MasterChef: The Professionals is the BBC’s search for the country’s best professional chef, judged by Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti. Reigning champion Gareth Baty won series 18 in March 2026.

Series 19 returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with Marcus and Monica continuing as the judging duo. Follow the new series here, including the full lineup of competing chefs and weekly updates as it airs.

Past winners include Gareth Baty, Dan Merriman, Tom Hamblet, Nikita Pathakji, Dan Lee, Alex Webb and Stu Deeley.

It is a competitive cooking show, and a spin-off of the main MasterChef series. Open to all professional working chefs, it features every level, from Michelin-starred kitchens to good old-fashioned pubs. It first aired in 2008.

Gregg Wallace was the long-serving judge until 2025, joined over the years by MasterChef judge John Torode, Michel Roux Jr. at the time of two-Michelin-starred Le Gavroche, and his then sous chef Monica Galetti. Michel left in 2014 over “a conflict in commercial interests” and was replaced by two-Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing. Matt Tebbutt joined the panel for series 18 in 2025 (aired in 2026) but did not return for series 19.

Speaking exclusively to The Staff Canteen about his win, Gareth admitted: “I never imagined I would get as far as I did in the competition.”

Keep up to date every year with all the MasterChef: The Professionals news on The Staff Canteen.