It is MasterChef series 10 first quarter-final tonight and the cooks that made the cut this week – Dani, Greg, Holly and Robert – have to prove their worth yet again if they are to progress to the next round.

For their first challenge, the quarter-finalist had to identify the ingredients used by John Torode in his jungle curry with coconut and lime rice dish in the palate skills test. John used 18 different spices and herbs in his dish including: chillies, shallots, galangal, garlic and shrimp paste.

Without seeing him prepare the dish, the amateurs were given just a few minutes to taste this dish before being asked to write down exactly what is in it, using their palate and sense of smell. They then have the additional task to recreate John’s dish without a recipe in just one hour and fifteen minutes, selecting from ingredients that may or may not belong in the dish.

For their second challenge, the four went head-to-head to cook their own show-stopping dish for John, Gregg and food critic William Sitwell who face the contestants in the flesh for the first time, and told them exactly what he thought of their food.

At the end of tasks, it was Dani and Robert that the judges declared the winner of the first MasterChef quarter-final 2014. The two cooks have taken another step closer to the MasterChef champion 2014 crown as they head to the semi-finals.