The seventh season of the American competitive

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series ''

MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

'' premiered on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

on June 1, 2016 and concluded on September 14, 2016.

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...

and

Christina Tosi Christina Tosi (born 1981) is an American chef and cookbook author. She is founder and co-owner with Momofuku of Milk Bar and serves as its chef and CEO. ''Food & Wine'' magazine included her in their 2014 list of "Most Innovative Women in Food ...

returned as judges.

Graham Elliot Graham Elliot Bowles (born January 4, 1977)Vettel, Phi ''Chicago Tribune'' blog, July 29, 2010 is an American chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. He first gained recognition in the restaurant business as a three-time nominee fo ...

left the show after six seasons. In this season, the third judge was a series of guest judges. The season was won by Shaun O'Neale with Brandi Mudd and David Williams finishing as co-runners-up. This season marked the first time that three home cooks competed in the finale.

Top 20

Source for names, hometowns, and ages. Occupations and nicknames as given on air or stated in cites.

Elimination table

: (WINNER) This cook won the competition. : (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished as a runner-up in the finals. : (WIN) The cook won the individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge, Skills Test, Pressure Test, or Elimination 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 the 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. : (IMM) The cook was selected by Mystery Box Challenge winner and didn't have to compete in the Elimination Test. : (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced. : (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, did not compete in the Pressure Test, and advanced. : (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge or Pressure Test, but advanced. : (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge, but advanced. : (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.

Guest judges

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname o ...

- Episode 3; Episodes 18-19 * Aarón Sanchez - Episodes 5-7 * Edward Lee - Episodes 8-11 * Kevin Sbraga - Episodes 12-15 *

Richard Blais Richard Blais (born February 12, 1972) is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show ''Top Chef'', and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-u ...

- Episode 16-17 *

Daniel Boulud Daniel Boulud (born 25 March 1955 in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, the Berkshires and Dubai. He is best known for h ...

- Episodes 18-19

Main guest appearances

* Nick Nappi - Episode 4 * Claudia Sandoval - Episode 5

Episodes

References

{{MasterChef (U.S.) 2016 American television seasons MasterChef (American TV series)