Global content creator, producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group today announce that MasterChef will make a triumphant return to India, following a three year break from screens.

Endemol Shine India is set to produce a 26×60’ run for Star Plus, India’s number one GEC channel, as well as 12 master class episodes which will go into production later this year.

MasterChef is enjoying its most successful year to date with 53 productions set across 35 markets in 2019. The show recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and 200th episode in the US and is a hit in major markets including the UK, Brazil, Australia, Italy and Spain.

The judging line-up for MasterChef India features some of the country’s finest chefs including Michelin star award-winning Vikas Khanna; Ranveer Brar, whose passion for food made him the country’s youngest executive chef and India’s first Michelin star winner, Vineet Bhatia, who gained fame with his Michelin starred restaurants including Zaika and Rasoi.

Abhishek Rege, CEO Endemol Shine India says,

“MasterChef is the world’s most popular cookery show and we are thrilled that India will once again be part of the success story after a three year break. The culinary culture in India is renowned worldwide for its treasure trove of spices and flavours and with an impressive line up of judges and casting for contestants underway, we firmly believe the show has all the right ingredients to be a sure-fire hit for Star Plus.”

The MasterChef format launched in 1990 in the UK and aired for over a decade on the BBC. In 2005 the show was revived for the BBC and four years later Australia became the first country to adapt the format outside of the UK, with MasterChef Australia launching in 2009 as the highest rated show in Australian history. MasterChef was created by Franc Roddam.

Recent and forthcoming credits for Endemol Shine India include Bombay Begums a new Hindi language drama for Netflix, which has been created, written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava (Lipstick Under My Burkha) and follows the varied journeys of five women who bond in contemporary urban India. The company is also behind Big Boss, which is produced in six different regional languages annually. The Tamil version is currently on air and continues to dominate ratings, with an average of 5.4 million viewers and a 2.9% share which is up +138% on Star Vijay’s primetime average.

In addition to MasterChef, Endemol Shine Group’s cooking format portfolio includes Ready, Steady, Cook which has just been re-commissioned in the UK by BBC One, following a ten year hiatus, a brand new series also commissioned in Finland as well as huge ratings successes in Italy and Poland. It is joined by travelling hits Family Food Fight, which has sold into nine markets and counting and Kitchen Impossible which has been sold to The Netherlands with a pilot in France.

Endemol Shine International also highlighted cookery series for distribution at MIPCOM 2019 with My Greatest Dishes and Britain’s Best Cook.