Vikas Khanna returned as one of the judges for the show while Kunal Kapur and Zorawar Kalra were replaced by Ranveer Brar and Vineet Bhatia.[2] This season marked Khanna's fifth consecutive season serving as a judge on the show and Brar's second season, who was last seen in the fourth season.[3] This season was also comeback for Gunjan Joshi as the writer of the show, who was also writer of Season 3 and 4.
Abinas Nayak, an IT Analyst from Odisha was declared as the winner on 1 March 2020, with Oindrila Bala of West Bengal being the runner-up.[4]
Similar to the past seasons, Amul remained the title sponsor of the show. Additionally, Sleek Kitchens by Asian Paints co-sponsored this season.
Format
Top 30 contestants were chosen from nationwide auditions, of which only 15 advanced to the main competition.
(WIN) The cook won the Mystery Box challenge, or any other individual / pair challenge.
(WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.
(TOP) The cook was one of the top entries in the individual challenge.
(IMN) The cook won an Immunity Pin in a given challenge.
(SAFE) The cook didn't participate in the challenge as he/she already advanced to the next round.
(IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual / pair challenge.
(IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in a team challenge.
(PT) The cook competed in the Elimination Test, and advanced.
(LOSE) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge and had to compete in the upcoming elimination challenge.
(WEAK) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge.
(BTM) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge and had to compete in the upcoming elimination challenge.
(RET) The cook won the Wild Card Challenge and returned to the competition.
(X) This cook did not participate in the challenge(s).
(ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.
^Unlike the typical team challenges, post this challenge, the members of the losing team did not compete in an elimination test.
^Despite being in the losing team in the first round, Oindrila and Ulka were exempted from the Elimination Challenge in the second round because the team captain (Priyanka) chose herself, Viji, and Akash as competitors in the said challenge.
^Eight contestants walked in for the elimination challenge, of which, Akash, Akanksha, and Natasha redeemed themselves in the first round (chocolate taste test); the remaining five who couldn't pass the taste test, went on to cook in the second round highlighted below.
^Abinas used his previously won Immunity Pin to spare himself from the elimination challenge in this episode.
^Other contestants who competed in the Wild Card Entry challenge were Harsh, Ulka, and Priyanka.
^Although he had the Immunity Pin, Akash decided to not use it and participated in the Elimination Challenge.
