Photos from ivoryvaksman/Instagram
It has been 13 years since “MasterChef Pinoy Edition” aired in the Philippines, introducing Filipino audiences to a local adaptation of the global cooking competition. Now, a former contestant is returning to the franchise, representing the country on a bigger stage.
Chef Ivory Yat Vaksman, who finished third in the first season of MasterChef Pinoy Edition, is among the 10 contestants competing in the comeback season of MasterChef Asia.
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The new season of MasterChef Asia consists of 10 episodes and was filmed entirely in Macao, China. Contestants face a series of challenges designed to test their ability to innovate while staying connected to their culinary roots.
The show airs weekly on TLC Southeast Asia and is also available to stream on HBO Max. The returning franchise features a new judging panel composed of chefs Edward Lee, Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij and Kelvin Cheung.
Abi Marquez joins as guest judge
Filipino representation extends beyond the competition, with food content creator Abi Marquez also joining the season as a guest judge. Known online as the “Lumpia Queen,” Marquez shared her excitement about joining a show she grew up watching.
Despite entering the set with high expectations for herself, she said the experience became more enjoyable because of the supportive atmosphere among the cast and crew.
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“Still on Cloud 9 after joining MasterChef Asia as a guest judge! Having watched the show my entire life, I honestly felt a little pressured and had extremely high expectations of how I should look, sound, appear in my dream show,” she wrote. “But seeing how much fun the team, the guest judges, and the contestants were having on the set just stripped that away and made the experience something I’ll always look back fondly on.”
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