MUMBAI : The Top 16 home cooks who will battle for the title of "MasterChef India" on Sony Entertainment Television and SonyLIV have been chosen. The competition for the Top 16 is heating up as the judges, Chefs Ranveer Brar, Garima Arora, and Vikas Khanna continue to evaluate the contestants using the criteria of TIP- Taste, Innovation, and Precision. On Thursday, January 12th, home cooks will be presented with a daunting task by Chef Vikas Khanna of creating a dish utilising at least five items out of the ten from a European mystery box. Further, Chef Ranveer Brar will be seen introducing the home cooks to the extremely skilled Chef Guntas Sethi before the challenge begins. She will then proceed to instruct the contestants on how to prepare a European cuisine. Gurkirat Singh, a home cook from Sirsa, Haryana will steal the show with his exceptional dish.

As the challenge progresses, contestants will be seen cheering and helping   Gurkirat from the balcony. Since Gurkirat cooked a sweet dish and no other home cook did, he will be confident that his food will stand out. A source close to the set shares, "The judges will be impressed by the contestant's dish." The source continues, "Chef Garima will be complimenting the home cook because, in her opinion, he comprehended the task extremely well, and Chef Ranveer will compliment the home cook's meal by stating, 'Sawdh aagaya”, calling it a perfectly balanced dish”. Chef Guntas will also be seen mentioning that Gurkirat's dish was one of her favourite dishes for the day.

Talking about the experience Gurkirat shares, "I'm delighted to present this meal, and I appreciate the support of the other contenders, who were cheering me on and offering whatever help they could. Every day on MasterChef India is a new opportunity to show the judges what I can do in the kitchen, and I intend to make full use of it."

The top 16 home cooks who were chosen are Priyanka Kundu Biswas from Kolkata, Aruna Vijay from Chennai, Urmila Jamnadas from Mumbai, Priya Vijan from Bangalore, Dyuti Banerjee from Kolkata, Avinash Patnaik from Bhubaneswar, Santa Sarmah from Jagiroad Vill Amlighat, Nazia Sultana from Guwahati, Gurkirat Singh from Sirsa, Yashu Verma from Gazipur City, Kamaldeep Kaur from Ludhiana, Sachin Khatwani from Lucknow, Suvarna Vijay Bagul from Mumbai, Deepa Chauhan from Bangalore, Nayanjyoti Saika from Tinsukia, and Vineet Yadav from Lucknow. The stakes in the kitchen will only get higher as the season progresses.

Tune into Masterchef India at 9 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Live to watch Gurkirat peruse his happiness in the Masterchef Kitchen