The contest reaches the semi-final stage. After four weeks of competition, only the ten most gifted chefs remain. Tonight, for the first time, they all meet in the MasterChef kitchen, where they are set the challenge of producing a dish based around their favourite food memory.
The group of ten will be split into two groups of five for the cooking, but they will ultimately all be cooking off against each other in the biggest challenge of the competition so far. They need to wow the three judges with a knockout dish that exemplifies the way in which food can remind you of wonderful times. The chefs have one hour and 15 minutes to prepare their cherished dish, after which the five strongest chefs of the day will go straight through to the next semi-final round.
The five weakest chefs then need to leave their faults behind and once more compete against each other in the cook-off round. This consists of an invention test in which they must create a dish you could order from a fine dining food delivery experience. The chefs must make it sophisticated and practical, but they also need to be mindful of how the dish is presented in takeaway boxes, whilst still focusing on quality. They have an hour and 30 minutes to deliver their dish, and for two of our hopefuls their journey will come to an end.
The three best chefs will join the five from the previous round and continue their pursuit of the MasterChef: The Professionals 2020 trophy.
