MasterChef is back tonight (Monday, February 11) for its 2019 civilian season, which begins at 9pm on BBC One with the first seven contestants presenting their food to Gregg Wallace and John Torode. The MasterChef 2019 contestants will be 56 of the nation’s best amateur cooks, but only one can win this year’s competition. BBC viewers tonight will watch as the first seven MasterChef contestants get whittled down to three quarter-finalists, who will cook again on Friday, January 15. Related articles Lisa Faulkner announces engagement to Masterchef judge John Torode MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s feud Who are the 2019 MasterChef contestants? So far, the BBC has only announced the names of the first 14 contestants of MasterChef 2019. We will update this article as more contestant names are revealed and more information is given about the MasterChef 2019 chefs. For the first four weeks of Masterchef 2019, BBC One will broadcast two heats of seven contestants a week plus a quarter-final. Tonight on MasterChef, the first seven contestants will enter the MasterChef kitchen. They are: MasterChef 2019 will have 56 contestants (Image: BBC) Maria S, 33, is a mum of two who works in banking relations and lives in North Lanarkshire Tim, 26, is a curator from London who has never eaten a ready meal Lisa, 46, is a lawyer from Guernsey who has become a MasterChef contestant for the challenge Frank, 34, is a Nigerian-born company director who now lives in London Devina, 51, is a nurse and family cook born in Mauritius who now lives in Leatherhead Gary, 57, is a sales engineer and travel fanatic who is inspired by world foods Annabel, 22, is from Middlesbrough and starting cooking dinner for her parents when she was a teenager Related articles Gregg Wallace net worth: MasterChef presenter’s WHOPPING fortune Lisa Faulkner thought she'd be booted off MasterChef in 2 DAYS Maria S, Tim, Lisa, Frank, Devina, Gary and Annabel are the first MasterChef 2019 contestants (Image: BBC) On Wednesday, February 13, the next seven chefs will cook in the second heat of MasterChef 2019: Ottille Justin Phil Irini Ashleigh Yui Josh Related articles John Torode weight loss: Masterchef star lost THREE stone doing this Masterchef Gary Maclean shares top tips on turkey Ottille, Justin, Phil, Irini, Ashleigh, Yui and Josh are the second heat of MasterChef 2019 chefs (Image: BBC) In the heats of MasterChef, the seven contestants must first tackle The Market Challenge, where they enter a room full of food and are tasked with making one dish. Three of the chefs will be eliminated in each heat after this challenge. The four remaining chefs then have to cook a signature two-course menu, after which another is eliminated, leaving three to go through to the quarter-finals. The first quarter-final will be this Friday, where the three chefs from tonight’s heat are joined with the three from Wednesday. MasterChef starts tonight at 9pm on BBC OneAll rights reserved for this news site express.co.uk and under his responsibility