Episode 5

This week's seven best home cooks from the first rounds return to test their culinary wits and try to prove to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace that they have the potential to be MasterChef Champion 2023.

Tonight, the contestants face two more challenges designed to gauge both their creativity and culinary repertoire. The first is their most difficult test so far – cooking a dish to a brief set by one of the country's toughest food critics, Jay Rayner. Jay has asked them to put their finest plates forward, cooking a dish using a batter or a dough.

The pressure is on to impress, because at the end of this test only the best cooks will remain in the competition.

Then, the remaining cooks face one more challenge to earn a place in this week's quarter-final – by cooking a dish featuring chocolate. With just four places up for grabs, who can handle the pressure and show they have what it takes to progress further in the competition and take another step closer to being crowned MasterChef Champion 2023.