MasterChef: The Professionals returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this autumn for its 16th series, as 32 ambitious chefs from across the country battle to become the 2023 Champion.

Presiding over the UK’s most revered cooking competition will be Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing, celebrated MasterChef judge, Gregg Wallace and returning renowned chef, Monica Galetti.

Monica Galetti says: “I’m delighted to be back with my MasterChef family for 2023 and I can’t wait to discover the country’s next culinary superstar.”

Marcus Wareing says: “My expectations are high and I’m looking for the very best talent. The chef worthy of the trophy needs guts, flair and absolute focus on reaching that goal.”

Gregg Wallace says: “This is an incredible, high-stakes competition and I get such a thrill knowing that this is a genuinely life-changing opportunity for these chefs. I’m so excited to see who will walk through our doors.”

The expert team are eager to discover outstanding new cooking talent and will be setting exacting standards from the moment the kitchen doors open. As only the most skilled, passionate and creative of chefs can come close to the prestigious MasterChef: The Professionals title.

Over seven intense weeks and 21 episodes, the chefs, drawn from kitchens all over the UK, are put through their paces - first competing in the Heats to try and make it to that week’s Quarter Final. In each Heat, four chefs cook against one another for just two Quarter Final places.

The first challenge is the Skills Test - set by Monica and Marcus – who demonstrate their brief for the viewers, such as Fillet of Brill with Turnip Garnish and Coconut Sauce or Poire Belle Helene Layered with Pastry. The professionals are then tasked with cooking their take on the brief for the waiting judges – an intimidating challenge for any chef. They must then produce a Signature Menu of a main course and dessert within an hour and 30 minutes – a chance to make an impression on the judges with their own cooking.

The successful chefs from each Heat take their place in the Quarter Final. Forcing them to think on their feet, they first face the challenge of an Invention Test. The four contenders have a range of ingredients to work with but must stay calm and focused to devise a mouth-watering, MasterChef-level plate of food, as they master the judge’s brief, such as a dish highlighting nuts or centred around a tart. The chefs must then pull out all the stops to win over the UK’s most exacting food critics, who, this year, include: Grace Dent, Jay Rayner, Jimi Famurewa, Leyla Kazim, Tom Parker Bowles, Tracey MacLeod, and William Sitwell.

For the 12 best chefs, who have proven they can take their cooking at the next level, Knockout Week is back. Challenges during this intense week include an all-contestant cook off to each create a dish that evokes a memory, serving up stand out dishes for the MasterChef pop-up in London’s Market Halls, Oxford Street and creating their ‘last meal on earth’ for the MasterChef judges.

Making it through to Semi Finals week, the remaining eight contenders must face a themed trial in the MasterChef kitchen. The first test is to highlight the use of salt and pepper in a dish and the next is to produce a mouth-watering plant based dish. In the second and third Semi Final programmes, the remaining six are split into two groups of three. One group heads to the white hot kitchen of the Ikoyi restaurant in central London, where chef Jeremy Chan has won two Michelin stars for his dishes that marry the best in British organic produce with spices from around the world. The other group of Semi Finalists go to Lichfield in Staffordshire and the Michelin-starred Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, where Tom and his team create flavour-led, produce-driven food inspired by the seasons.

The Final Four then face their ultimate culinary challenge with Chef’s Table, held at London’s Midland Grand Dining Room. They are given the unique and daunting opportunity to cook for some of the country’s finest chefs with 25 Michelin stars between them, including: Matt Abé; Michael Caines; Jean-Philippe Blondet; Jason Atherton; Daniel Clifford and Anna Haugh. One contender will exit, leaving in the Final Three in the running for the title.

The contestants set off for an experience of a lifetime, travelling to Copenhagen to the world’s most theatrical restaurant, two-Michelin star, Alchemist. Under the watchful eye of the globally-renowned, boundary-pushing chef, Rasmus Munk, they deliver a service like no other.

At the end of seven gruelling weeks, battling their way towards to the MasterChef trophy, The Final Three have one last opportunity to impress the judges with everything they have learnt throughout the competition.

They must produce the best three-course menu of their lives for the judges, who expect the very highest standards of skill, presentation and creativity, before they make the ultimate decision to award the title to the MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 Champion.