In 2023, the high-stakes food competition MasterChef: The Professionals will make a comeback, putting 32 more professional chefs up against one another for the title of MasterChef champion.
This latest round of outstanding chefs will once again face a range of challenging assignments spread across seven long weeks, honing them down to the best of the best. The top three will then get one more chance to present to the panel what they have learned throughout the competition.
This season, there’s another well-known figure working in the MasterChef kitchen. For season 16, seasoned judges Gregg Wallace and Marcus Wareing—who have both been awarded a Michelin star—have reestablished their relationship with fellow chef Monica Galetti.
Morning Live’s resident chef, Anna Haugh, replaced Galetti, who had taken a leave of absence from the show in 2021 to focus on her family and restaurant business. The BBC also revealed the identities of the culinary experts that our contenders would be trying to impress in the competition’s later stages. Among them are William Sitwell, Tracey MacLeod, Jimi Famurewa, Jay Rayner, Leyla Kazim, Tom Parker Bowles, and Grace Dent.
Format
The chefs are put through their paces over the course of seven rigorous weeks and twenty-one episodes. They are chosen from kitchens throughout the United Kingdom. In each heat, four chefs vie with one another for a mere two quarterfinal slots.
The first task each of their many chefs will have to accomplish is the skills test, when Monica and Marcus will ask our cooks to prepare a particular meal. In addition, the chefs will have 90 minutes to prepare a fine three-course supper for the judges in order to win one of the two quarterfinal spots.
Next, they’ll compete in the Invention Test, where they must create a brand-new dish fit for a MasterChef, following a set of instructions, in order to win over some of the UK’s most renowned food critics.
The top 12 chefs will then go to Knockout Week, where they will take part in several tasks, including an all-contestant cook-off. Eight advance to the semi-finals, when they will be split into two teams, given more thematic briefs, and sent to work in fancy restaurants in Staffordshire and London.
The Final Four will then face the final test at Chef’s Table, where they will have to cook for a group of the UK’s top chefs, who collectively have 25 Michelin stars. This will eliminate one final chef, leaving the Final Three with just one chance to wow the judges and take home the MasterChef trophy.
It sounds like there will be plenty to enjoy at the competition’s end. The last three cooks are flown to Copenhagen to work at the two-Michelin-starred Alchemist, which is ranked among the world’s top five restaurants. When we inquired if Monica Galetti could share any information regarding the conclusion, she made a suggestion. Co-owner and chef Rasmus Munk has a dramatic approach to cooking.
Recap
The tournament, which is making a comeback for its sixteenth season, sets 32 ambitious cooks from across the country against one another to determine who can win in 2023. Four additional cooks are awaiting skill tests. Two get to prepare and cook the spiced monkfish, while the others get to create a spin on a banana sundae to showcase their pastry abilities.
The top five chefs from the first two heats will square off in the MasterChef kitchen for this year’s first quarterfinal. Four of the most driven cooks in the nation head to the MasterChef kitchen. They will put their abilities to the test in the two challenges that lay ahead of them, under the critical eye of the judges.
Spoilers
Four new contestants will compete in the second heat of the week to show Monica, Marcus, and Gregg that they have the skill, style, and dedication necessary to advance to the quarterfinals.
Release Date & Where to Read
MasterChef: The Professionals Season 16 Episode 5 will air on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, at 9:00 p.m. PT in the US. The duration of every episode is 60 minutes. The release dates in different countries are:
- Eastern Time (Canada): 9:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31, 2023
- Greenwich Mean Time (London): 1:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- Central European Time (Germany): 3:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- Japan Standard Time (Japan): 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- Korean Standard Time (Korea): 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- Australian Standard Time (Australia): 12:00 AM on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
MasterChef: The Professionals Season 16 Episode 5 will air on BBC One and BBC Iplayer.
