MasterChef Catch up, Series 22: Episode 16 on BBC 1

MasterChef

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, each of the contestants aims to keep their track records in check and stay on course for MasterChef stardom. Sadly, it will mark the end of the road for one, leaving just seven still in the race.\n\nFirst up, it’s off to the National Rail Museum in York, where they are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway. There, a banquet is being held for 100 railway staff, volunteers and enthusiasts. Anna and Grace have arranged for the event to be catered for by the eight semi-finalists, but fine dining on this scale for 100 guests is beyond anything they have faced before. Success comes down to detailed planning and some serious graft.\n\nTo add extra pressure, the celebratory menu has been designed by Anna, who is also running service, and the amateurs work in teams to deliver an exceptional starter, main course and dessert for the banquet. It goes without saying that each of Anna’s dishes is packed with demanding technique and elements that require the utmost care. Anna won’t be pleased if any of the expensive produce, including venison loins and cod fillets, goes to waste. Much like the railway network, everything must run like clockwork and be on time. \n\nEvery move the semi-finalists make is scrutinised by the judges. At the end of the challenge, Anna and Grace decide which team was the strongest, and they head straight through to the next round, leaving the other two teams with one final chance to impress. \n\nBack at MasterChef HQ, they battle as individuals to keep their place in the competition. Anna and Grace’s brief is an Invention Test - they ask the semi-finalists to cook one dish that celebrates one of the three main ingredients used at the railway banquet: cod, venison and rhubarb. However, they cannot use the ingredient they worked with previously. They have just 90 minutes to deliver a flawless dish that wows the judges. Can the amateurs think on their feet and deliver a dish packed with enough skill and flavour to stand out from the pack?\n\nAnna and Grace then have a tough decision on their hands, as one of the cooks is heading home while the rest move forward in the race to become this year’s MasterChef champion.

Source: BBC 1

Most recent episodes of MasterChef

Masterchef

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 ...

12-06-2026

BBC 1

All episodes

Masterchef

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 ...

11-06-2026

BBC 1

All episodes

Masterchef

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 ...

10-06-2026

BBC 1

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes

Masterchef

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

All episodes