa is the winner in this competition. Challenge Winner/Immune: Lisa Invention Test 3: Since Lisa won the mystery box challenge, Lisa got immune for invention test. And she can control the invention test by she can choose one main ingredient to one contestant and another to other contestants. Which the contestants have to cook Desserts. The main ingredients are honeycomb, berry fruit groups and chili. Lisa choose chili to Nick and choose berry to other contestants. All contestants and 90 minutes to cook the dessert and 3 minutes in supermarket. Winner: Kaew Bottom Three: Bua, Mink and Nick Eliminated: Mink
Episode 10 Original airdate: Sunday 6 August 2017 Team Challenge 3: In this week, the top 2 dishes, which are Pao and Kaew will be the team captain. After team captain choose the member, the judges command the Pao and Kaew to swap the apron. So the member of each team will be this table.
Team CaptainMembers Pao Mark, Aof, Ying Aod, Jum Long and NickKaew Lisa, Ploy, Namfon and Bua