In this first episode, the first seven hopefuls try to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. This year sees the return of the MasterChef Market. The challenge is to invent and then cook one dish using anything from the market. This time the featured ingredients include beef mince, duck breasts, pancetta, cod and mussels. The cooks have an hour and ten minutes to prepare their food, and after tasting all seven dishes, John and Gregg decide which four cooks are good enough to stay, while three are sent home. The four remaining contestants must then cook two courses that will excite not just John and Gregg but also some very special guests - MasterChef 2017 finalists Steve Kielty and Giovanna Ryan and 2017 champion Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed. After the four hopefuls have cooked, John and Gregg decide which three contestants go through to Friday's quarter-final.