By Saurav Mehra MasterChef India – Tamil is the Tamil-language edition of the internationally known MasterChef cooking competition. The show gives amateur and home cooks an opportunity to step into a professional-style kitchen and prove their ability through demanding cooking challenges. Contestants are tested on taste, technique, creativity, presentation, time management and their ability to work under pressure. From mystery ingredients to elimination rounds and finale menus, every stage is designed to identify the strongest all-round home cook.
The Tamil edition premiered on 7 August 2021 on Sun TV with actor Vijay Sethupathi as host. After a gap, the competition returned in 2024 in a digital-first format on SonyLIV with a new judging combination and no separate celebrity host. Two regular seasons have been completed so far. Devaki Vijayaraman became the first MasterChef India Tamil winner in 2021, while Akash Muralidharan won Season 2 in 2024. The recently announced Celebrity MasterChef Tamil is a separate spin-off and is not counted as Season 3 of the regular competition.
MasterChef India Tamil Winners List of All Seasons
| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Host |
| Season 1 | 2021 | Devaki Vijayaraman | Nithya Franklyn | Vijay Sethupathi |
| Season 2 | 2024 | Akash Muralidharan | Zarina Banu & Vani Sundar | No separate host |
MasterChef India Tamil Season 1 Winner – Devaki Vijayaraman
The first season of MasterChef India – Tamil premiered on 7 August 2021 and concluded on 14 November 2021. Vijay Sethupathi hosted the programme, while chefs Harish Rao, Aarthi Sampath and Koushik Shankar formed the judging panel. Shali Nivekas appeared as a guest host for one episode. The season was broadcast on Sun TV and also made available through Sun NXT.
The competition began with a larger audition pool before 14 home cooks entered the main stage. Across the season, contestants faced mystery-box style tasks, pair and team challenges, pressure tests, elimination rounds and increasingly difficult cooking assignments. The judges looked for consistency as well as the ability to balance flavour, technique and presentation.
Devaki Vijayaraman, a home baker from Trichy, emerged as the winner of the inaugural season. Nithya Franklyn from Thoothukudi finished as runner-up. Krithika Sivanesan and Vinny Shukla were the other finalists who reached the grand finale stage.
The finale featured two major cooking rounds. The finalists first prepared a main course using duck as the key ingredient and then created a dessert of their choice. After the judges’ scores were counted, Devaki and Nithya became the final two, with Devaki ultimately taking the title. She received the MasterChef trophy and Rs. 25 lakh in prize money, becoming the first champion of MasterChef India – Tamil.
MasterChef India Tamil Season 2 Winner – Akash Muralidharan
MasterChef India – Tamil returned for Season 2 on 22 April 2024. The new season marked a major change in distribution because it was released as a digital-first competition on SonyLIV. It later received a television telecast on Kalaignar TV. Unlike Season 1, there was no separate celebrity presenter leading the programme.
Chef Koushik Shankar returned from the first season and was joined by chefs Rakesh Raghunathan and Shreeya Adka. The three judges guided the contestants, introduced challenges and evaluated the dishes. Auditions were held in locations including Coimbatore and Chennai before 12 home cooks entered the main competition.
Akash Muralidharan from Chennai won MasterChef India Tamil Season 2. Zarina Banu and Vani Sundar were named joint runners-up, while Pavithra Nalin completed the top four. The finale was held on 7 June 2024.
Akash attracted attention during the season for his interest in rediscovering forgotten vegetables and using them in modern, creative ways. His approach combined regional ingredients with thoughtful presentation and helped him stand out in the later stages of the competition. After winning the finale, he received the MasterChef trophy and Rs. 10 lakh in prize money.
MasterChef India Tamil Hosts and Judges Over the Years
Season 1 followed a more traditional television-reality structure with Vijay Sethupathi as the main host. His role included introducing challenges, interacting with contestants and judges, and guiding viewers through the competition. Shali Nivekas appeared as a guest host for one episode.
The judging panel for Season 1 consisted of Harish Rao, Aarthi Sampath and Koushik Shankar. Season 2 retained Koushik Shankar and added Rakesh Raghunathan and Shreeya Adka. Because Season 2 did not use a separate celebrity host, the judges themselves carried more of the presentation and challenge-introduction responsibilities.
MasterChef India Tamil Format and Challenges
MasterChef India – Tamil is built around amateur and home cooks rather than established professional chefs. Contestants must repeatedly prove that they can prepare restaurant-quality food while adapting to unfamiliar ingredients, strict time limits and changing instructions.
Typical rounds include mystery challenges, individual cooking tests, pair challenges, team tasks, pressure tests and elimination challenges. A strong performance can earn safety or an advantage, while weaker dishes can send contestants into an elimination round. Pressure tests usually demand precision because participants may have to reproduce a technically difficult dish or work with a tightly defined brief.
The format changed between the two seasons. Season 1 was primarily a weekend television programme, while Season 2 moved to a more frequent digital-release format. Even with the change in platform and presentation, the central idea remained the same: contestants had to show creativity, technical control, flavour knowledge and the ability to stay calm under competition pressure.
Season 1 and Season 2 – Major Differences
The two completed seasons differ in several important ways. Season 1 was shown on Sun TV, featured Vijay Sethupathi as host and offered a Rs. 25 lakh winner’s prize. Season 2 moved to SonyLIV, did not use a separate celebrity host and awarded Rs. 10 lakh to the champion. The judging panel also changed, with Koushik Shankar being the only judge to appear in both seasons.
Season 1 had 14 contestants on the main stage, while Season 2 featured 12. The second season also gave the Tamil edition a stronger digital identity, making it available as an OTT-led competition rather than following only a conventional weekend television schedule.
Celebrity MasterChef Tamil Is a Separate Spin-Off
In August 2026, a Tamil edition of Celebrity MasterChef was announced with Samantha Ruth Prabhu as host. The programme is planned for Sony Vizha and SonyLIV and will feature celebrities rather than the regular home-cook contestant format.
Celebrity MasterChef Tamil should not be added to the regular MasterChef India Tamil winners table. It is a separate spin-off with its own contestants, season structure and eventual winner record. Therefore, the main MasterChef India – Tamil series currently has two completed seasons.
Final Words
MasterChef India – Tamil has produced two champions across its two completed regular seasons. Devaki Vijayaraman became the first winner in 2021 after defeating Nithya Franklyn in the final stage, while Akash Muralidharan won the second season in 2024, with Zarina Banu and Vani Sundar finishing as joint runners-up.
The series has already gone through major changes in host, judges, platform and competition structure, but its focus remains on discovering talented home cooks and testing their creativity under pressure. As of August 2026, Akash Muralidharan remains the latest regular MasterChef India Tamil winner. Any future regular season should be added separately when it is officially completed.