The WORST episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals

#1 - Episode 15

Season 15 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/2/2022

The semi-finals conclude with the second group of four chefs cooking for 20 of the UK’s best pop up chefs and food entrepreneurs.

#2 - Episode 14

Season 15 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/1/2022

Four semi-finalists cook in a pop-up restaurant environment for 20 of the UK's top food entrepreneurs.

#3 - Episode 11

Season 15 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/24/2022

In the final heat, two contenders cook pigeon in Madeira sauce, while the other two prepare a filo pastry mille feuille with layers of tropical fruit and piped coconut.

#4 - Episode 6

Season 15 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/11/2022

In the second quarter-final, the four chefs must create dishes that showcase different textures. Then they cook two courses for food writers Leyla Kazim, William Sitwell and Grace Dent.

#5 - Episode 16

Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 11/29/2012

The week's six best chefs must create a dish of their own invention.

#6 - Episode 12

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/22/2012

The week's five best chefs must create a dish of their own invention.

#7 - Episode 5

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/14/2011

Ten chefs must deal with the pressure of an elimination round. In front of the watching Monica and Gregg, they must earn the right to cook for Michel. In the six-ingredient-invention-test, the ten chefs grapple with their nerves. From only six ingredients: prawns, mango, lime, chilli, micro coriander and a chocolate bar, they have just 50 minutes to prove their skill, palate, and creativity. The pressure is on if they are to impress the awesome palate of Michel's sous chef Monica and stand a chance of cooking for her boss. For now, they are all safe but in the next episode five of these ten chefs must return and face their final test, before Monica and Gregg decide who will be the first to cook for culinary giant Michel Roux Jnr.

#8 - Episode 4

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/4/2010

Legendary double Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr and Masterchef dining expert Gregg Wallace are on the hunt for a young chef who has what it takes to go to the top of the culinary world. Four chefs must deal with the pressure of a nail-biting elimination round. In front of the watching Monica and Gregg they have to earn the right to cook for the legendary Michel. Each chef must demonstrate they have the necessary skills and palate by trimming and slicing a smoked salmon and making a salmon mousse. At the end of it one will be going home. The three remaining chefs must then face one more gruelling elimination challenge. Michel cooks a classic recipe of roast duckling with cherries before asking the chefs to recreate the dish in just 60 minutes. After judging each plate on presentation and flavour, Michel and Gregg will send one more chef home. The two remaining chefs will make it through to the quarter-final and a step closer to winning the title of Professional Masterchef.

#9 - Week 1, Day 1

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/25/2008

Michel Roux Jnr and Gregg Wallace hunt for a young chef who wants to make it as a chef. The usual “versatility test,” using provided ingredients to create, in 50 minutes, two dishes of the chef’s choice. Then the “classics test,” preparing two well known dishes, although we will learn in the series that some chefs have not made some of these before.

#10 - Week 1, Day 3

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/27/2008

Two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of lamb, then they must recreate two classic dishes, Sole a la Meuniere and Barquettes aux Abricots

#11 - Week 1, Day 4

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/28/2008

Two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of chicken, then they must recreate two classic dishes, Omelette aux Fine Herbs and Profiteroles.

#12 - Week 1, Day 2

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/26/2008

Two dishes in 50 minutes using haddock as the central ingredient before re-creating a Wild Mushroom Risotto and Macaroons.

#13 - Episode 16

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 10/5/2009

Four chefs face a nail-biting elimination round. In front of the watching Monica and Gregg, they have to earn the right to cook for the legendary Michel by demonstrating their culinary expertise with a skills test of butterflying prawns and a palate test of making pesto. The remaining three professionals then face the first of the two gruelling tests on which Michel and Gregg will judge them. They must make two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of mackerel. The second test, recreating two classic dishes, will be concluded in the next episode.

#14 - Episode 14

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 10/1/2009

Four chefs face a nail-biting elimination round. In front of Monica and Gregg, they have to earn the right to cook for Michel by demonstrating their culinary expertise with a skills test of boning out a pig's trotter and a palate test of making sweet pancakes. The remaining three professionals then face two more gruelling tests for an expectant Michel and Gregg. First they must make two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of venison, then they must recreate two classic dishes of mouclade and apple charlotte.

#15 - Episode 13

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/30/2009

Four chefs face a nail-biting elimination round. In front of Monica and Gregg, they have to earn the right to cook for Michel by demonstrating their culinary expertise with a skills test of opening scallops and a palate test of making a potato rosti. The remaining three professionals then face two more gruelling tests for an expectant Michel and Gregg. First they must make two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of smoked eel, then they must recreate two classic dishes of beef bourguignon and a lemon tart.

#16 - Week 3, Day 3

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/10/2008

Two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of poussin, then they must recreate two classic dishes - Fish Quenelles with a Beurre Blanc and Mango Sables

#17 - Episode 14

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/27/2012

The remaining five chefs are challenged to make a crepe soufflé.

#18 - Episode 14

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/29/2011

In this show, five of the ten chefs from the previous day's heat return to face Monica and Gregg in a skills test: Monica asks them to tunnel bone a leg of lamb and tie it ready for roasting. With only ten minutes in hand, the chefs have to work fast using their finest knife skills if they are to deliver. At the end Monica and Gregg must decide who will be leaving the competition. Only the best four chefs go forward to cook for legendary Michel Roux Jr. The pressure now mounts as the four remaining chefs face two challenges for Michelin-starred legend Michel Roux Jr. For their first classic test, Michel cooks nouilles aux fruits de mer, i.e. pasta with a light creamy seafood sauce, before asking the chefs to recreate the dish in just 60 minutes. To achieve such delicate flavours, faultless presentation and total attention to detail, the chefs have to concentrate and deliver like never before. Finally, the chefs are asked to prepare their own classic dish for Michel and Gregg in just one hour. With so much at stake, nerves are running high. After judging each plate on presentation and flavour, Michel and Gregg send one more chef home. The best three remaining chefs go through to the quarter-final, moving a step closer to winning the title of Professional MasterChef.

#19 - Episode 23

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 10/14/2009

It is the semi-finals for the professional chefs remaining in the competition, and each pair of winners from the quarter-finals go head to head for a place in the last four. The two winners from the third quarter-final battle it out head to head. First they have to cook at the one Michelin-starred Maze in London's Mayfair, under chef Jason Atherton. Then they have to create two perfect dishes in the MasterChef Kitchen - only one can go through.

#20 - Episode 18

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 10/7/2009

Four chefs face a nail-biting elimination round. In front of Monica and Gregg, they have to earn the right to cook for the legendary Michel by demonstrating their culinary expertise with a skills test of filleting a bream and a palate test of cooking one of the fillets. The remaining three professionals then face two more gruelling tests for Michel and Gregg. First, they must make two dishes in 50 minutes from the central ingredient of best end of lamb, then they must recreate two classic dishes of consomme and a vanilla studded baked pineapple.

#21 - Episode 15

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 10/1/2009

#22 - Episode 5

Season 15 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/2022

Today's skills tests involve butchering a saddle of rabbit and removing the meat from a crab. The four contenders then try to impress the judges with their signature dishes.

#23 - Episode 12

Season 15 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/25/2022

Four quarter-finalists design a savoury pastry dish and then cook for three of the UK's top restaurant critics. Only two can proceed to the semi-finals.

#24 - Episode 8

Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/25/2020

Four more chefs face challenging skills tests. Two must prepare scallops, the other two lambs' kidneys on toast. They then get to dazzle the judges with their own signature dishes.

#25 - Episode 20

Season 14 - Episode 20 - Aired 12/14/2021

Finals Week begins with six chefs remaining. To win a place at the infamous Chef's Table, each must cook a dish that is dedicated to someone special. This round is all about passion and skill, and the judges' verdict will decide which two chefs will be leaving the competition and which four will be cooking at the Chef's Table. Due to Covid-19, this year’s Chef’s Table is held at the MasterChef kitchen. The contenders must prepare their course for eight of the country’s most acclaimed chefs, who have been hand-picked for this exclusive event and hold a remarkable 11 Michelin stars between them. They include Matt Abé, Nieves Barragan Mohacho, Michael Caines, Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Daniel Clifford. Cooking for these culinary giants is a huge honour, and the contenders must use their chance to stand out, get noticed and win the praise from the very best in the hospitality industry. They have three hours to deliver one exceptional dish that demonstrates their personal flair, technique and presentation skills. Nothing can go amiss in this round, as the chefs at the table are seeking perfection.