MasterChef Mexico 2019 “The Rematch”, Mexico’s most successful cooking reality show, is in the final stages, which is why the program’s production team flew out to the one and only Riviera Nayarit last July to record the preliminary rounds special for the semifinals.
The tourist destination’s scenery was as spectacular as expected, liberally seasoned with the show’s favorite spices: big performances, laughter, meltdowns, drama, and, of course, plenty of cooking, not to mention the presences of top chefs at each of the rounds.
The chefs who had made it to the final stretch presented their dishes in magnificent locations including the Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and the Tierra Tropical Beach Club in San Pancho to the panel of unrelenting judges: Betty Vázquez, Adrián Herrera, Benito Molina, and José Ramón Castillo, guided by lovely hostess, Anette Michel.
There were also special guests, not only from the culinary world but also from the tourism industry. These are just part of the many surprises MasterChef Mexico has in store for its audience during the next-to-last edition of the program, where we’ll see contestants give their all with the mystery box, the creative challenge, and the dreaded elimination.
Promotion via gastronomy
Chef Betty Vázquez, who is not only one of the most popular judges on the show but also is the proud Culinary Ambassador for the Riviera Nayarit, spoke with the CVB between takes to share her experience in recording the semifinals in her native land:
“To all of our viewers and everyone who follows us on social media, and those who switch on the TV and watch us every Sunday: Thank you! Today we’re in my homeland, the place that helped me become the person I am today and saw me grow as a professional. The Riviera Nayarit has been a showcase for me, but also a source of inspiration: these beaches, lagoons, colonial cities, the warmth of the people—both their warmth and their quality—, Nayarit is that and more… This is what makes you fall in love with Nayarit…”
Executive Producer Hernán Albaraneque applauded the work put into the semifinals by the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Ministry of Tourism for the State of Nayarit to help promote the destination, hoping this effort will result in the reach it very much deserves.
Jesús Carmona Jiménez, president of the Banderas Bay Hotel and Motel Association (AHMBB) and the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), said the production team was right on target in bringing the program to the Riviera Nayarit, as the destination offers all the facilities this type of production needs. In turn, the program boots the its image and promotes the entity as a national and international tourist destination.
“We’re very happy the Riviera Nayarit hosted MasterChef Mexico for the first time,” he said. “Welcome: Nayarit is your home.”