Series 9

By taste alone, the five contestants must recreate a dish without a recipe. The three remaining chefs are thrown into a busy lunchtime service at a London's restaurant. Finally, they must prepare two brilliant courses to stand any chance of making it through to the quarter-finals.

The next five contestants are challenged to deliver an amazing plate of food with no prior planning. Then they must recreate a dish without a recipe just by tasting it. The remaining three have to cook at a busy lunch service at a London restaurant. Finally, they must rustle up their two best courses for John and Gregg, and for three MasterChef winners.

The Invention and Palate Tests (potato pancakes, smoked trout, and beetroot salad) eliminate two cooks. The survivors join a busy lunch time service in London's Cadogan Hotel, then return to the MasterChef kitchen to cook two of their own courses to impress John and Gregg.

As the fourth heat begins, the contestants must hold their nerve in the infamous Invention Test, where they have just one hour to cook an exceptional dish from scratch. No-one goes home after this because next they have to survive the extremely tricky Palate Test - a brand new MasterChef challenge. Chef John Torode demonstrates a Glass Noodle Salad with Chicken and Crab. Without seeing the demo, the amateurs are given just a few minutes to taste this dish before being asked to write down exactly what is in it, using their sense of smell, and palate.

In the second quarter-final, the best amateurs from the heats go head to head to cook their best two courses not only for John and Gregg, but for three exceptional MasterChef champions who know exactly what the contestants are going through - Shelina Permalloo, Peter Bayless and James Nathan. Who will have what it takes to earn one of 12 places in the next round, the daunting knockout week? Only the best will survive, taking their first step towards being crowned MasterChef Champion 2013.

Five amateur cooks battle against each other in the latest Masterchef heat. First, they must hold their nerve in the infamous Invention Test, where they have just one hour to cook an exceptional dish from scratch. No one goes home after this because next they have to survive the extremely tricky Palate Test, a brand new MasterChef challenge. Tonight, Chef John Torode demonstrates pappardelle with meatballs and tomato sauce. Without seeing the demo, the amateurs are given just a few minutes to taste this dish before being asked to write down exactly what it is in it, using their sense of smell, and palate.

The Invention Test and the Palate Test (crumbed venison cutlets) eliminate two cooks. The remaining three join a busy lunch time service in London's One Twenty One Two at The Royal Horseguards Hotel. then it's back to the MasterChef kitchen to cook their own two brilliant courses to impress John and Gregg.

In the third quarter final, the best chefs from the week cook their finest two courses for John and Gregg and three MasterChef champions.

The penultimate heat week begins, as five more amateur cooks battle against each other. First, they must hold their nerve in the infamous Invention Test, where they have just one hour to cook an exceptional dish from scratch. They must then survive the extremely tricky Palate Test, a brand new MasterChef challenge which sees John demonstrate a chicken pot pie with coleslaw. Without seeing the demo, the amateurs are given just a few minutes to taste this dish before being asked to write down exactly what is in it, using their sense of smell and palate.

The Invention and Palate Tests (seafood chowder and soda bread) eliminate two cooks from the next set of hopefuls. The survivors join a busy lunch time service in London's Brasserie Joel, then cook two of their own courses to impress John and Gregg.

It is the penultimate quarter-final, and the best amateurs from the week's heats go head-to-head, cooking their finest two courses not only for John and Gregg, but for three MasterChef champions.

Five amateur cooks battle against each other as the final week of heats begins. First, they must hold their nerve in the Invention Test, where they have just one hour to cook an exceptional dish from scratch. No-one goes home after this, because they must next survive the extremely tricky Palate Test, which sees chef John Torode demonstrate a beef stir-fry with choy sum and peanuts. Without seeing the demo, the amateurs are given just a few minutes to taste this dish before being asked to write down exactly what it is in it, using their sense of smell, and palate.

It is the final heat. The contestants face the Invention Test and the Palate Test (scallop and crab ravioli with a spiced prawn sauce). The survivors do a busy lunch service in London's Terrace Grill. then cook two of their own dishes for John and Gregg.

In the last quarter-final, the best chefs of the week cook their best two courses for John and Gregg and three MasterChef champions Thomasina Miers, Peter Bayless, and Mat Follas.

It's knockout week and the surviving chefs compete for a place in the semi-final. The first group of six cook lunch for over 200 British Airways' maintenance employees. Then it's back to MasterChef HQ to show what they have learned. The weakest individuals of the day must face each other in an invention cook-off.

Knockout week continues as the second group of six cook lunch for 200 firefighters. Then, it is back to MasterChef HQ to show what they have learned. The weakest individual cooks of the day must face each other in an invention cook-off.

On the last day of knockout week the final group of amateur cooks have only one challenge: cook one unforgettable show-stopper dish to wow the judges and secure their semi-final place in the last two weeks of the competition.

It is the semi-finals and the four remaining chefs are sent to four separate London restaurants for a masterclass then return and cook two courses for John and Gregg using their experience.

The four remaining contestants must cook in an invention test for the demanding Michelin-starred chefs, Marcus Wareing. They are then taken to the world-famous Savoy hotel to produce a first-class fine dining menu for 12 Bond movie girls.

In this last semi-final, the four remaining contestants have two and a half hours to produce their best three-course menu. for a restaurant full of the country's most revered food critics.

The final week of the cookery competition begins. The pressure intensifies as judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace send the finalists on a culinary odyssey to Italy.

The Final Three face an epic invention test and then their penultimate and most terrifying challenge yet, cooking an exquisite three-course menu, designed by two-Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan, for a table of the county's finest three-star chefs.

It is the MasterChef final. They must produce three exceptional courses and are on a mission to push culinary boundaries and give the judges an awe-inspiring tasting like never before, to be crowned as MasterChef Champion 2013.