Homepage Accessibility links * Skip to content * Accessibility Help BBC Account Notifications * Home * News * Sport * Weather * iPlayer * Sounds * CBBC * CBeebies * Food * Bitesize * Arts * Taster * Local * Three * Menu Search BBC One MasterChef * Home * Episodes * Clips * Celebrity MasterChef * MasterChef: The Professionals Main content Sorry, this episode is not currently available Episode 1 MasterChef Series 17 Episode 1 of 18 [X] In the first heat, five amateur cooks compete for two quarter-final places. This year's competition features a new round in which each cook must showcase their favourite ingredient. Show more Out of the thousands who applied, 40 hopeful amateur cooks have made it through to compete over four weeks of heats. The contestants get their first chance to win an apron by cooking their signature dish – something that tells judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace who they are as a cook and how good they can become. After tasting all five plates, John and Gregg pick their two favourite dishes, with those two cooks earning a coveted MasterChef apron and a place in the next round. The remaining three contestants then cook off in a new test – the Favourite Ingredient Challenge. Gifted with their chosen favourite ingredient, they must create one exceptional dish that showcases it. The stakes are high as one cook will be sent home, their MasterChef dream over. One more challenge stands in the way of the four remaining cooks and a quarter-final place. They must cook two courses that will excite not just John and Gregg, but also last year’s MasterChef champion Thomas Frake and 2014 champion Ping Coombes. In a competition where only the food matters, and with just two quarter-final places up for grabs, these amateurs will need to be good to survive, taking another step towards being crowned MasterChef champion 2021. Show less 59 minutes Last on Thu 18 Mar 2021 01:30 BBC Two More episodes Previous You are at the first episode Next Episode 2—Series 17 See all episodes from MasterChef Clip * MasterChef is back for 2021 Duration: 01:52 Music Played Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes * 00:54 Gabrielle Aplin Alive Credits Role Contributor Judge Gregg Wallace Judge John Torode Narrator India Fisher Series Editor Katie Attwood Series Producer Emily Henderson Director Dave Crerar Production Company Shine TV Broadcasts * Mon 1 Mar 2021 21:00 BBC One * Thu 18 Mar 2021 01:30 BBC Two Featured in... * Competitive Food Competitive Food programmes * Entertainment Shows Big laughs, high-stakes quizzing and Saturday night glitz from across BBC One. Apply to be on MasterChef 2022! Apply to be on MasterChef 2022! Do you have what it takes to be crowned the next MasterChef champion? Past Winners - what are they up to now? Past Winners - what are they up to now? We profile all the previous winners of the modern MasterChef series. Love food? Sign up for our perfectly baked updates Love food? Sign up for our perfectly baked updates Find out about new shows, recipes and tips, plus the latest from across the BBC. * Subscribe today Related Content Similar programmes By genre: * Entertainment * Factual > Food & Drink By format: * Games & Quizzes BBC One homepage * Home * Schedule * TV Guide Explore the BBC * Home * News * Sport * Weather * iPlayer * Sounds * CBBC * CBeebies * Food * Bitesize * Arts * Taster * Local * Three * Terms of Use * About the BBC * Privacy Policy * Cookies * Accessibility Help * Parental Guidance * Contact the BBC * Get Personalised Newsletters Copyright © 2021 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. [p?c1=2&c2=17986528&cs_ucfr=0&cv=2.0&cj=1]