Best MasterChef USA Contestants

Most talented contestant ever. Deserves to win the competition. Why isn't she 1st in this list?

You guys know they rigged the competition for her why would a blind person win and some how she won the crab challenge with a stupid cocktail. - Ilyas678

Of course a blind person couldn't cook without any assistance. That's how she was able to cook a crab cocktail. - isaaonrtdmtr

She showed that even if you difficulties, you can still keep your dreams. - shamrockan

Ha is a last name? - 445956

The first winner of the US Masterchef. Of course her name deserves to be up there!

I was so sad when he passed :(

R.I.P

Luca was probably the most gentlemanly out of any guest on masterchef so far, shining examples are when he gives ingredients to people who needed them, simply because he wanted to go against people that where trying their best.

Luca was the best in season 4 he should be number 1

I love Luca because if his gentlemanly attitudes.. He has the talent and the quality of a true masterchef!

I loved how he started off as a weak competitor any had a late season break-out. After his wife came, he nailed almost every challenge. He was an amazing chef and a good person.

He had the amazing technique, he had the wonderful creativity and he had a winning personality. Nailed pretty much every challenge and is easily one of he most deserving winners in Masterchef history.

I love you Dino! Best winner ever!

Not only the sexiest (arguably) but also by far the most endeavoring, perseverant, courageous and adventurous (objectively) contestant this show has ever witnessed. There have been many fantastic competitors in the past but not one individual is comparable to Dino.

He had the most fun on masterchef

One of the best Masterchef contestants of all time

He really deserved to win instead of Claudia.

Best chef of season 6

Who put Stephen ahead of Derrick

Quite honestly, I wouldn't put arrogant ass Christian in the top 10.

They actually said he was one of the nicest contestants off camera

Very creative, despite what others said about her memorising recipes, her crab scotch egg was exceptional and her soup and soda bread was very clever. I think she was an intelligent and humble cook as well as an exceptionally charming and nice person.

Almost everyone is biased against her. But she managed to outsmart her competitors.

Best overall performance of the season

He has everything what a chef needs! creativity, technique, and he is so focused in the kitchen. He is from Mexico but he doesn’t cook always the same cuisine

Nicest person on masterchef this season and deserved to win

Deserved to win, reminds me of Luca as well

Glad she is higher than Courtney on this list.

She is sooo nice and the best

I think Jessie is good enough to be in top 10. She may lose out to Natasha in terms of consistency, but her leadership skills and her ability to handle pressure is without doubt.

"Everybody thinks you're in the show because you look good, but you're in the show because you cook good." - Gordon to Jessie

Why the hell is Max in the top 10? Not only was he not very good, but he was also an arrogant snob!

He can bake and cook savory unlike Malcolm from season 4 who couldn't do either. I just wish he put sugar instead of salt in the semifinals. His attitude is pretty unlikable, but he can back it up like Stephen from season 6.

He's good but its just that people don't put him as a front runner one of the oldest but not a disappointment like Veronica or Bill

To be honest Leslie was my favorite contestant ever. Everybody hated him and he feuded with so many people that it was cool to watch. His cooking is up to par with some of the best to ever do it on the show.

He was my favorite

Why is Nick ahead of Claudia?

Personal favorite

Absolutely hated her

Absolutely hated why is she on this list when she only cooked two good dishes in the entire competition
yeah her only two good dishes were her duck and risotto but every looks at her that she's good because of those two dishes

Why did they send Terry home? He kicked ass!

Awesome cook. Damn shame he was eliminated so early!

Awesome cook but a wallflower which means he only got eliminated after a mediocore dish
sadly :(

This arrogant prick should not be anywhere near this list!

He was also pretty funny

Preferred Dino to him but he's honestly my second favorite contestant of all time, it's both a blessing and a curse that these two wonderfully positive human beings had to be in the same season. - FukboiAyano

Seriously? His excitement and love of food and his ever so bright personality has won my heart. I hope he wins the competition

Absolutely one of my favorite contestants from Season 8! Him, Cate, Dino, and Eoboni are my top 4 favorites

He’s Amazing!

Seriously why is Derrick the douche Top 4 when Stephen's nowhere near top 20? - FukboiAyano

Stephen is consistent. He beat every challenges and even brought them to a whole new leve with his skill. Even judges were surprised when seeing him in a pressure test. Being one of the oldest contestants he show viewers how to never stop chasing your dreams with his fiery spirit in the kitchen. Even until today I still believe that him not being in the final is part of the show’s politic to favor the other two contentants. Don’t forget he has the most wins for that season.

If Olivia's in the top ten, tommy should be

Tommy was like a cartoon character. - isaaonrtdmtr

Made season 6 watchable

He was my most favorite of season 2. - ndog

Star struck

Hate to admit it, but I kind of like Courtney. I know she didn't have the most impressive attitude in the kitchen, but she wasn't half as bad as Cutter, or even Dan. Plus she was a very consistent cook. But although I liked her, I still can say Elizabeth, or even Leslie should've won over her.

Courtney won because she had more passion and talent than anyone else in season 5.

Courtney dominated her season.

Oh god. Ahran was so right about what she said about favoritism.

He would then go on to win Food Network Star. - ndog

I wanted him to win

Mmm... Shoudl of won the whole competition of masterchef

Yeah

Oh hell no! Krissi was one of the worst contestants! Worst personality out of anyone who has been on the show!

She even admitted she was a bully in school

It's not attitude, it's performance.

My favorite contestant. Also, how did she not even make Top 5 while Cutter, who is Jeff before Jeff was on the show, made Top 4? She can cook and show respect, while Cutter has neither.

Good thing she had to call out the judges on playing favorites. I honestly couldn’t stand Courtney winning

Big Willie immediately became my favorite after the auditions. Good cook with awesome personality. He's funny, his passion is without question, he may not be the best leader but he has the integrity to go down with the ship.

Really?! This guy should be in to 5 because he never thought of himself and had so much integrity that he saved 3 other team members instead of himself from the pressure test!

Eh, he's alright. Had both really good moments, and also really bad moments in the kitchen.

Oh come on! Who the hell put Tali on here?! Tali was one of the worst contestants on this show!

I wonder if people keep on voting for Tali and he makes it to number 1, biggest troll in The Top Tens history.

Definitely one of the best chefs in masterchef history. He should have been in the finale with Whitney. - ndog

He is also the only cook who won a mystery box and elimination challenge in a single episode. - ndog

She looks a lot like Marcie from Peanuts

Such a shame that his one poor performance knocked him out of the competition so early. He had been one of the top contenders at first.

She did have potential, but she did deserve to go home for that dish.

This gal left too soon cause she had potential. She's also gorgeous. - ndog

Helene sucked. No talent. No passion. Has no business being on this list.

Says quite frankly scared too much
has no passion no love
so I'm glad she went home early

Here's a drinking game: Take a shot every time he mentions he's a firefighter

Here's a drinking game: Take a shot every time she mentions Kentucky

One of my favorites during season 7