Episode 1

The first heat sees four intrepid chefs enter the MasterChef kitchen, where their skills are assessed across two tasks. A place in the quarter-finals is at stake, and only those with enough culinary dexterity will make it through.

Nerves will be tested from the get-go, as the infamous skills test returns. The chefs walk into an unprecedented challenge, as the test is set by former professional champions and finalists, who are now making their own waves in the food world. They, along with the judges, give immediate feedback which will either boost the chefs’ confidence or leave them with some serious work to do.

Taking the helm for this brief is 2016 winner Gary Maclean, who has gone on to become National Chef of Scotland. His heritage is the inspiration for the task ahead. The first two chefs need to butcher and serve up a saddle of roe deer. They also have to prepare a chasseur (mushroom-based) sauce along with a tarragon and parsley gremolata. Will the chefs have the butchery and sauce-making skills required to do this dish justice and have enough time to plate up with finesse?

It’s then the turn of the remaining two chefs to take on Gary’s second recipe – a warming king oyster mushroom katsu curry, served with an apple radish slaw. Key skills here include coating the mushrooms in breadcrumbs and balancing some delicate flavours in just 20 minutes. If the chefs manage to awaken the taste buds of the judges in that short window, they will be off to a good start.

This heat ends with all four chefs returning to cook their own signature dish. It’s a chance for the judges to find out what makes them tick, what excites them and what style of food they might expect going forward. Although moving forward is not a given – with standards reaching new heights every year.

All that’s left is for Monica, Marcus and Matt to select the chefs they consider worthy of a place in the quarter-finals. The competition to become the competition's 2026 champion is well and truly under way.