The countdown is officially on for the MasterChef Australia 2026 grand final!
We started out with 24 hopeful and passionate home cooks, and now, it’s down to the final two.
That means we are one step closer to finding out who will take out the 18th season and win the $250,000 prize.
Scroll on to find out everything you need to know.
Who is the final winner of MasterChef 2026?
While the winner hasn’t officially been crowned yet, we do know it will be between Petro Papathomas and Vinnie Gibaldi.
They knocked Aaron Kher in the last semi-final challenge to secure their positions in the final two, and they can’t believe their luck.
For Vinnie, making it was beyond what he expected.
“I didn’t think that I’d ever come this far when I first rocked up to this competition, and I felt pretty daunted, looking around at all these incredible cooks,” he exclusively tells New Idea.
“I’ve got to say I’m pretty proud of myself for making it to the top two.”
While he has been praised for his calmness in the kitchen and flavour combinations, he tells us that it wasn’t always smooth sailing for him.
He explains that earlier in the competition, he wanted to showcase his skills by taking risks, but it didn’t always translate on the plate. However, when his loved ones and the judges told him to cook from the heart and to his strengths, that’s when everything changed.
Even though the finale has already been filmed, neither of them knows their final scores, so they don’t know who’s won the 2026 season.
When asked how he approached the finale, Vinnie says he wanted to make the most of it.
“At the end of the day, we’ve literally done this whole thing together,” he says on making it to the end with his close friend.
“Let’s go out together. You know what I mean? Like, let’s just have some fun and let’s make sure that we’re bringing our absolute best and smash it for everyone, for our family there, for everyone that’s going to be there.”
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For Petro, being a part of the final is a dream come true.
“It’s quite unbelievable, I will say,” he exclusively tells New Idea.
“I never went into MasterChef with any expectations on how far I would get. I would have taken top 10, you know.”
Throughout the competition, he has been admired for his calmness and his creativity.
“I think I work really hard,” he says about why he’s been successful in the competition so far.
“I studied a lot outside of the competition. And I think going into every cook with a fresh mind and trying to keep creative.”
“I get bored with the same things. So I always try to do something different, whether that’s flavour, design.”
“I tried to be inspired each time I walked into that kitchen, and I think that helped me not burn out throughout the competition.”
With the grand prize within his reach, he tells us what he plans to do if he wins.
“To be honest, if I won the 250,000 prize, I would actually go to a lot of restaurants. I’ve become quite addicted to learning new techniques and new flavours,” he explains.
“So I would honestly probably use the money to take half a year off and go and learn at some of the best restaurants so that I could get my foot in the door and learn from some of the best chefs.”
Vinnie, on the other hand, has different plans.
“I always say to my family and stuff like first of all, I want to chat to see if anyone needed anything and if anyone was struggling, family and friends,” he begins.
“After that, I’d really love to get a place with my partner Bridge, obviously I’d really love to start getting into the hospitality industry, whether that’s doing pop ups or something, because I know me, Casper and Annabel have always been talking that we want to do pop ups, and I feel like money would definitely get us started.
“Do fit the outs, and the equipment and things like that, that would really start off the career and then from there honestly, I’d I’d like to open my own place.”
“Whether that’s with paninis, whether that’s a wine bar, whether it’s that I want to do with Bridge, whether it’s it’s something I want to do with my friends.”
What can we expect in the MasterChef Australia 2026 grand final?
For their final showdowns in the MasterChef kitchen, Vinnie and Petro will go head-to-head in two challenges.
The first is a Mystery Box challenge. They will have 75 minutes to create a dish that celebrates the guest judges who have shown up throughout the season.
Then, they will have to make internationally renowned pastry chef Cherish Finden’s extravagant Chinese Afternoon Tea.
Known as one of the judges on Bake Off: The Professionals, and for her previous work as the Executive Pastry Chef at London’s Langham Hotel, the final two will have to give it their all.
It will be a race against the clock, with just five hours to replicate three of her petit gateaux and make nine in total.
