

The meal is also sampled by the professional judges (but not Gregg Wallace). Cook for the critics: The four (or three) contestants are required to prepare a three-course meal for a panel of three restaurant critics - typically Jay Rayner, Charles Campion and William Sitwell.In some series four chefs competed in this round, which was reduced to three in the next round. In Series 1 the invention test took place during the heats (before being replaced in Series 2 by the Skills Test, with the invention test being moved to the quarter final). Invention test: The three surviving contestants from the heat are given 1 hour to invent a dish from a set larder of ingredients.This is then scrutinised by the judges, who then eliminate three of the six contestants, based on their performance in both this, and the skills test. Signature dish: The contestants are then given one hour to prepare their signature dish which will showcase their skills and abilities.In Series 2–4, Monica Galetti would eliminate 2 of the 6 contestants at this stage, meaning only four went through to cook for Michel Roux Jr. The judges then taste the contestant's attempt and give feedback. The contestant is then required to reproduce that dish in a specific time limit - typically 15–20 minutes. Skills test (Series 2 onwards): The professional judges demonstrate the preparation of a specific dish, or the preparation of an ingredient.The three remaining chefs then participate in the quarter final at the end of that week. Below is a synopsis of a typical series:Įach heat week begins with six chefs. There are four weeks of "heats" (the final show of each week being a quarter final), a "knockout" week, a semi-final week and a finals week.


Typically, the show runs for seven weeks and twenty-five episodes transmitted from early November until Christmas, although the precise number of shows per week, number of contestants, the running order and nature of the challenges and the number of chefs eliminated at each round has varied from series to series. In 2014, Roux Jr left the show due to "a conflict in commercial interests". Since 2011, Sean Pertwee has taken over Fisher's role as voiceover. Michel Roux Jr., a two-Michelin-star chef, assisted, from 2009, by his sous-chef Monica Galetti.

Introduced in 2008, Gregg Wallace and India Fisher reprised their roles as co-judge and voiceover respectively. It is a spin-off from the main MasterChef series, for professional working chefs. MasterChef: The Professionals is a BBC television competitive cooking show which aired on BBC Two from 2008 to 2019, and on BBC One since 2020.
