MasterChef Australia is back in 2026, and it’s promising to be a massive season with numerous high-profile guest judges from Robert Irwin to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
As it premieres, we will share recaps of each episode here, from the cook highlights (and lowlights), guest judges, and who was eliminated…
If you missed last night’s episode or just want to quickly catch up, follow our episode recaps below.
MasterChef Australia at 7 pm Sundays and 7.30 pm Monday and Tuesday on Channel 10 or stream on-demand on 10 Play.
Here’s the recap of the latest episode of MasterChef Australia.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD
Episode 24
It’s a mystery box challenge today, and there’s an extra twist. There are two mystery boxes for the contestants to choose between, one is called “home” and the other is “restaurant”.
The judges are looking for two top dishes, one for each box. Both winners will be safe from the next elimination challenge. Because more people chose the Home box, Hannah swaps from Home to Restaurant as the odds are better!
MasterChef alum Matt Sinclair is the guest judge today, and joining him is Dobbers, the head chef in Matt’s restaurant. Hence, the mystery box themes.
Inside the home box is chicken, prawns, silverbeet, pumpkin, orange, sriracha, coriander, coffee, chardonnay, white onion and parmesan.
Inside the restaurant box there’s black truffle, sardines, goat’s cheese, dry-aged duck breast, figs, lentils, tarragon, Pedro Ximénez, radicchio, potatoes, and mustard fruits.
Home box dishes:
Pat is first up for tasting. He made a classic roast dinner with the Maryland chicken, roast pumpkin and chicken jus. Matt Sinclair says that everything is “so-well executed” and “moreish”. Dobbers goes further and calls it “phenomenal”.
Jackie is next with her sweet roti with orange ice cream and sriracha caramel with chicken skin crumb. The dish totally surprised by the dish and all say that it’s delicious. Matt simply calls it “fun”.
Luke made a chicken thigh with a beurre blanc sauce. Jean-Christophe says it’s lovely, but we don’t see what the rest of the judges thought.
Grace is next. She had buyer’s remorse when she saw the restaurant box ingredients, but rallied and made a prawn pasta. Poh comments that it’s a “perfectly made dish.”
Lydia made fried pastry with spinach and ricotta with prawns. Dobbers says the pastry is fried too much.
Dot is next with a larb salad, but Sofia says that it’s missing freshness.
Vinnie is up next; he also regretted his choice of mystery boxes. He made a stuffed silver beet with chicken pumpkin puree and pumpkin puree. However, Andy says that his dish didn’t have clarity because he focused too much on the separate elements and not on a cohesive dish.
Jack also went down the pasta route and made a prawn tortellini. The judges commend his pasta work.
Oloalu followed with an olive oil ice cream sandwich with orange curd. Poh says it’s one of the nicest curds she’s had in the MasterChef kitchen.
Who wins from the home box?
The top two dishes are made by Pat and Jackie. Both very different dishes, but the winner is Pat for showing great skill and execution.
Restaurant box dishes:
Petro was first in the restaurant dishes. He decided not to make duck (like most of the others) and instead attempted to make a fig tarte tatin with goat’s cheese ice cream and tarragon oil. However, it didn’t go well and looked like “trash” according to Dobbers. However, he said it “didn’t taste like trash”. Phew.
Hannah switched from the home to the restaurant box. She made a goat’s cheese and fig tart with buck skin and tarragon potatoes. During the cooking, she couldn’t decide if it was sweet or savoury. However, Dobbers says that the potatoes and chicken skin made the dish confusing, as the figs and goat’s cheese are more dessert-leaning.
Aaron is next. He really wants to be a chef, so he naturally chose the restaurant box. He made a roast duck with caramelised figs. It looks beautiful, and the judges say it tastes even better. Aaron grins from ear to ear as Andy commends his execution of the dish. Chef Dobbers gives him 10/10.
Casper also made roast duck, but with pickled racchicoo. Dobbers loves his idea of toasting the lentils to coat the duck breast. He calls it a completely unique move.
Emily is next with a pan-seared duck breast and also makes a rachiocop pickle. Jean-Christophe tells her she did a great job.
Alyona also pan-seared her duck breast but made a lentil puree. Poh says that her duck was the best she’s had today.
Annabel is convinced she overcooked her duck breast. When she was plating, she only chose the best pieces. She served it with a potato gratin and fig salad. However, she shouldn’t have worried, Sofia says her duck is “tender and supple”. Dobbers calls it “phenomenal”.
Who wins from the restaurant box?
The top two dishes were made by Aaron (no surprise) and Annabel (also no surprise after the judges’ comments). In the end, Annabel’s truffle potato gratin pushed her dish over the line, and she won dish of the day and is safe from elimination.
Episode 23
Last night, Jack, Hannah, Vinnie, and Casper won the relay challenge, and tonight they are competing against one another to win immunity. And, to make it extra special, the guest judge is none other than returning MasterChef alumna Justine Schofield! Plus, there’s another special twist: the winner will also receive an immunity pin.
Justine competed against Poh and Julie Goodwin in the first-ever season of MasterChef Australia and has gone on to have an incredible career.
Tonight, in celebration of Justine being in the kitchen, the contestants must create classic French cuisine.
Vinnie isn’t too pleased, as French-style cooking is not his jam.
But there’s another twist: the judges won’t be watching the contestants cook. Instead, it will be a blind taste test, and Justine will stay in the kitchen to help.
What did they make?
Lobster bisque (made by Jack) is up first. Jean-Christophe called it “impeccable”, Poh said it’s “succulent”, but Andy said that the sauce is a bit “hollow”. Jean-Christophe believes that Casper made it.
But, Casper’s is up next, with a classic French roast chicken (or poulet rôti). Andy said that the potatoes were his favourite part of the dish, but the chicken breast was overcooked. Poh’s chicken piece was cooked better, but she loved the leeks. Sofia guesses that Vinnie made it.
Hannah’s duck à l’orange is next. The judges keep calling the dish safe and correctly guess that it is Hannah’s creation. However, the sauce let down the dish. She forgot to put the butter in too late, and the sauce is closer to caramel and is too thick.
Vinnie’s dish is last with his pâté en croûte. He was the least excited by this challenge, but gave it his all. The judges all believe that the dish could only be made by Casper, who uses plenty of French techniques in his cooking. But essentially it’s meat encased in a pastry, much like a sandwich, which is Vinnie’s comfort zone. Jean-Christophe said the dish is “incroyable”. Andy comments that it’s “proper French cuisine.”
Jean-Christophe is flabbergasted when he learns who made each of the dishes. And unsurprisingly, Vinnie wins the challenge and the immunity pin!
Episode 22
Waiting for the contestants in the kitchen tonight is an old-school television and a VHS tape. Some of the younger contestants are baffled.
The VHS plays previous seasons’ team relay challenges! Which is what’s happening today. They are split into four teams of four. They each have 20 minutes to cook their part of the dish, then 30 seconds to relay their information to the next team member. The winning team will cook in the next episode’s immunity challenge.
After they decide who goes first, there’s a twist. There’s an ingredient they have to include in their dish. Tonight, that’s yoghurt.
Red team
Petro is starting for the red team. He decides on pork skewers with tzatziki. Emily follows, and Petro tells her she needs to get a flatbread on. He gives her a ratio for the flatbread and decides to just do what she’s told. However, Petro told her to use plain flour, but it was supposed to be self-raising flour. Oops.
Hannah follows Emily, and she freaks both of them out when she decides to add fish sauce to the tzatziki. It’s also not clear if she knows that yoghurt is the hero ingredient.
Pat tastes the tzatziki and thinks it’s a bit tart (thanks to the fish sauce) and adds in tahini. When the flatbreads don’t rise, he decides to roll them out and make them into thin flatbreads.
In the end, they served up pork skewers, flat breads and tzatziki. It’s the dish that Petro planned, even with the communication issues.
However, Andy says that their take on the tzatziki sauce just didn’t come together.
Green team
Dot starts for the green team. When she heard yoghurt, she immediately thought of Lebanese cuisine. However, she considers her teammates and decides to start a dessert. She starts a yoghurt ice cream and a pear galette with yoghurt in the dough.
Jackie follows, and she notices that the dough isn’t the right texture as she thinks it’s a rough puff, because Dot said tarte tatin, when it was meant to be a galette!
Aaron isn’t a dessert guy, so it’s a bit outside his comfort zone. He has no idea if he’s doing it right. Both Dot and Jackie are begging him to get it in the oven from the side room.
Grace adds a wash to the tart and cranks the oven up to ensure the tart cooks in time.
They serve up a pear tart with yoghurt ice cream. It’s similar to what Dot planned, except for the galette/tart tatin mix-up.
Sadly, the tart isn’t fully cooked.
Blue team
Alyona starts with yoghurt-marinated chicken with tzatziki. She gets the bench super organised to make it clear to her teammates what’s happening.
Olaolu follows Alyona and seems at ease as he butchers the chicken. However, Andy tells him that the dish so far is too simple. So, Olaolu decides to make a flatbread (with self-raising flour).
Luke cooks next, and he can’t see where the yoghurt is (it’s in the flatbread and roast chicken marinate), so he decides to make a tzatziki. However, he decides that the salad is too boring and grabs squid from the pantry and starts manically prepping it, leaving it to Lydia to finish. He fully changed the dish.
“I have a bench of chaos,” Lydia says as she gets to work constructing an actual dish. She decides to leave the Romesco sauce that Luke made off the dish.
The final dish is totally different to what Alyona planned. Jean-Christophe says Luke’s decision to pivot was “brave”, and he commends Lydia’s efforts to finesse the dish. However, Sofia says the yoghurt sauce overpowers the squid.
Purple team
Jack is going Aussie with a rack of lamb with yoghurt mint sauce and hasselback potatoes. Keeping it simple, but allowing his team to elevate as needed. Hannah says Jack’s handover was seamless. She puts on some carrots to add to the dish. Her handover to Vinnie is equally seamless. He gets the lamb on and elevates the yoghurt sauce with black garlic and Aleppo peppers. When Casper joins, he basically just finishes and dresses the dish.
The dish is what Jack planned, and the judges love the dish.
Who goes into immunity:
Unsurprisingly, the purple team wins the challenge and is going into the immunity round.
Episode 21
Tonight, the contestants are greeted with a family tree. But instead of leaves, there are heart-wrenching family photographs for each of the contestants.
It is an emotional day, with many of the contestants crying as they are overwhelmed by the family photos. Alyonea says that the MasterChef kitchen has helped her reconnect with her Russian roots, something that Poh relates to, as MasterChef helped her reclaim her heritage.
Petro’s voice breaks as he is overcome with emotion while sharing his family’s refugee journey from Cyprus to Australia.
Olaolu also gets overwhelmed as he starts to talk about his father, who passed away two years ago. He began cooking after his father died, so it’s a side of Olaolu that he never got to share with him.
There’s an extra surprise today. Although someone is going home, the top dish will score its maker $10,000!
Who wins the $10K prize and who goes home?
The top dish today and the $10,000 prize goes to…Olaolu! He went super traditional Nigerian cuisine today with Efo Riro with semolina. He was positively gleaming throughout the cook. Even though Jean-Christophe doesn’t like “sticky fingers”, he eats it the traditional way, with his fingers and says he “absolutely loves it.”
The bottom four dishes are Miin, Jack, Luke, and Grace.
Miin attempted to make Poh’s noodles from a few weeks ago, but the dough didn’t come together properly. And after three attempts, he ran out of time to make another batch, plus he neglected his duck, which was underdone. A major no-no in the MasterChef kitchen.
Jack made a frankly gorgeous-looking honey semifreddo with honey twill. But Poh said it was too sweet.
Luke made a seafood paella (his family’s version). Sadly, said that what he’s actually made is risotto, plus, his seafood is overdone.
Grace made Mr Wolf’s Ice Cream Sundae, inspired by her parents’ former cafe. However, she had trouble with her ice cream during the challenge. Andy says that her vanilla bean wasn’t strong enough, and the ice cream had melted, so it didn’t hit the mark.
The dish that showed the least technique was Miin.
“He’s taught me so much, he’ll be a best friend for life,” Pat says through tears.
“I’m very sad, I tried my best, and today my best just wasn’t good enough,” Miin says. “It’s probably one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve made lifelong friends here, and it’s made my life richer.”
“I think my wife will be looking forward to having proper meals again when I go home,” he laughs as he says goodbye.
Episode 20
I don’t think I’ve ever seen MasterChef-branded steamers in the MasterChef kitchen. The steamers are replacing the usual mystery boxes – but of course, with all the steamers, the kitchen is hot.
The guest judge today is Vincent Yeow Lim, aka Dim Sim Lim, to the delight of many of the contestants.
This week is “nostalgia week”, so Vincent is bringing his story and heritage to the MasterChef kitchen. He demonstrates to the contestants how to make “the O.G. dim sim” using double-meat cleavers instead of a food processor, to prep all the ingredients. Hannah says she could bring the technique home as “angry mom cooking” as there’s a lot of smashing and slapping with the cleavers.
The challenge today is fairly straightforward. They can make whatever they like, but they must use the steamers for one element. However, the judges will only be tasting the ten most appealing dishes, and the top two will be safe from elimination.
What they taste
The judges first taste Dot’s dish. She made chicken momos, a Nepalese dumpling dish. However, she based her dish on something she tasted in Nepal over seven years ago and reconstructed it from memory. But she does it, Vincent says her dumpling skin is “perfection”.
Annabel is next. She steamed mussels and served them in the steamer basket. But the judges aren’t too impressed.
Hannah follows with steamed trout and charred capsicum sauce. Andy commends her technique.
Pat is next with prawn mousses Florentine and lobster. Jean-Christophe calls it perfect and fantastic “You make me happy.”
Petro makes banana leaf steamed kingfish. Sofia compliments his balance of flavours.
Miin makes a spiced fish custard, which reminds Vincent of the street food dishes he enjoyed in Malaysia, but the fish is a bit dry.
Casper went in a different direction and made sweet tamales with horchata custard. And it was a good move, Poh says she has no point of reference for his dish other than it’s “absolutely delicious.” Sofia goes further and says that she is “obsessed with this dish.”
Vinnie is next with steamed snapper on a Sicilian Sughetto. The judges all love the sauce and commend his use of nostalgia.
Grace made a basil steamed sponge cake, but she made a major error and forgot to put eggs in her first sponge mixture. So she restarts, but she puts the sugar in too quickly and has to restart again! However, after all of that, it came together. Sofia calls it a “special little cake.”
The last dish is Aaron’s. He decided to showcase his technical expertise. Snapper roulade with prawn mousse. But nearly hits Jean-Christophe with his raw prawn mousse when he swings his piping bag. Jean-Christophe says his dish is unbelievable, and it’s remarkable that he did this. He nearly comes to tears, he’s so impressed.
Who is safe from elimination?
Unsurprisingly, Dot and Aaron are safe from elimination tomorrow.
Episode 19
For tonight’s pressure test, the guest judge is renowned Chef and cookbook author Rosheen Kaul. Both Jackie and Miin are massive fans, so it doesn’t seem like Jackie will use her pin…
Tonight, the contestants have to make Rosheeen’s savoy cabbage ‘chou farci’. A take on a dish she perfected for Bistro Marigold. It’s seven layers of savoury deliciousness, plus a runny egg.
Although she thinks that she’d be a better cook if she learned how to make this dish, she decides to play it to ensure she stays in the game for another day. So now it’s down to three!
Lucy loves following recipes, so she locks in and seems okay. Vinnie is used to stressful situations as a nurse, so he’s no stranger to the pressure. Miin starts to fall behind them. And he also admits that he’s bad at following recipes as he’s more of a “skimmer”. He ends up putting shiitake mushrooms in his stock and doesn’t have enough for his duxelles, and he gets completely frazzled.Food
Vinnie tells Rosheen and Poh that he’s having “fun”, and he’s clearly the most relaxed. Lucy starts to fall behind him as well. Petro says that Miin has been flying around like a “headless chook”, but he caught up a lot and starts to outpace Lucy.
However, Miin again gets flustered and doesn’t get all his elements on his plate. He couldn’t find his better and barely got his cabbage on his plate in time.
Who goes home?
Even though Vinnie didn’t put his cabbage in a mould to cook, his layers are well constructed. Rosheen does say that they are squashed a little. But his presentation is “fabulous”. However, Rosheen adds that she found it salty. Vinnie did say during the cook that he likes salt.
Lucy’s is missing her butter glaze, and sadly, her cabbage is a touch uncooked.
Despite his kerfuffles in the kitchen today, Miin’s layers are well-defined, and his mushrooms are balanced. Plus, Poh says his egg was perfect. All the judges are pleasantly surprised.
When the judges tell Miin this, he’s also surprised! His eyes widen, and he shakes his head in disbelief. He thought he was leaving.
Because Lucy’s dish had more flaws than Vinnie’s, the judges sent her home.
“This has just been the best experience ever, and every time I step into this kitchen, I feel so lucky to be here and to be cooking for you guys, and I feel so lucky and grateful to have met all of you, and I will miss you guys so much.”
“I’m so excited to see what opens up from here. No regrets.”
Episode 18
It’s a fusion challenge tonight in the MasterChef kitchen. Waiting for the contestants in the kitchen are a selection of postcards and luggage.
The contestants have to choose two destinations and invent a cohesive and delicious dish that “sings of both countries”.
However, there are mixed reviews from the contestants who love fusion but are worried about inventing something new. The bottom four dishes will be going into tomorrow’s pressure test.
Jean-Christophe can’t help himself from helping Alyona, who’s combining Japan and France in her dish. She’s new to making French pastries, and he lends a hand and some advice (and even stirs her pastry mixture for a bit).
Poh is concerned about Jackie’s dish, as she’s combining China and South Korea. Poh isn’t convinced that her dish will be able to hero both cuisines. Plus, Jackie can’t use her immunity pin as she’s already started cooking. So she swaps China for Italy and is making a more European-style broth.
Luke didn’t fare well in the last invention test. This time around, he’s combining Australia and Spain by creating a strawberry gazpacho and kingfish. Plus, each element is packed with Native Australian ingredients like Geraldton wax.
Lucy is combining Vietnam and France in her dish. She’s making iced coffee crullers. Sadly, she burns her coffee crumb, which could mean that her dish no longer tastes like coffee. Eeek.
Who goes into tomorrow’s pressure test?
The tastings start off strong with Dot’s fusion of Turkish and Hungarian cuisines. All the judges adore it. The good vibes keep going with Lydia’s “empanlaba”. A mix of Argentinian and Thai cuisines. Olaolu picked the most distinctly different combination of Chinese and Nigerian cuisine, and made Suya Agege Bao, which he completely nails. And Jean-Christophe’s guidance with Alyona works, as the judges call her dish phenomenal.
Sadly, with the good comes the bad.
As we know, Jackie had to pivot mid-cook, and she’s not happy with her resulting dish. The skin refuses to budge off her steamed fish, and the dish doesn’t look appetising. Sofia simply says it doesn’t make sense.
Vinnie’s combo of Italian and Thai doesn’t land as the arancini rice is too “mushy.” And Andy says there’s nothing Indian about Miin’s combination of Indian and Mexican in his ceviche dish. Also, Aaron’s combo of Italy and Malaysia didn’t work as his filling wasn’t cooked enough. Petro nailed the flavours of his fusion of Greek and Japanese, but his prawns were cooked inconsistently. And sadly, Lucy’s coffee cruller dish is lacking in every element except presentation.
The bottom four dishes were made by Jackie, Vinnie, Lucy, and Miin who are going into the pressure test.
Episode 17
It’s another black apron day in the MasterChef kitchen. Waiting for the contestants today are five cloches decorated with the flags of five countries. There’s one for Italy, Vietnam, Mexico, Lebanon, and Japan.
They can choose whichever cuisine they want, but they must use whatever ingredient is hidden under the cloche. But, they won’t know what the ingredient is until after they choose a country.
Most contestants choose Mexico, and the ingredient they have to use is…corn!
Lucy and Aaron both chose Vietnam as their heritage is both from Southeast Asia. And they are rewarded when they find out that the hero ingredient is…lemongrass!
Petro and Lydia both choose Lebanon, and they must use…eggplant! Lydia puts her head in her hands. “I like eggplants,” she says to Andy. “Do I??” She asks herself, clearly not happy with the ingredient.
Japan’s featured ingredient is miso, and Jackie decides not to use her pin and cook.
Italy’s featured ingredient is….tomato, to the absolute delight of those who chose that country.
Mexican, heroing corn
Annabel made seared scallops with corn butter. The judges adore it.
Kanika decided to make corn three ways, including a salsa and chipotle corn. She was meant to serve tortillas as well, but didn’t get them made in time. And it seems she was right to be nervous, Andy calls her sauce “one-note”, and each of her elements appears lacking.
Olaolu’s tacos do make it to the plate, but his corn is overcooked and has lost its brightness.
Hannah made pork and corn tacos with crema, but Sofia says she’s missing some heat.
Luke made birria tacos with corn salsa. Remember, he had difficulty making tacos in a previous episode. However, Andy says they are good, he just didn’t have enough corn in the salsa to hero it.
Italian, heroing tomato
Pat made tortelli with tomato water. It both looks and tastes impeccable.
Dot follows with a ricotta spinach pasta dish. Jean-Chripstophe says he can’t fault it.
Vinnie made ricotta and basil ravioli with tomato sauce. Jean-Christophe tells him he’s not going anywhere tonight. Andy adds that he’d like to rub that sauce all over himself…so, that’s great?
Jack made a seafood pasta, but Jean-Christophe says that the tomato isn’t dominant in his dish.
Lebanon, heroing eggplant
Petro chose Lebanon and made a loaded Lebanese dip platter. Andy says it’s ripping.
Lydia follows, and she’s worried. She chose Lebanon, so her hero ingredient was eggplant. But, she’s not sure her rice is cooked as the eggplant started to burn in the oven before the rice should have been done. However, Poh says it’s “magnificent.” So nearly burning the dish worked!
Vietnam, heroing lemongrass
Aaron makes crispy lemongrass chicken thighs, and Poh says it reminds her of Vietnam.
Lucy made a beef and lemongrass noodle soup. Poh says it’s “absolutely delicious.”
Japan, heroing miso
Emily made Jibu-ni, but with miso broth. “I love everything on this plate,” Poh says.
Jackie chose not to use her pin and made a miso and pumpkin cake.
“I’m sorry to say, but I think you should have played your pin,” Jean-Christophe says to a stunned Jackie. He says the cake is too sweet and he can’t taste the miso. Andy, on the other hand, got so much miso and thought it was too salty, so he reckons it could be how she constructed the cake.
Who goes home?
Emily, Annabel, Lydia and Pat made the top dishes!
However, the people who made the least impressive dishes were Olaolu, Kanika, and Jackie.
“It came down to the dish that had the most flaws,” says Andy. And it’s Kanika who’s going home.
Jean-Christophe asks her not to give up her dream.
“It’s just been an incredible journey and so much exposure to the world of food. This is not the last time you’re seeing me,” Kanika says on her departure.
However, on social, Kanika wrote that her dish from the previous challenge with Rick Stein should have been tasted.
“Still thinking I should’ve been in the gantry. Spice challenge was the one I truly felt I am build for.. hard not to wonder what could’ve happened if my dish got tasted.”
Episode 16
Since the last episode, something exciting has happened: Dot got married! Nice way to spend your break from the show!
Tonight it’s a mystery box challenge, and there are a myriad of spices at the top of the kitchen. Turns out, this week they are exploring the flavours of the world. And to kick off the week, there’s a special guest: Rick Stein.
Pat literally bursts into tears when he sees the food icon.
What’s in the box?
Inside, there are some of Rick’s favourite ingredients. There are blue swimmer crabs, lamb chops, snapper, zucchini with their flowers, new potatoes, English spinach, English Stilton blue cheese, chickpeas, passionfruit, and mango.
They have to use at least one ingredient from the box and at least one of the 120 spices. The pantry and garden are closed, but they have the staples under the bench.
But the dishes must look good; the judges will only taste the top 12 dishes. Plus, the top four dishes will be immune from tomorrow’s elimination.
Jackie considers using her pin and remembers she must use it before cooking begins. But she decides to save it for another day.
What dishes do they taste?
First up is Casper, serving what he calls his most “unique” dish: mango and chilli ice cream with passionfruit granita and tamarind caramel. Rick Stein declares it a “cornucopia of delight.”
Olaolu is next. Initially excited by the Nigerian spices in the kitchen, his cook didn’t quite go to plan, forcing him to pivot and put his potatoes in the chutney instead of the pie. Both Andy and Poh agree the change didn’t land, saying the filling lacked substance.
Alyona impresses with her whole baked snapper. Swapping alliums for spices proved tricky, but her passionfruit substitution worked beautifully. Andy praises the perfectly cooked fish, while Jean Christophe calls the dish “perfection.”
Vinnie follows with spiced braised lamb and hummus, earning praise from Andy, who calls the hummus “genius.” Pat also serves snapper, this time with curry sauce, and Sofia Levin raves about both the potatoes and fish.
Emily’s lamb noodle soup is a hit with Poh, while Annabel surprises herself with a North African spinach and potato pie. Jean-Christophe calls the rustic dish “flawless,” leaving her stunned.
Miin’s Malaysian crab curry earns one of the night’s biggest compliments, with Rick saying it’s the best flatbread he’s had in years.
Jack’s mango crème brûlée is fresh but slightly grainy, while Petro’s lamb cigars are let down by thick pastry. Hannah’s vanilla and rose éclairs delight Jean-Christophe, despite being a little salty. Finally, Grace’s crumbed snapper earns Andy’s verdict: “simply delicious.”
Who is safe from elimination?
The top four dishes were made by…Casper, Grace, Miin, and Alyona!
They are safe from the next episode’s elimination challenge.
Episode 15
Tonight is not just an immunity challenge; the contestants tonight will be in with a shot of winning a MasterChef immunity pin.
But this year, there’s a twist. Whoever wins the pin can only use it in a challenge after they know what the challenge is and before the cook starts. No longer can they decide in the middle of the cook that they want to save themselves and use it.
The special guest tonight is MasterChef Australia alumni and media personality, Khanh Ong.
“Honey, I’m home,” he calls as he struts into the kitchen.
The challenge tonight is seemingly made for Vinnie, but he’s not taking part. It’s to make the most viral sandwich.
During the cook, Lydia asks Khanh if she could hug him as she’s such a fan! It’s such a sweet moment.
What do they make?
Lydia is up first with her moussaka sandwich. Andy says it’s an “absolute beast of a sandwich”, in a good way!
Next is Alyona, who made a frankly massive Italian chicken sandwich with pistachio pesto, rocket, grapes and pickles. The judges love how she’s put her own spin on a classic with unexpected elements.
Following her is Hannah and her ‘nduja chicken sandwich. Khanh adored the cross-section and the flavour matched its appearance.
Next is Annabel with her steak frites sandwich. Khanh is “obsessed”, but the chips are a bit soft.
Aaron follows with a prawn po-boy. Khanh loves the sauce and the prawn flavour.
Miin is up next with his take on a Roti John sandwich wrapped in an omelette with chicken curry side sauce. Khanh calls the cross-section “gorgeous.” Jean-Christophe says he loves it as well.
Jackie is last with her bulgogi philly cheesesteak with kimchi mayo. Poh says, “It’s bloody amazing.” Andy goes further and calls it “dynamite”, and people who travel to try it.
Who wins the episode and the immunity pin?
To no one’s surprise, Jackie wins the immunity pin!
Episode 14
Tonight it’s the first service challenge! It’s happening outside, and they are serving hundreds of customers.
They have to create the next viral food sensation. Something that people would line up to try. They are cooking in teams of three and just have to make one dish. In addition to the regular customers, there will be some food reviewer influencers also trying and reviewing their food.
The two top teams will go into the immunity challenge.
What happens?
The red team of Luke, Grace, and Pat have trouble agreeing on a dish and getting started. Eventually, they decide on tortillas. Grace tasks Luke with making the tacos, but he has never actually made them before. He whispers this to Sofia, but it doesn’t look like he tells his team leader. He can’t get the hang of the tortilla press, so he starts individually rolling them out. Grace jumps on and starts helping.
The blue team of Aaron, Hannah and Lydia come up with a half-idea of a dish based on a cone dish that Lydia saw on social media. Andy tells them that it won’t work, so they go back to the drawing board and end up making tacos.
The green team of Dot, Kanika and Olaolu are making a dish that Dot had in the UK, but Dot insists that Kanika leads them as it includes Indian flavours. Kanika doesn’t really agree with that and starts feeling a lot of pressure.
The yellow team go down the sweet route, hoping their dish will stand out against the savoury dishes. Poh tells them they could have it in the bag, but their pandan pancakes don’t cook the way they want.
Who wins the challenge?
The two top teams were…The orange team of Miin, Jackie, and Annabel, with their dumpling-skin tostado with pork rang dang.
Poh calls their dish really clever, and the rang dang was a “flavour bomb.”
The second team was…the blue team! Pretty surprising as they pivoted their entire dish mid-cook. But their flavours paid off in the end.
Both teams are cooking in the immunity challenge tomorrow night. And the guest judge will be none other than MasterChef Australia alum, the fabulous Khanh Ong!
Episode 13
It’s a black apron day in the MasterChef Australia kitchen. Five cloches and a giant screen are waiting for the contestants. The screen then shows some viral food hacks from TikTok. Tonight’s special guest actually made those videos (her most viral video hit 200 million views), it’s Victoria Minell.
What is the challenge?
Under each of the cloches are ingredients from Victoria’s viral dishes: Cucumber, burrata, pistachio, rice paper, and gochugang. The contestants have to create a dish using one of their top five ingredients. The top dish will propel its maker into the immunity challenge at the end of the week. Whereas the bottom dish will send its maker home.
Who makes the top dish?
Everyone is being very creative today. Vinnie makes his focaccia from scratch, Alita is making a dumpling lasagne, Alyona is making sour cream and avocado ice-cream, and Petro is making taco shells out of rice paper. Sadly, Vinnie’s bread doesn’t cook in time, so he has to use the pantry’s ciabatta. And Petro’s taco shells don’t cook in the deep fryer. He pivots to hero cucumbers instead, a risky move on black apron day. Plus, before Allita serves her dumpling lasagne, the burrata already starts melting.
The dish that impressed the judges was made by…Alyona! She’s now fast-tracked into the immunity challenge.
Who is going home?
Sadly, the two bottom dishes were made by Alita and Vinnie.
And the judges choose to send Alita home.
“I loved the opportunity to push myself and to see how good of a cook I really can be,” Alita said.
“I’m going to miss this place so much, and I’m feeling content with everything that I’ve done so far. I’m really proud of myself, and I’m going to keep cooking.”
Episode 12
It’s the start of Viral Wonders Week in the MasterChef Australia kitchen. Tonight, the contestants have a mystery box on their benches, but they aren’t the standard wooden boxes; they are lit up in different colours and speckled with colourful designs.
Tonight, joining as a guest judge is Catherine Zhang. She won Zumbo’s Just Desserts and has since become a massive star on TikTok and Instagram.
When the contestants lift their mystery boxes, they see cakes that are made to look like fruits. They are actually intricately made cakes, each of which is a celebration of a specific fruit.
What’s the challenge?
To the contestant’s relief, they don’t have to recreate her desserts. Instead, they must create their own dessert that’s a celebration of a fruit.
However, the judges will only taste the ten most appealing dishes – so they must look incredible. The person who makes the most impressive dish will be exempt from the next elimination round.
Which dishes do they taste?
They chose Emily first. She made a coconut and mango celebration that uses chocolate shortbread to make it look like an actual coconut. Catherine commends its look and the balance of flavours. Poh calls it “inviting” and “adorable”.
Next up was Casper and his fruit sando choux buns with whole fruits inside. Sofia says he nailed it.
Grace follows with her lemon dessert with lemon leaf ice cream. Poh says she “flipping loved this dish so much.”
Olaolu is next with a lemon cruller and lemon ice cream. Andy says it needs something more.
Next up is Lucy with a spiced pear pudding. Poh says it’s nice, but her caramel is very sweet.
Vinnie made a DIY strawberry ice cream sandwich (this guy loves his sandwiches). Andy says his ice cream is really icy.
Petro is up next. He made an apricot clafoutis. However, during the challenge, he didn’t turn his oven on. So it was sitting in a lukewarm oven for a while before he realised. Sadly, although it was cooked on top, the bottom wasn’t cooked.
Dot serves up a cherry almond cake next. Jean-Christophe likes the flavours, but her marshmallow wasn’t whipped enough, and it’s too sticky. “I’m going viral for all the wrong reasons,” Dot responds.
Jack is next with a honey and thyme panna cotta with blood orange granita. Andy says it’s “bloody delicious.”
Finally, Pat serves up his self-described crazy flavour combination. He’s made “ice cream and jelly”, which is fish sauce caramel, macadamia and coconut crumble, blackberry and ginger lemongrass jelly, apricot and passionfruit jam and a pandan ice cream. Andy likes it, but thinks there are too many things going on.
Who is safe from elimination?
The top two dishes of the day were made by Jack and Grace. But in the end, Grace took home the top spot and is safe from elimination.
Episode 11
It’s an elimination tonight, so the pressure is on for the six contestants cooking.
When they arrive, the judges show them a wall of their family photographs. This week has been all about family favourites, and that’s what the photos depict: cooking memories with their families.
What’s the challenge?
They must make a dish that represents a family tradition in 75 minutes.
What do they make?
Lydia
She made avgolemono soup, an egg and lemon broth with chicken mince balls, chicken skin and halloumi.
“I’m very proud to give you this dish because it is a dish that you cook for your loved ones,” she says. “I do love you all. I still have to pinch myself to remind myself where I am.”
“That woman is unbelievable,” says Jean-Christophe
“I will remember this and crave it,” says Poh.
Bella
She made an apple and cinnamon entremet
Sadly, she made a few mistakes in her cook. There was too much gelatin in the dessert, so she had to literally cut it out of its mould using scissors. However, it has defined layers, and Poh says she’s balanced the flavours well. That being said, Andy says it “doesn’t taste amazing” or have an “awesome texture.”
Alyona
She made a “celebration cake”, her family’s take on a honey cake.
The judges commend her layers and the subtle honey flavour.
Pat
Pat made a prawn bisque and fondant potatoes.
Jean-Christophe calls it inviting and seasoned perfectly.
Olaolu
Olaolu again embraced his Nigerian roots with a spiced plantain cake that is inspired by Nigerian street food with roasted peanuts, salted chantilly and ginger custard.
“I absolutely love this,” says Andy. Jean-Christophe goes further and calls it “epic” and “perfect”.
Hannah
She made a sticky date pudding with ginger ice cream and orange and butterscotch sauce.
Sadly, Hannah had some issues during the cook and isn’t confident in her dish.
“The pudding itself sauce is lovely…but the butterscotch is not a butterscotch,” says Poh.
Jean-Christophe describes it as an emulsion sauce. The ice cream was the judge’s favourite on the plate.
Who goes home?
One dish made the judges feel like one “big happy family”, and that was made by…Lydia! Her dish is named the dish of the day.
Unsurprisingly, Bella and Hannah’s dishes were the bottom two today.
Sadly, Bella is the one who is going home because there were flaws in most of her elements.
“Cooking with this amazing bunch of people has just been so inspiring, I’ve enjoyed every moment,” Bella said on her elimination.
“I know you are going to be a superstar,” says a teary Poh. “And I want you to promise me that you’re not going to let this moment define you, it’s what you actually do after this,” she says before asking for a hug.
“I’ve learned so much from this experience,” Bella said afterwards. “Poh made me promise that this is only the beginning and I’m going to keep that promise.”
Episode 10
Tonight is the season’s first team challenge. Each team has three members. In tonight’s challenge, the teams have to make a family feast consisting of two mains, three side dishes, and a dessert. But they only have 75 minutes to get that all done.
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The two teams that make the least impressive dishes will go into the next elimination.
Most teams pick their leaders easily, but the pink team (Lydia, Pat, and Olaolu) haven’t. Andy and Jean-Christophe tell them they need someone to steer the ship so they know they aren’t going off course. Pat takes the reins, despite being a bit introverted. He takes to it like a natural.
What do the teams make?
Turquoise team – Dot, Miin, Alita
They made spiced ribeye, lemon and garlic chicken skewers, cauliflower salad (Dot’s mum’s recipe), a Middle Eastern pilaf, a baba ghanoush, yoghurt and tahini sauce, and a Dubai chocolate-inspired pavlova.
“Tastes bloody good,” says Sofia. Andy adored Dot’s mum’s cauliflower salad, “it needs to be my recipe!”
Purple team – Emily, Aaron, Lucy
They made ABC soup, cucumber salad, Cantonese-style steamed snapper, lobster noodles, fragrant rice and mango and coconut sago dessert.
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Poh says their Chinese family feast is all so nostalgic for her. Andy comments that the lobster cook is the best he’s tasted, “A+++,” he says.
Pink team – Lydia, Pat, Olaolu
They made a scotch fillet steak, sumac and lemon roasted chicken, kale, orange and grape salad, roast eggplant, beetroot hummus, stonefruit crumble and a creme anglais.
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“It looked really inviting, but I was looking for a bit more,” says Andy, more lift, fresh herbs, seasoning and lemon.
Red team – Petro, Vinnie, Jackie
Mediterranean feast of lamb cutlets, pan-fried whiting, confit garlic hummus, charred fennel and radicchio and orange salad, roast potatoes, and an orange and olive oil sponge with lemon thyme anglaise.
“I think this is a really well-thought-out feast, “ says Poh.
Brown team – Grace, Casper, Luke
Australian surf and turf: whole split lobster, twice-cooked crispy lamb, confit cabbage, chips, side salad, and apricot crumble.
Lobster was a little over, and the lamb should have been ribs, says Andy.
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Orange team – Kanika, Annabel, Jack
Indian feast with butter chicken, spicy chickpea curry, mint coriander chutney, mango chutney, yoghurt raita, lachha paratha, and kheer for dessert.
“Great flavours, it feels like this was made by an Indian family,” Sofia tells the Orange team, to the delight of Annabel and Jack, who haven’t cooked Indian cuisine before.
Navy team – Hannah, Bella, Alyona
They have made a “Modern Australian Feast” with roast chicken and yoghurt dressing, roasted snapper with herb sauce, roast potatoes with hazelnuts, broccolini, honey-glazed carrots, and a ricotta, orange and olive oil cake with orange and nutmeg icing.
Poh wonders if they had “a few too many sauces”. But she says Bella’s cake is one of the best they’ve had so far.
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Who goes into the next elimination?
The two top teams were Turquoise and Purple. But two teams are going into the elimination round. They are the Pink and, surprisingly, the Navy team (despite their excellent cake).
In the preview, it looks like family recipes are the focus of the elimination challenge.
Episode 9
When the contestants arrive tonight, the judges are also wearing black aprons. It’s an elimination masterclass.
This week is all about family favourites. Yesterday was breakfast, and today is dinner. The judges each cook their own quick carbs that are frequent dishes in their homes when they are short on time during the week.
What’s the challenge?
The contestants have to make their own version of one of the judges’ quick carbs in 36 minutes.
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They can choose between Jean-Christophe’s pilaf, Andy’s flat bread, Poh’s noodles, or Sofia’s potato latkes.
Andy’s flatbread is the clear favourite among the contestants, with the majority incorporating it in their dishes.
Who leaves MasterChef Australia?
The time crunch got to a few of the cooks. However, the dishes that impressed the judges the most were made by Annabel, Lucy, and Petro.
Sadly, going home tonight. The bottom three are Olaolu, Belinda, and Vinnie. It came down to the quick carb choice and how well it was executed. Unfortunately, the judges sent Belinda home.
“It’s been fantastic,” Belinda said of her time, and her fellow contestants blew her away. “I’ve been watching MasterChef since series one, and now I’m on the show, so you know, dream accomplished. I’ve learned that I would like to now take my cooking to another level. I don’t think you’re ever too old to start again. I’ve had eight career paths, so let’s make number nine.”
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Episode 8
It’s a white apron day in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, and another guest judge.
“Hey, babe, what do you want for breakfast?” says a voice off-screen. It’s Andy Hearnden, aka Andy Cooks, the New Zealand chef who has gone globally viral for his online video content. He starts all his recipe videos with the line “Hey, babe, what do you want for…”.
Grace calls him the “Gordon Ramsay of TikTok.” He was recently awarded TikTok Food Creator of the Year.
Today, Andy is doing a masterclass with the contestants for “three levels of eggs”. He starts with a classic French omelette, then the tornado egg (a Melburnian brunch staple, that’s a kind of play on omelette and scrambled egg), and finally omurice, a technical Japanese omelette.
What’s the challenge?
They have to cook their “ultimate breakfast”, sweet or savoury. But the twist, the judges are only tasting the 12 most appealing dishes, and the top four will be immune from the next elimination.
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And Andy is keen to try something he’s never had before.
What dishes do they taste?
The first dish belongs to Alita. She’s made a Peruvian cachanga with tahini yoghurt and chorizo ‘nduja compound butter. Poh says it’s seasoned to perfection.
Aaron’s dish is next up; he’s made a spin on a traditional congee. Andy says the amount of flavour is “unbelievable.”
Emily’s next with a bak kut teh (pork rib dish) with meat bone tea. Poh says she’s done a really good job. Casper made Korean-inspired fried chicken and waffles; Sofia says it “just works so well”. Jackie is up next, but Andy says that her crepe cake’s flavours are not balanced.
Vinnie’s fried gnocchi eggs benny are next. He had a few accidents in the kitchen today (and has the bandages on his fingers to prove it). Poh says that she loves how he includes nods to his heritage in his dishes, but that the dish was too rich.
Annabel is next with her prawn and scallop toast. She’s a massive fan of Andy Cooks, but she’s not confident in her dish. Andy points out that she’s left out her aromatics.
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Bella serves up her carrot and cardamom cake that’s made to look like a fried egg on toast. Andy Allen calls its flavours unexpected. Jack is next with his luscious apple tart tatin with a pancake base. Andy Cooks says he’d go back for seconds. Hannah is next with her Dutch baby with lemon yoghurt cheesecake filling. Andy Cooks calls it “bang on”.
Dot is next with Turkish eggs. Sofia calls it a “tasty little situation.”
The final dish the judges choose belongs to Kanika. She’s made uttapam, a South Indian pancake.
“I haven’t held back on my spices,” she warns Andy Allen.
“I’m hallucinating, but I love it,” he remarks of her dish. “It is such a good breakfast.”
Who wins immunity?
Aaron’s congee is the dish of the day. He’s safe from immunity. And joining him are Kanika, Alita, and Dot.
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Everyone else is up for elimination. In the preview, they learn hacks from the judges and are tasked with making a “midweek wonder” in 30 minutes.
Episode 7
Maggie Beer is in the house! Very exciting for the contestants (and viewers at home, you know we are huge fans of the legendary cook), but also sad as we will be saying goodbye to one of the contestants tonight.
Luke, Jeff, Jackie, Pat, and Vinnie are taking part in this season’s first pressure test.
“An icon of the Australian food scene” and a “trailblazer”, says Andy of the Maggie.
“I never feel more welcome than coming through that door,” she said as she walked in to thunderous applause. “At my age, it’s pretty good.”
“I’m pretty starstruck to be honest,” Luke says, who is positively giddy about having Maggie Beer in the kitchen.
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What’s the challenge?
Tonight they are making pies! Maggie reveals her “fabulous” guinea fowl and mushroom pie and an apple-and-sage pie. Maggie doesn’t have a sweet tooth, so she says a “sweet dish has to have a savoury element.”
Both pies are made with her signature (and versatile) sour cream pastry.
We love sour cream pastry at The Weekly. If you are looking for some recipe inspiration, for a classic savoury pie with a sour cream twist, we adore this patchwork chicken and leek pie, and for something sweet with a touch of savoury, you can’t go wrong with this apple and brie tart.
There’s a twist to today’s pressure test. They aren’t making the pies; they are making her sour cream pastry. They can make any pie that they choose, so there’s no strict recipe to follow. The pies must be the same size as Maggie’s, and they must also make a sauce and a side dish.
Maggie gives some pie-making tips
Maggie is always a generous cook, both with what she serves up and with giving advice.
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“I don’t have rules about how I do things,” she says, instead letting the ingredients dictate her process.
She tells the cooks that when they are adding liquid, never put it all in at once.
“Every flour is different”, she says. “Even the humidity can affect it.” She also advises them to “chill chill chill.”
What are the cooks making?
Everyone is going savoury. Pat has an advantage, his fiancée found Maggie’s recipe “quite a while ago”, and they use it at home for sweet and savoury pies at home!
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However, Pat’s going a bit rogue and making a recipe that he’s never made before, a Sri Lankan chicken curry pie with mango chutney. But he has a good luck charm, a little turtle that his daughter also uses for luck. He ends up with more time than expected and so creates some pastry leaves as a nice little extra.
Jackie is also making something she’s never done before, a Lo mai gai or glutinous rice and chicken pie!
“You’re pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Maggie jokes with Jackie.
Vinnie is making a lasagne-style pie with his nonna’s ragu recipe. However, Maggie and Poh advise Vinnie that his idea for a gremolata as a sauce doesn’t hit the brief. So, he listens and decides to put his bechamel that was going to go inside the pie as the sauce.
Luke is making a classic beef bourguignon, mashed potatoes and a horseradish sauce. However, his filling takes longer than anticipated, and he ends up falling behind the rest and not being happy with his pie.
Jeff is a confident baker, but has never made a sour cream pastry before. He’s making a Hong Kong-style chicken pie with Asian veggies on the side. However, he takes his time scoring the crust and is the last to get it into the oven.
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Who goes home?
The judges and Maggie adore Pat’s dish, no complaints, only compliments. Jackie’s dish puzzles the judges. They prefer the filling on its own, well, except Jean-Christophe, who actually really likes it.
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The judges also love Vinnie’s pie and love that he put the bechamel on the outside, but Sofia thinks it’s too rich. The judges like Jeff’s scoring work, but note there are some cracks on the side, and the base is uncooked. Maggie says his top pastry was the best of the five, but agrees with Sofia that there is too much spring onion.
Luke shares with the judges that he’s worried about his pie. He didn’t think the pie got enough time in the oven. But Maggie commends him for getting it out in time. However, he needn’t have worried, the judges love it! “What the hell is going on?” says an amazed Jean-Christophe. Maggie is likewise thrilled for Luke.
The judges decide to send Jeff home.
“Jeff, your dream doesn’t end now, it’s only starting, says Jean-Christophe. “You will always be a MasterJeff.”
“I’m proud of what I achieved,” says Jeff. “I’ll always be part of MasterChef.”
Episode 6
Tonight, the contestants are greeted with jars of cereal. Does it mean a breakfast challenge? Create your own cereal challenge? Nope. It turns out the judges are bringing back a classic task: the MasterChef Invention test!
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Using cereal as the inspiration, the cooks can create whatever they want, sweet or savoury or both. The bottom five dishes will put their makers in the next episode’s elimination.
Despite the contestants all being very creative and inventive, Pat and Aaron both decide to make a raw protein dish with a tartare.
“Hopefully, the best tartare wins,” says Aaron. Sadly, Pat’s tartare isn’t where he wants it to be. He calls it “mediocre.”
Elsewhere, Luke’s fried chicken is “terrible” as his cornflakes aren’t adhering to the meat.
Who goes into the elimination?
There are some criticisms of many of the dishes. The judges describe Vinnie’s cannoli as a bit “grainy”; Jean-Christophe also says that Jeff’s dessert is a little soggy; Jackie’s use of cocoa powder “overpowers” her dish, according to Poh. And a couple of other dishes are called not inventive enough to keep them out of the bottom five.
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However, the judges are amazed by Casper’s pannacotta, which is made to look like a bowl of cereal. He’s shaping up to be a huge contender this season.
And Aaron’s cornflake steak tartare “smashed it out of the park,” says Sofia.
Whereas Pat’s is called just “okay” by Andy, who gives him some constructive criticism on his dishes.
Luke’s dish is likewise found lacking.
So who’s in the bottom five? Heading into tomorrow night’s elimination are: Pat, Jackie, Jeff, Luke, and Vinnie.And in the preview, Maggie Beer AO is setting the challenge, and it’s pies! Perhaps they will be tackling a sweet and a savoury option like her blue cheese tarts (recipe here)
Episode 5
Black aprons are on as tonight is our first elimination this season!
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The episode opens with four windows looking into each of the judge’s own kitchens. The windows start to play video footage of the judges in their homes, including Sofia giving her partner a kiss as they cook breakfast together. Next is Andy cooking something for his partner (who has just had their first baby!). Then, Poh is shown cooking moon cakes in her kitchen under the watchful eye of her dog, whom she gives a big cuddle. Finally, Jean-Christophe and his family are shown cooking tomato soup together.
The elimination challenge
The windows were a hint. They’ve seen a window into the judges’ lives, so they have to cook a dish that gives the judges a look into their own lives. Whoever cooks the bottom dish will be going home.
During the cook, Grace nearly sets off the smoke alarm when she puts sugar on her super-hot cast iron. But it’s intentional…she says as she backs herself. However, I feel sorry for Dot, who is getting the smoke right in her face.
Later on, while chopping shallots for her duck pancakes, Jackie slices her finger with the chef’s knife. It costs her precious time and adds to the stress of the elimination challenge. Sadly, although she gets it out of the oven in time, she doesn’t manage to get her duck on her dish.
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Bella’s dish tonight is inspired by her friend Amalie, who died recently. While telling her story, the judges are clearly moved. After tasting her dish, which they say is incredible, Jean-Christophe leads them into a group hug to support Bella.
Emily also blew the judges away to the point where Jean-Christophe tells her to take off the black apron. She’s safe!
And Grace gets her vindication when the judges love her dish! So the smoke was worth it.
Who goes home?
Obviously, Jackie’s dish is missing the duck, but hers isn’t the only dish that misses the mark. Belinda’s vanilla beef cheeks don’t land for Poh, Hannah’s ragu is a little tough, Kanika’s dish is too tame on spice (she made it milder for Andy, which he didn’t agree with as it misses the brief), and Megs’ prawns were undercooked.
In the end, the bottom two are Jackie and Megs.
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“It came down to what we could eat and what we would eat again,” says Sofia and for that reason, Megs is sent home.
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Episode 4
We finally have the top 24, and we have our first-ever mystery box of the season. But they’re a little different tonight. The boxes are shaped like little houses, the houses and the country-style kitchen are a “clue”, says Poh.
The mystery box has been set by two special guests, ultimate home cooks, according to Poh.
“She’s an incredible home cook, and he’s an Australian rock icon,” she concludes.
It’s Jane and Jimmy Barnes!
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Belinda is a massive fan (she’s seen him perform four times!). Whereas Luke, one of the youngest contestants, has no clue who they are.
The happy couple have two cookbooks to their name. They are also avid home cook and grow the majority of their produce. Apparently, their love of gardening and cooking exploded during COVID, and it has resulted in a whole new career.
In a poignant moment, Andy asks Jimmy about his relationship with Jock, a fellow Scotsman.
“He was so passionate and enthusiastic,” reminisces Jimmy.
“He made us eat ants”, Jane interrupts, to laughs from the homecooks.
What’s the challenge?
Underneath the boxes’ roofs are ingredients that the Barneses would use at their home, including spatchcock, mulberries, cavola nero, Dutch carrots, thyme, rainbow trout, and Edinburgh rock (a Scottish treat that Jimmy enjoyed as a child), and so much more.
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The top dish will be saved from tomorrow night’s challenge.
The catch, the judges will only be tasting the ten “most appealing looking” dishes, explains Sofia.
As the cooks are crafting their dishes, Jimmy says to the other judges that he wants to be able to taste the produce, but Jane wants to taste the layers.
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About halfway through the cook, Jimmy adds a twist: Whisky marmalade. If the cooks use it, they get an extra 15 minutes. If they don’t, they don’t get the extra time.
They all give it a taste, and someone asks if they don’t use it, can they bring it home? A few decide to incorporate it into their dishes, both sweet and savoury. Only one cook, Grace, decides not to use the marmalade.
What dishes do they taste?
Casper’s is the first dish the judges choose. His dish is a spatchcock with roast carrots, pickled mulberries and a tamarind caramel (which has the whisky marmalade in it). Jane Barnes calls it “next-level” and is inspired.
The next dish is Dot’s. She’s made a “Celebration of Carrots” with carrot ravioli with marmalade sauce, rainbow trout and a carrot top sauce. The marmalade and the fish, “surprises” Jimmy, but it works in his opinion.
Next is Alyona’s dish. She changed from trout to spatchcock mid-cook to use the marmalade. Jean-Christophe loves it and tells her he wants her bean sauce recipe. Jimmy is disappointed…but only because his portion was too small!
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Jack’s mulberry sponge cake is next. Jimmy liked it, calling it moist. Luke’s carrot cake was also chosen. Jane Barnes tells him it was a great idea.
Pat’s dish was next chosen. He made fried spatchcock, and Andy loves it. Jimmy calls it fantastic. Hannah is next, and she made a butter cake. Jimmy calls it fantastic again!
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The judges choose Miin next; he admits that his spatchcock may be underdone. But Poh cuts in and it’s “perfect”. She goes on to commend every element of the dish.
Next chosen is Alita, who made soufflé pancakes with a rockstar mulberry sauce. Andy calls it a “naughty” plate of food, Jane calls it a “perfect balance.”
The final dish belongs to…Annabel! She made a cured rainbow trout with mulberry and marmalade vinegar and chicken skin salt, plus some ricotta. Jean-Christophe calls it “just excellent.” Jane Barnes calls it the most delicious cured fish she’s ever had. Annabel is a fan of Jane’s, so that is huge to her.
Who wins immunity?
The judges call Alyona, Casper, and Annabel to the front. Sofia says it was close, but the one they couldn’t go past belonged to…Casper!
So he’s safe for tomorrow night; the season’s first elimination.
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Episode 3
It’s the final chance for the remaining 20 cooks to earn a white apron and therefore their spot in this season of MasterChef Australia in 2026. However, with 20 cooks and only four aprons, the odds are not in their favour.
They have to cook a “showstopper dish” in 90 minutes. The pressure is really on. We get to meet more of the contestants, but trying not to get too attached! Like Grace, who believes that every cake is better with alcohol in it, she has a little taste test of liquors at her bench. But while she was doing that, her timer turned off, and so she has little idea how much time her cake has been in the oven.
There are lots of desserts tonight, including a very ambitious Bombe Alaska!
Who gets the last four aprons?
Like with the previous episode, the judges are very, very conservative with the remaining aprons. To be fair to them, they do only have four, and the competition is tough.
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However, Jean-Christophe is so impressed with Petro’s bisque that he calls him over to shake his hand and slaps both hands on the table! He calls the dish “perfect”. But again, he has to wait until after the tasting to find out if he has an apron.
“You’ve got to risk it for the bisque-it,” he jokes to Andy, to laughs from the kitchen. Poh says to Andy, “Oh my God, he’s such a cute dork,” again fuelling my own suspicions that at least an on-screen romance could be brewing.
That being said, it’s not all happy smiles; some dishes have undercooked noodles or chicken or too many conflicting flavours.
The top four are: Luke and his Bombe Alaska, Lucy whose dish brought Jean-Christophe “back to Paris with one bite”, Grace and her fabulous fig cake, and the final apron (presented by Poh just to fuel rumours), Petro! She even repeats his own pun back to him.
Sad to see the rest go, but now we have the official top 24 of MasterChef Australia 2026.
Read more about the contestants here ahead of Sunday night’s episode with the one and only Jimmy Barnes. He’s now a “true blue foodie” and is bringing a secret special ingredient along with him for the challenge.
Food
Episode 2
In last night’s episode, it was Group 2’s turn to cook for a white apron.
One surprising character is Vinnie, a nurse who has a dream to open up a panini shop (called Vinnie’s Paninis). He’s making his own bread, but Andy and Hean-Christophe baulk at his idea to “make a sandwich.” But maybe it will be the most incredible porchetta panini they’ve ever had. He is making the bread and the boccocinni from scratch.
Another contestant, Petro, is completely starstruck (perhaps lovestruck) by the presence of Poh. Could we have another MasterChef romance cooking? He really wants to impress the judges, but sadly, he scorches his trout’s skin on the hibachi and believes he’s lost his shot.
Who gets a white apron?
Just like the previous episode, if the judges are blown away, they will give them an apron on the spot. Otherwise, they have to wait until the end.
TV show recaps
Dot is getting married in 32 days, she shares with the judges. Eek. She was quite calm during her cook, she said she went into some kind of “trance”. But even though the judges seem pleased, she doesn’t get the instant apron.
Pat chose to cook a roast dinner with a twist and wowed the judges, scoring the first white apron of the episode. Emily was the next to earn an apron with her herbal wonton soup.
Vinnie’s choice to make a sandwich is called “brave” and “crazy”, but it worked! He gets a white apron.
After tasting all the dishes, the judges award all the rest of the aprons. Hannah, Kanika, Aliana, Miin, Bella, Belinda, and Dot.
However, the rest of the cooks will have another chance to earn an apron in tomorrow night’s episode.
Episode 1
The episode opens with a collection of home cooks’ videos showcasing their recipes and dishes.
TV Reality Shows
Then we meet the new crop of super-excited homecooks arriving after hours at the MasterChef garden, when all of a sudden the lights go out, and a video is projected onto the MasterChef building showing iconic cooks from the previous MasterChef seasons, from Sarah Todd to Reynold Poernomo.
The judges then arrive, and Andy Allen points out that all the cooks they saw in the video didn’t win the competition.
“I’m proof that you don’t have to win MasterChef to make your dreams come true,” says Poh Ling Yeow. “All MasterChef dreams start with the white apron.”
The challenge
So how do they get a white apron? Andy splits the cooks into two groups of 20. Group 1 is cooking for a white apron first.
There are only ten for grabs, so it’s a 50-50 shot to score a spot in the competition. In order to earn a white apron, the cooks have to present their “dream dish” to the judges. IT’s essential an audition challenge. If the judges like their dish, they will get an apron; if they don’t, the cooks will have another chance to cook tomorrow night.
Cooking classes online
Meeting the contestants
Jean-Christophe asks one of the cooks, Lydia (58), if she needs a tissue as she’s emotional, she responded: “I’m menopausal!” But also, this is a dream come true.
She says she is “downright excited to be doing this”. We see her absolutely charming application video, including her pantry (“organised chaos”) and her first-ever cookbook, The Australian Women’s Weekly Cooking Class Cookbook!
She got it when she was first married at 19 years old and says that it has the “best chocolate mousse recipe ever.” We’re probably biased, but…we agree! She’s not making the mousse tonight; instead, she’s opting for an octopus dish.
Like always, MasterChef allows the cooks to showcase the cuisines of their heritage. One of the other contestants, Olaolu Olorunnimbe, is passionate about bringing Nigerian cuisine to Australia. He moved to the UK as a child and tried to assimilate, but once he moved to Sydney after university, he embraced his heritage through his cooking.
TV show recaps
Who scored a white apron?
If the judges love their dish, they will get an apron on the spot. Otherwise, they will wait to the end of the round.
Andy says that Lydia’s octopus dish is “perfect” and he wouldn’t change a thing. She is the first to receive a white apron.
As the judges go through the dishes, they are exceptional; however, the judges are being very conservative with giving out the apron.
However, Olaolu’s Nigerian dish is dubbed “phenomenal” by Sofia. Jean-Christophe calls the tripe and the plantain the best he’s had so far in his life. After receiving the judges’ praise, Olaolu starts to walk away, but they stop him. The gantry starts chanting “apron, apron, apron!’ Unsurprisingly, Olaolu is the second to receive a white apron.
Also, after calling Jackie’s cake “textbook”, the judges called her back to also give her an apron.
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Jeff’s chicken and prawn dumplings also blow the judges away, and he gets an apron as well.
After tasting all the dishes, the judges award the final aprons to Alita, Jack, Annabel, Casper, Meg and finally Aaron.
We have the first ten contestants! However, the remaining cooks will have an opportunity to cook again later in the week…