
Over centuries, chefs have created dishes in honour of great people that have inspired them, from peach melba to beef wellington. This year's five finalists must each create a dish inspired by a public figure or an artwork, film, song, TV series or book. This plate of food must tell a story, and the contestants must strive to make it as extraordinary as the inspiration behind it. At the end of this challenge, one of them will be eliminated from the competition.\n\nThe second challenge takes the remaining four cooks to the Emerald Isle. Situated in the south west of Ireland, Ballymaloe House and Cookery School is where chefs from all over the world come to learn the philosophy put forth by the late, great patron of Irish cuisine, Myrtle Allen. Led by the school's renowned founders, Darina Allen and Rory O’Connell, the contestants get an incredible whirlwind education in local Irish produce and the ethos of ‘farm to table’. Then they must use everything they have learned to prepare a celebratory dinner for some of Ireland’s finest food producers and food historians, and for relatives of Myrtle, all of whom are continuing her legacy.
Source: BBC 1
Series 22: 21. The Final
MasterChef 2026 has seen seven weeks of competition, all leading to this one moment: it’s the final, and one of the three exceptional cooks remaining will take home the tr ...
05-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 18
The semi-finals reach their end, and this is the most crucial stage of all. Which four of the five remaining cooks have what it takes to get that coveted place in Finals Week?\n ...
05-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 20
The finals continue with the last four chef back in the UK, where they take on their biggest task to date – a task that would cause even professional chefs to quake in the ...
04-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 17
The semi-finals continue, and just seven extraordinary home cooks remain in the competition. It’s time for them to dig even deeper into their culinary books of tricks, as ...
04-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 19
Six weeks of fraught competition have produced four exceptional amateur cooks, who all stand a chance of being enlisted into the MasterChef hall of fame. They are about to embar ...
03-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 16
It’s semi-finals time, and the eight remaining cooks are ready to battle it out for a chance at victory. As Anna and Grace ramp things up with their biggest challenges yet ...
03-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 15
Knockout week is coming to an end, but not before a few more cooks have to say goodbye. Ten incredible contestants remain in the competition, but there is only room in the semi- ...
29-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 14
Knockout week continues, and it’s a chance for seven chefs to prove themselves enough to make it into their first professional kitchen. However, to get there they need to ...
28-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 13
It’s knockout week, and there are just 14 amateur cooks left in the competition. Judges Anna and Grace increase the pressure to see which contestants can hold their nerve. ...
27-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 12
It’s time for the week’s six best cooks to dig deep and deliver in the last quarter-final of the competition. Their next goal is a place in knockout week, but there ...
22-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 7
Heat 3 is upon us, which means one thing: six exciting new amateur cooks have left their home kitchens ready to compete for one of four coveted MasterChef aprons. The lucky few ...
13-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 11
The last heat of this year’s competition has arrived, and the final group of six amateurs have been patiently waiting for their shot at culinary stardom. As always, four M ...
21-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 13
It’s knockout week, and there are just 14 amateur cooks left in the competition. Judges Anna and Grace increase the pressure to see which contestants can hold their nerve. ...
27-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 17
The semi-finals continue, and just seven extraordinary home cooks remain in the competition. It’s time for them to dig even deeper into their culinary books of tricks, as ...
04-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 5
A fresh batch of excited home cooks have arrived at MasterChef’s Birmingham HQ for the second heat of the week, but there’s only space for three of them in the quart ...
07-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 9
The week closes with the third quarter-final as the six best cooks of the week return to prove they have the nerve and skill to go even further. To get to knockout week, they ne ...
15-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 16
It’s semi-finals time, and the eight remaining cooks are ready to battle it out for a chance at victory. As Anna and Grace ramp things up with their biggest challenges yet ...
03-06-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 10
It’s the final week of heats, which leaves just 12 amateur cooks still with a chance of storming their way to MasterChef stardom. It’s no easy journey as the first g ...
20-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 14
Knockout week continues, and it’s a chance for seven chefs to prove themselves enough to make it into their first professional kitchen. However, to get there they need to ...
28-05-2026
BBC 1
Series 22: Episode 15
Knockout week is coming to an end, but not before a few more cooks have to say goodbye. Ten incredible contestants remain in the competition, but there is only room in the semi- ...
29-05-2026
BBC 1