VIDEO Chefs at Knives 23 December 2025. Huge tension and sparkly judging before the grand final

The Chefi la Cucite 2025 show is coming to an end. On Tuesday evening, the penultimate act of the Antena 1 culinary show took place.

The road to the semifinals of season 16 marked a unique moment in the history of the cooking show.

Chef Alexandru Sautner reached the last battle with only one competitor, Alexandru Helju.

Instead, chef Richard Abou Zaki's green team managed to dominate the last hundred meters of the show, with him having the most semi-finalists.

Chefs at knives 2025. Who are the contestants of season 16 who are fighting for the prize of 30,000 euros

Who are the semi-finalists of season 16 Chefs with knives from Antena 1:

• Alexandru Helju – Chef Alexandru Sautner team
• Ioan Bargu and Ștefana Mercori – Chef Ștefan Popescu team
• Luca Zvaleni, Sergiu Deac, Maria Moraru and Sorina Jumuga – the Chef Richard Abou Zaki team
• Andrei Mihăilescu and Bogdan Panaite – the team of Chef Orlando Zaharia

After Tuesday night's semi-final, the producers are keeping it a mystery until the very end, as the penultimate act of the show ended without revealing the verdict.

The semi-final, however, caused controversy. Several fans of the show criticized the judging done by chef Ștefan Popescu, suggesting to the producers that he should no longer be included in the next season.

According to TV Mania, tensions started during the judging of Alex's dish. Chef Ștefan Popescu gave it a grade of 2, a decision that displeased chef Alexandru Sautner, appreciating that the grade was an intentional penalty because the dish was identified.

Chef Ștefan Popescu defended his decision, saying that Alex “hit the bar” with the presented dish and the grade is fully justified.

The finale of season 16 will be broadcast on Wednesday, December 24, on Christmas Eve, from 8:30 p.m., on Antena 1 and Antena Play, and involves three extremely demanding tests. The winner will go home with the grand prize of 30,000 euros.