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The biggest cooking competition on TV returns to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ One and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iPlayer to uncover the UK’s best amateur cooks and celebrate the food that brings so many together.

Over eight weeks, this year’s ambitious cooks take on the cooking adventure of a lifetime, hoping to chop, whisk and sizzle their way to claiming the ultimate culinary prize - the MasterChef trophy.

This episode is the first outing for the contestants across five weeks of heats, as the brand new amateur cooks enter the kitchen. They include a vocal coach, a writer and a marketing manager, who all have their sights set on their ticket to the rest of the competition - winning a gleaming white MasterChef apron.

The contestants’ first task is Basic to Brilliant. It's their chance to turn the humblest of ingredients into an absolute showstopper of a dish – one that excites the palate while also showing off the chosen ingredient in all its splendour. Those who deliver the two best plates will head into the next round, sporting their new apron.

The other hopefuls will need to cook again, as their place in the competition hangs in the balance. Their fate will be decided by the next challenge – the Mystery Box, containing three ingredients: trout, chocolate and beetroot. The larder will be at their disposal too, so there are no limitations except perhaps their imagination. Just 45 minutes and a delicious dish stands between them and the unclaimed aprons. Failing to make the grade means the journey will be over.

The four remaining competitors can’t rest on their laurels though, as there’s one more mountain to climb to earn them their quarter-final place. They will need to cook a two-course menu for three familiar guests – last year’s champion Brin Pirathapan and finalists Chris Willoughby and Louise Lyons Macleod. These three know a decent plate of food when they taste it and how the pressure in the kitchen feels. The contestants will need to pull out all the stops to deliver a worthy dish.

Have they done enough to get to the next stage of the competition? The race to become MasterChef Champion 2025 is well and truly underway.