When Is MasterChef: The Professionals Back On TV?

It’s prime season for foodie TV: not only are we midway through Bake Off, MasterChef: The Professionals is returning for season 19. Once again, a line-up of 24 professional chefs from all over the country will be battling it out over a series of culinary challenges with the hopes of being crowned champion. Here’s what we can expect.

MasterChef: The Professionals Season 19: Everything We Know

Who Are The Judges?

Esteemed chefs Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti are returning as this year’s judging duo, while Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt – who starred on the 2025 show – will not be featuring in season 19. Posting on Instagram, he clarified that he was only ever planning to do one series. 

‘A lot of lovely people have contacted me about not doing the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals,’ he wrote. ‘I was only ever doing one series and I loved judging on it and will continue working with MasterChef.’

Who Are The Chefs?

• Abigail Smith (Demi Chef de Partie at The Hand and Flowers)
• Aleandro Brown (Private Chef)
• Alfred Petty (Chef and Owner of Petty Fours)
• Andrea Ruszel (Private Chef and Founder of Andrea’s Table)
• Ben Black (Junior Sous Chef at Knockinaam Lodge Hotel & Restaurant, previously at Condita during filming)
• Clara Lim (Sous Chef at Rambutan)
• Connor Wilson (Head Chef at The Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman’s Rest)
• Dan Nunn (Senior Sous Chef at The Sir Charles Napier)
• Dominique Ogunlowo (Private Chef and Food Blogger)
• Filomena D’Uva (Chef Patron at Delizia Italian Food)
• Gregory Schaad-Jackson (Virtual Cooking Experience Host and Mobile Caterer)
• Ibraheem “Ibz” Umar (Chef de Partie and Co-Founder of Guatú)
• Inayya Hamid (Sous Chef at 64 Goodge Street)
• Isabel Almeida Da Silva (Co-Founder and Head Chef at Volta Do Mar)
• Jacintha Henderson (Lecturer at City of Glasgow College and freelance chef)
• Jack Sencherey-Evans (Operations Director at Relentless Steak & Lobster House, previously Natty’s Jerk during filming)
• Jemma Harrison (Chef & Owner of Kaunter)
• Jim Foster-Grundy (Head Chef at The Goose and Cuckoo)
• Kieran Jones (Sous Chef at Sunlaws Restaurant, Schloss Roxburghe Hotel)
• Manuel Ribeiro (Head Chef at 670 Grams)
• Matty Grove (Head Chef at Caper & Cure, Bristol)
• Morteza Nouri (Private Chef)
• Ruchi Mehrotra (Private Chef and owner of Milaanj by Ruchi Mehrotra)
• Sebastian Brooks (Junior sous chef at Jumeirah Carlton Tower)

When Is The Release Date?

The new season of MasterChef: The Professionals will air on 3 November at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, followed by episodes on 4 November at 9pm and 5 November at 8pm. Three episodes will then air each week until the final on 18 December at 8pm.

What Happens On MasterChef: The Professionals?

Launched in 2008, MasterChef: The Professionals is a cooking competition which sees a line-up of professional chefs taking part in a series of challenges. As normal, the show begins with the notoriously tricky skills test, where contestants must tackle a classic dish or technique while the judges watch on. 

There’s also the signature dish challenge, where the chefs must convey their cooking style in just one plate of food, and the invention test, which sees participants given one ingredient and tasked with creating something amazing. In the personal dish challenge, meanwhile, contestants must produce a dish that evokes a memory or holds sentimental value.

The most high-stakes challenge is the chef’s table, an event held in central London where the participating chefs must cook for a whole host of industry professionals – including many Michelin-starred chefs.

Who Are The Previous Winners?

Self-taught, Carlisle-born chef Gareth Baty won the last series of MasterChef: The Professionals, which aired earlier this year. He triumphed against runners-up Luke Emmess and Mark O’Brien in the grand finale, with Wareing describing Baty’s meal as ‘absolute knockout three-course menu.’ Since taking home the trophy, he has been focusing on his catering company The Wandering Cumbrian.

Gareth Baty (c) BBC/Shine TV

Other winners have included:

• 2024: Dan Merriman
• 2023: Tom Hamblet
• 2022: Nikita Pathajki
• 2021: Dan Lee
• 2020: Alex Webb
• 2019: Stu Deely
• 2018: Laurence Henry

You can stream previous seasons of MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC iPlayer.