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The competition reaches fever pitch as the remaining eight hopefuls enter the semi-finals. All of them have just one goal – to lift the coveted MasterChef trophy.

The semi-finals kick off with a journey to the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire, one of the world’s leading fire-training facilities. Each year, it equips over 15,000 firefighters and emergency responders with the skills required to provide first-rate care. Many risk their lives in the line of duty, and today our semi-finalists will honour their work with a celebratory lunch.

Cooking in teams for the first time, they face the enormous challenge of combining mass catering with fine dining. Each team will have just three and a half hours to cook and serve a feast for 120 of the emergency responders and trainers.

Expert planning and delegation will be crucial if they are to have any chance of success, delivering sophisticated food on a scale they have never experienced. It’s vital the two teams perform at their absolute best and produce a lunch worthy of the occasion. After tasting the offerings, John and Gregg will pick the weakest team, who will have to return to the MasterChef kitchen and cook off against each other in a special Invention Test.

To keep their place, the four contestants must use their creativity to turn tinned and jarred food into a spectacular MasterChef-worthy dish.

With one contestant going home, there’s everything to play for as only seven will stay in the race for the 2023 title.