MasterChef 2023: Potential release date, judges, and latest news
Here's everything we know about season 19.
Good news, food lovers – MasterChef is back for another season!
The long-running BBC programme will return to our screens this year, and we for one can’t wait to see a fresh batch of amateur chefs be put through their paces in a bid to lift the prestigious MasterChef trophy.
Although some of the details around the new season are still under wraps, here’s everything we can expect from the show so far.
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MasterChef 2023 potential start date
While the start date for the new season is yet to be announced by the BBC, we can predict to see it on our screens in the very near future.
Last year, the first episode dropped on March 23rd, and in 2021 it aired on March 1st, so we can assume this year’s starting episode will land very soon.
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The show usually runs for seven weeks throughout the spring.
MasterChef 2023 contestants
Again, the new MasterChef contestants haven’t been announced yet, so we’ll reveal all once the BBC has confirmed the names of this year’s hopefuls.
The show usually starts with 45 candidates, who will then compete in five heats of nine contestants, before being whittled down for the semi-finals and then the final.
MasterChef 2023 judges
They’re the face of the brand so surely need no introduction at this point, but just to refresh your memory...
Gregg Wallace
Gregg Wallace started out as a greengrocer in Covent Garden, eventually expanding into the successful George Allan’s Greengrocers.
He presented the first season of Saturday Kitchen in 2002, and is now the long-running presenter of MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.
John Torode
Straight-talking Australian chef John Torode is credited with helping introduce Australasian food to the UK in the 1990s, and opened restaurants The Luxe and Smiths of Smithfield in London.
He has presented MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef since 2005, hosts John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen alongside Lisa Faulkner – his wife – and also makes the occasional appearance on This Morning.
Who won MasterChef 2022?
Flying in to secure the MasterChef 2022 title was Eddie Scott, a marine pilot from the Midlands.
Eddie managed to impress John and Gregg with his classic French cooking techniques, which he also paired with inspiration from India, where his grandparents hail from.
Handing Eddie the prestigious trophy, John said: "Eddie is nothing short of a culinary powerhouse. His love of classic French food blended with the spices of India has made us really stand up and take notice. He’s daring, he’s adventurous, he doesn’t play it safe.”
Gregg agreed, and added: "I think we’ve just seen the birth of a future great chef. Eddie impressed from the moment he set foot in this kitchen. He’s hardly put a foot wrong throughout the competition."
Saying that his "whole life feels like it has been building up to this moment", Eddie said of his win: "I can’t believe I’m standing here as MasterChef champion... Wow.
"All of my family will be so pleased and proud. It’s been the most stressful but the most enjoyable experience. I think I’ve really discovered who I am as a cook. It’s the best feeling ever."
In 2021, Tom Rhodes took the crown, and in 2020, Thomas Frake was the winner.
Who narrates MasterChef?
Just as show bosses have kept the judges the same, MasterChef knows it has a recipe for success, and British actress India Fisher has been with the show as its narrator since it was revived in 2005.
Fisher is best known for her voice work in audio dramas including BBC Radio 4’s Elephants to Catch Eels, Ghosts of Albion, and Big Finish's Doctor Who series. She has also appeared on-screen in Dead Ringers, Peep Show and CBBC’s The Dumping Ground.
How to apply for MasterChef
If you’re looking to apply for MasterChef 2023, then we’re afraid you’re too late!
But keep your eyes peeled for 2024 – the BBC show opened for applications at the end of January this year, so if you think you have what it takes, check back at a similar time next winter.
Hopefuls must be over the age of 18 and must have never worked as a full-time chef.
MasterChef 2023 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this spring.
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