A few familiar faces will be popping up in the MasterChef kitchen.
Pre-heat your ovens, MasterChef 2026 is just around the corner.
The long-running reality show, which saw a shake-up to the judging panel in 2024, has more changes on the way this season.
For the first time, judges Andy Allen, Sofia Levin, Poh Ling Yeow and Jean-Christophe Novelli will do the “apron auditions” themselves and narrow down this year’s hundreds of hopefuls to the top 24 contestants.
“We’re doing apron auditions,” Sofia told TV Week. “We’re narrowing it down from a larger number of people over the first few episodes to get to our Top 24. Doing that all on the spot, and it’s completely up to us judges – rather than the producers, who usually bring us our Top 24. It’s an extremely energetic and thrilling way to start the season.”
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, announced as a MasterChef Australia guest judge
Theories were circulating as to why Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, didn’t join her husband, Prince Harry, when he went to Canberra from Melbourne on their 2026 visit.
It turns out, Meghan stayed behind in Melbourne to appear on an episode of MasterChef Australia!
The Duchess is known to be a passionate foodie through both her Netflix show With Love, Meghan, where she crafts considered dishes for her friends, and her ecommerce brand, As Ever, which sells artisan spreads, teas, and wine (which is believed to be coming to Australia soon!).
She is joining the celebrity guests, renowned chefs, and returning contestants who will be on this season of MasterChef Australia as a guest judge.
Who are the MasterChef Australia 2026 guest judges?
Channel 10 will be bringing Australian celebrities and TV personalities into the MasterChef kitchen as guest judges this season, shaking up its usual roster of celebrity chefs.
Robert Irwin
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here Australia host, Robert Irwin, was one of the first celebrities Channel 10 announced would be acting as a guest judge.
“With Robert, there’s a big reference to Australia within the challenge because he is Mr Australia,” said judge Sofia Levin to TV WEEK. “A lot of people don’t realise what they do with the accommodation and restaurant they have at Australia Zoo, and his connection to food. With these guests, they bring their stories with them, too.”
Robert hasn’t been a guest judge on the powerhouse show before, but he’ll undoubtedly bring his infectious positive energy to the kitchen. We’re guessing native Australian ingredients could form part of his challenge. Dare we say…crocodile?
Jimmy Barnes
One of the (pleasantly) surprising names on the guest judge roster is none other than Cold Chisel lead singer Jimmy Barnes and his wife, Jane!
Like Robert, Jimmy hasn’t been involved with the show before.
“I couldn’t come here without bringing you something special,” Jimmy says to the contestants in the teaser clip, which was released in March.
“It was great to go behind the scenes and see how it all happens on MasterChef,” Jimmy said on his Instagram. “Jane and I learned a lot from these aspiring young chefs.”
Perhaps Jimmy’s challenge will be centred around music or memory or maybe even family, which has been so important to him.
Maggie Beer AO
The iconic food powerhouse that is Maggie Beer is returning once again to the MasterChef Australia kitchen. Last season, Maggie tasked the Back to Win contestants with using “flavourbombs” and brought with her some special items from the Maggie Beer food range. Could we expect something more?
We spoke with Maggie last year about her recovery from a terrible fall and how important food and community were to making her comeback.
Adriano Zumbo
At this point, Adriano Zumbo is a guaranteed guest judge on MasterChef Australia, and this season is no different. He has made regular appearances across multiple seasons, creating notoriously difficult dessert pressure tests. He has been both a guest judge and a mentor, and he has plenty of empathy for the cast, as he used to be one of them!
Adriano competed in the MasterChef spin-off, Dessert Masters, with his efforts judged by MasterChef judge alumna Melissa Leong and TikTok chocolatier sensation, Amaury Guichon. Sadly, he was the third contestant to go; the time pressure got to him. Plus, the competition was tough.
Justine Schofield
One of the most successful MasterChef Australia alumnas, Justine was a competitor on the very first season of MasterChef (which was won by our very own Julie Goodwin). She finished in fourth place, but went on to build a highly successful career hosting her own cooking program, Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield and as a cookbook author.
It’s bound to be emotional for her to be back in the MasterChef kitchen, but she will be with her old competitor, Poh Ling Yeow!
Maybe she will task the cooks with recreating one of her dishes from her series, or creating a new “everyday gourmet dish”. Can’t wait to see!
Rick Stein
British chef Rick Stein is a restaurateur, author and TV presenter, best known for his relaxed, travel-based food shows (Rick Stein’s Seafood Odyssey, Rick Stein’s Long Weekends, Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes, Rick Stein’s Cornwall). You may have noticed that he has a very popular range of crockery and cookware.
His style is very distinctive. He’s calm, reflective, and focused on regional food traditions, seafood, and travel storytelling. Perhaps he will task the cooks with creating a dish inspired by a travel experience? Or reimagine a British dish?
Andy Hearnden aka Andy Cooks
Better known by his online handle, Andy Cook, Andy Hearnden is a New Zealand chef and massively popular YouTuber and TikTok influencer. He is also a cookbook author. Andy made it big on TikTok with his “Hey babe, what would you like for dinner” videos, where his wife would request a dish and he would execute it perfectly.
He covers so many dishes and cultures in his recipe repertoire that we think he might instead challenge the cooks to make a TikTok-hacked dish. There was a similar challenge last season.
Vincent Yeow Lim aka DimSimLim
Vincent is a hugely popular TikTok influencer and chef. He runs four businesses and shares family recipes with his 2.3 million TikTok followers. From the preview, it looks like the cooks will be tasked with creating his viral crab dish (with his signature YumYum seasoning)
Victoria Minell, aka recipesbyvictoria
Another highly influential influencer, Victoria, has 2 million followers on Instagram, sharing healthy twists on classic recipes. We reckon she will be tasking the cooks with creating their own healthy twists on classics.
Lily Huynh aka biteswithlily
Food blogger and reviewer, Lily Huynh (better known by her moniker biteswithlily), is also joining this season as a guest judge. She is based between New York and Sydney and frequently shares a variety of dishes she’s tried to her 925K followers on Instagram. Will she ask the cooks to create their own showstopping dish? A visual masterpiece? Or something more personal? Can’t wait to find out!
Sarah Todd
Perhaps the most famous contestant to have been on MasterChef who never actually won the golden plate. She has been on the show three times (2014, 2020, 2025) and met her partner and father of her twin baby girls, Declan Cleary, on the show. She is a modern fusion chef with a strong focus on Indian-inspired cuisine with French techniques and contemporary restaurant-style dining.
Expect big flavours or technical prowess in her challenge.
Khanh Ong
King Khanh is coming back to MasterChef! The Australian chef, cookbook author, and TV personality first competed on season 10 of the hit show. He finished in the top ten and, like Justine, went on to have a phenomenal career in the industry. To celebrate his return to the show, Channel 10 reshared the first-ever dish that landed him his spot on the show:
Curtis Stone
Another frequent guest judge on the show, returning this season, is none other than Curtis Stone! The Michelin-starred chef often appears on the show to lead cook-along challenges, be a guest judge, or be a mentor.
Expect food and dishes with lots of precision from any challenge he sets!
Kristen Tibballs
Kristen Tibballs is one of Australia’s most respected pastry chefs and chocolate specialists. She also founded the Savour Chocolate & Patissiere School in Melbourne. She has been a frequent guest judge on the show in the past. Often she sets super technical dessert challenges, which often involve a lot of tempering chocolate.
Marion Grasby
Marion Grasby of Marion’s Kitchn is a Thai-Australian cook, cookbook author, journalist and media personality. She is also a returning fan-favourite contestant on the show, competing in its second season in 2010.
She’s likely set a Thai or Asian-inspired challenge. Or maybe the cooks will have to use Marion’s Kitchen products in their dishes.
Jess Lemon
Jess is another returning MasterChef Australia alumna. She was one of the youngest ever contestants in 2018 and finished in the top four. She also returned in 2020 for the Back to Win season. Following her first MasterChef appearance, Jess went on to have a successful career in the food space.
Josh Niland
The fish king is returning to the MasterChef kitchen as a guest judge, also this season. He has appeared before as a guest judge and mentor on the show, including a memorable surf and turf challenge. He became widely known for his “whole fish” philosophy, meaning he uses almost every part of the fish (not just fillets), treating seafood with the same butchery principles used for meat.
He’s one of Australia’s most influential modern chefs, especially in redefining how restaurants think about seafood. Can’t wait to see what he has in store for the cooks!
Rosheen Kaul
Rosheen Kaul is an Australian chef, food writer, and cookbook author known for her modern, ingredient-led approach to cooking with a strong South and Southeast Asian influence. She is a MasterChef alumna, competing in season 11 in 2019 and made it pretty far in the competition. She went on to author cookbooks and is currently working at Bistro Marigold.
We’re thinking she could set an incredible Southeast Asian-inspired challenge.
Matty Sinclair and Dobbers, aka Daniel Dobra
Matty Sinclair competed on a previous season of MasterChef Australia in 2016. Although he didn’t make it all the way to the end, it started his journey in the culinary world. He now owns and operates Peli’s Noosa and Sum Yung Guys. He collaborates with Daniel Dobra, aka Dobbers, a chef and content creator.
Will Matty set a risotto challenge to match his own first successful dish on the show?
While this season is so close we can almost smell the delicious aromas of the MasterChef kitchen, we’re still waiting for Channel 10 to introduce us to this year’s fresh crop of contestants.
When does MasterChef 2026 premiere?
The 2026 season of MasterChef Australia will premiere on Channel 10 and 10play on April 19.