© BBC / Shine TV/Emilie Sandy
John Torode and Gregg Wallace's amateur hopefuls will be tasked with cooking a perfect course for former contestants, who understand the top-notch standards required to become a MasterChef champion.
The final 12 cooks were revealed on last week's heats shows and include former Junior MasterChef contestant Emma Russell, 30, security director Jay Tinker and Iranian-born Afsaneh Kaviani.
Account director Jonathan Dale, plasterer Tom Rennolds, doctor Ashvy Dale, diversity manager Shelina Permalloo and mechanical engineer Matthew Frost also made the cut.
Completing the lineup are research analyst Andrew Kojima, PhD student Aki Matsushima, advertising intern Charlie Wethered and joiner Eamonn Hunt.
MasterChef continues tonight (January 24) at 9pm on BBC One.
> MasterChef Gregg Wallace, John Torode Q&A: 'Auditions made us sick'
> MasterChef returns with 4.8 million on BBC One
