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In the last week of heats, five more hopefuls begin by cooking their signature dish – something that tells judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace who they are as a cook and how good they can become. After tasting all five plates, John and Gregg pick their two favourite dishes and those cooks earn a place in the next round.

The remaining three contestants will have to pull out all the stops as they cook off in the Favourite Ingredient Challenge. Gifted with their chosen favourite ingredient, they are tasked with creating one exceptional dish that showcases it. The stakes are high as one cook will be sent home and their MasterChef dream will be over.

One more challenge stands in the way of the four remaining cooks and a quarter-final place. They must cook two courses that will excite not just John and Gregg, but also 2010 MasterChef champion Dhruv Baker and 2010 finalist Alex Rushmer. With just two quarter-final places up for grabs, these amateurs need to be good to survive.