Alice Han

Having been hand selected by the judges, 17 brand new talented home cooks arrive at the MasterChef kitchen for the very first time.

It’s Nostalgia week and our three contestants walk in to a Pressure Test set by Gelato Messina’s Donato Toce.

Contestants have 45 minutes on Day 1 to prepare elements of their dish and leave them overnight for 14 hours. They then have 60 minutes on Day 2 to finish their dish.

The judges reveal that today’s Round 2 challenge is to create the most impressive dish in 75 minutes, using only the ingredients in Julie’s stew.

Emelia gives the contestants her choux recipe and sets the challenge – this is a two round elimination where everyone must put their own spin on the choux pastry and can cook either sweet or savoury.

Contestants arrive at the MasterChef kitchen to discover the space transformed into a restaurant.