Who left MasterChef 2026 as triple axing sees three contestants leave but when is the BBC show is on next?
MasterChef's Grace Dent and Anna Haugh have axed their first contestantsMasterChef 2026 is now well underway with three more contestants being sent home – so who left tonight?
The BBC cooking show returned this week with new judges, Grace Dent and Anna Haugh, at the helm.
Six of this week’s best chefs were hoping to impress them both as they made a comeback tonight.
But three have now been eliminated.
Here’s who has left MasterChef 2026 and who is through to Knock Out Week.
MasterChef 2026’s first quarter final
Tonight, the six best cooks from the week headed into the kitchen for the first quarter finals of the series. They were Rosedip, Jim, Maddie, Michael, Sabina and Jhané.
But tonight, only three remained.
First, the amateur chefs were tasked with making pancakes. They could pick anything from soufflé pancakes from Japan, crepes from France or classic fluffy American pancakes.
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There were some seriously interesting pancakes delivered to Grace and Anna. Sabina’s Korean-style pancake was given the thumbs up, while Jhané also got top marks for her sweet one.
Grace liked Jim’s pork-filled pancake, but Anna said it was too doughy”. They loved Maddie’s offering, but Michael’s was a flop. Anna told him the presentation “absolutely let it down”. Grace said the inside did too.
Rosdip was also told his flavours didn’t go together.
Who left MasterChef? Three contestants sent home
The second challenge was the big one – Critic’s Brief. Renowned critic, broadcaster and author Jay Rayner challenged them to make a salad.
Yep, a salad. But not a few lettuce leaves chucked in a bowl with a couple of tomatoes and slices of cucumber.
Sabina’s was off the scale with ingredients. Her salad was packed with chicken skin, black peas, quail eggs and falafel. Jay loved it and said it was an “amazing salad”. Anna and Grace loved it too.
Jim served up his take on a fancy tuna nicoise salad. But he forgot the eggs… Grace said this made it “irregular”. Anna loved it but Jay said it “lacked depth”.
Maddie opted for a lime and chipotle picked crab salad, with a crab bon-bon and charred corn. Grace enjoyed it, but told her it was “elevated Mexican ingredients, not a salad”. Anna said the star of her show (crab) was “lacking”. Jay said it was a “plate of hors d’oeuvres”.
‘Exactly what I was hoping for’
Jhané served up Thai-inspired grilled pork on a salad of sugar snap peas, lettuce and mint. Grace and Anna loved it, while Jay said it was “exactly” what he was hoping for.
Rosdip made a salad inspired by his childhood in Nepal. It contained mustard leaf, buckwheat with chicken, lentil crisps and a Tamarind mustard dressing. Jay didn’t like his amount of buckwheat, Grace didn’t like the dressing and Anna wasn’t keen on the mixture of veg either.
Michael’s Spanish-inspired salad had saffron, mandarin and honey cod in it. He dished it up with boiled eggs and a purple tortilla.
Anna said the cod was overcooked and his vinaigrette was tart and bitter. Grace didn’t like the egg and mandarin or the lilac tortilla. Jay told him food on the plate “didn’t work”.
Grace and Anna told Sabina Jhané and Jim they are through to Knock Out Week. Rosdip, Maddie and Michael therefore have left MasterChef 2026.
When is MasterChef on next?
MasterChef returns with another batch of new contestants next week. They will have to whip up the ultimate fish finger sandwich first.
The cooking hopefuls include a dairy manufacturer, a medical writer and a maths student. They will also be cooking a dinner for previous MasterChef winners, Chariya Khattiyot and Steven Wallis, and former finalist Omar Foster.
Grace and Anna will return with the next episode of MasterChef on Tuesday April 28, 2026. It will air at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
MasterChef will then continue on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
We’re looking forward to meeting the next competitors!
Read more: MasterChef 2026 judge Grace Dent’s brutal verdict on Gregg Wallace sacking scandal
