The show returns for its sixteenth series as 32 ambitious chefs from across the country battle to become the 2023 champion.

Presiding over the UK's most revered cooking competition are Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing, renowned chef Monica Galetti and celebrated MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace, all eager to discover a brand new culinary star.

Over seven weeks, the 32 professional chefs will have their skills, creativity and culinary knowledge put to the test in a series of demanding challenges as the judges hunt out the most impressive talent in the industry. Only the best will be in with a chance of winning the coveted trophy.

In the opening heat, the fight for the title begins as the first four contenders step into the kitchen. To progress in the competition, they must impress in the infamous Skills Test before cooking their own food in the Signature Menu round.

The first two chefs face a Skills Test set by Monica, who gives them 20 minutes to prepare and cook a fillet of brill and serve it with a turnip garnish and a coconut sauce. Can the chefs keep their hands steady enough to fillet the fish perfectly and demonstrate enough cookery knowledge to show they have what it takes?

Marcus sets the Skills Test brief for the next two hopefuls - to poach and pan-fry a portion of guinea fowl, make a sherry hollandaise and serve it with a bitter salad. With only 20 minutes and the judges watching on, their butchery skills and culinary experience are scrutinised like never before.

Finally, all four chefs have one last opportunity to stand out when they cook their own two-course Signature Menu. In one hour and 30 minutes, it's a chance to show off their own style and flair with a main course and dessert fit for the judges.

Only the best chefs will go through to the quarter-final and move a step closer to being crowned MasterChef: The Professionals champion 2023.

This year's first quarter-final sees the strongest five chefs from the first two heats return to battle it out in the MasterChef kitchen.

First, the chefs must think on their feet in an Invention Test, in which they will create an outstanding dish showcasing nuts. They have just ten minutes to choose their ingredients from a selection of nuts, including hazelnuts, pistachios, peanuts, cashews and walnuts, flaked almonds and nut butters, as well as a range of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, followed by 70 minutes to execute their dishes to perfection. Which of these professionals can dig deep and deliver a restaurant-standard dish with nuts as the star? Only the best will do, as at the end of the round, one chef must leave the competition.

The remaining chefs must then raise their game yet again as they face the daunting task of cooking for three of the UK's most discerning restaurant critics, Jay Rayner, Leyla Kazim and Tracey MacLeod. Can they make an impression for the right reasons and deliver knockout dishes in one of the most intense rounds of the competition?

Only the three most talented chefs will go through to Knockout Week and continue in the battle to become this year's MasterChef: The Professionals Champion.