MasterChef Australia series 18

The eighteenth series of the Australian television cooking show MasterChef Australia premiered on 19 April 2026. It featured the same four judges as the two previous editions: series 4 winner Andy Allen, food writer Sofia Levin, French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and series 1 runner-up Poh Ling Yeow.

MasterChef Australia 2026
Season 18
Judges	Andy Allen Sofia Levin Jean-Christophe Novelli Poh Ling Yeow
No. of contestants	24
No. of episodes	35
Release
Original network	Network 10
Original release	19 April 2026 (2026-04-19) – present
Series chronology

Guests will include Jimmy Barnes, Maggie Beer, Andy Hearnden, Robert Irwin, Justine Schofield, Rick Stein, Curtis Stone and Adriano Zumbo. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will appear as a guest judge.

Changes

In contrast to the previous series, the show returned to featuring a cast of 24 new contestants. In addition, for the first time since series thirteen an auditions stage was broadcast, with the auditions previously either having been omitted from broadcast or not held. Over the first three episodes, 40 contestants competed in the auditions stage for a top 24 position. In each of the first two episodes, 10 contestants were chosen from 20 competitors and in the third episode, the final 4 contestants were chosen from the 20 remaining competitors from the first two episodes of audition rounds.

Contestants

Top 24

Contestant	Age	State	Occupation	Status
Aaron Kher	32	VIC	Medical product specialist	Competing
Alyona Iljuhhina	38	NSW	Clinical research manager	Competing
Annabel Lloyd	30	NSW	Registered nurse	Competing
Bella Di Conza	21	VIC	Agriculture student	Competing Returned 9 June Eliminated 6 May
Casper Kenworthy	28	ACT	Technology consultant	Competing
Emily Sue	37	NSW	Youth worker	Competing
Grace West-King	23	VIC	Retail assistant	Competing
Hannah Johnson	37	WA	Homemaker	Competing
Luke Harris	19	WA	Student	Competing
Pat McGarry	36	NSW	Council worker	Competing
Petro Papathomas	30	VIC	Chartered accountant	Competing
Vinnie Gibaldi	25	VIC	Registered nurse	Competing
Jackie Yu	31	NSW	Tech recruiter	Eliminated 15 June
Dot McHugh	31	NSW	Senior graphic designer	Eliminated 10 June
Jack Hosking	29	SA	Events manager	Eliminated 8 June
Lydia Kamperos	58	NSW	Homemaker	Eliminated 3 June
Olaolu Olorunnimbe	34	NSW	Brand consultant	Eliminated 1 June
Miin Wei Looi	52	VIC	Communications strategist	Eliminated 25 May
Lucy Mansfield	24	QLD	Web designer	Eliminated 20 May
Kanika Gadyok	35	NSW	IT analyst	Eliminated 18 May
Alita Harvey-Rodriguez	40	VIC	Chief operating officer	Eliminated 11 May
Belinda Gosden	56	WA	Education administrator	Eliminated 4 May
Jeff Lam	47	VIC	Print production technician	Eliminated 29 April
Megs Steel	40	QLD	HR consultant	Eliminated 27 April

Guests

Week	Guest	Challenge
2	Jimmy Barnes & Jane Barnes	Mystery box challenge
	Maggie Beer	Pressure test
3 (Family Favorites Week)	Andy Cooks	Immunity breakfast challenge
4 (Viral Wonders Week)	Catherine Zhang	Mystery box challenge
	Victoria Minell	Viral ingredients challenge
	Lily Huynh	Service challenge
	Khanh Ong	Sandwich immunity pin challenge
5 (Global Week)	Rick Stein	Mystery box challenge
	Rosheen Kaul	Pressure test
6 (Nostalgia Week)	Vincent Yeow Lim	Mystery box challenge
	Justine Schofield	Immunity pin challenge
7 (Perfect Pairs Week)	Matt Sinclair & Daniel Dobra	Mystery box challenge
8 (Aussie Classics Week)	Curtis Stone	Mystery box challenge
		Elimination challenge
	Robert Irwin	Elimination challenge
9 (Sweet Week)	Adriano Zumbo	Mystery box challenge
	Jess Lemon	Immunity pin challenge
10 (Masters Week)	Josh Niland	Mystery box challenge
	Curtis Stone	Elimination challenge
	Tom Sarafian
	Kirsten Tibballs	Elimination challenge

Elimination chart

No.	Week	1	2		3		4			5		6				7		8		9		10
	Mystery Box Challenge Winner	None	Casper		None		Grace			Alyona Casper Grace Miin		Aaron Dot				Annabel Pat		Hannah Pat		Alyona Pat Petro
	Invention Test Winner		Aaron Dot Petro		None		None			Alyona Casper Dot		None				Dot Pat		None		Alyona Bella Hannah Pat
	Immunity Challenge		None		Aaron Alita Dot Kanika		Aaron Alyona Annabel Hannah Jackie Lydia Miin			None		Aaron Dot		Vinnie (Immunity Pin)		Annabel Pat		Hannah Pat		Alyona Pat Petro
	Aaron	Top 24	Btm 21	Top 3	IMM	Top 6	Btm 18	Team Win 1		Btm 11	IN	IMM	Team Lose			Top 4	IN	Btm 12	Top 3	Btm 4	IN
	Alyona	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	Btm 6	IMM			IMM	Top 3	Btm 15	Team Lose			Btm 9	Btm 4	Btm 2	Btm 13	IMM	Top 4
	Annabel	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Top 3	IN	Btm 18	Team Win 2		Top 4	IN	Btm 15	Team Lose			IMM	Btm 2	Btm 12	Top 3	Btm 4	IN
	Bella	Top 24	Top 2	IN	Btm 15	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 11)												IMM	Btm 10	Top 4
	Casper	Top 24	IMM	IN	Btm 15	IN	Btm 18	Team Lose		IMM	Top 3	Btm 15	Team Win			Top 4	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	Btm 2	IN
	Emily	Top 24	Top 2	IN	Btm 15	Top 6	Btm 18	Team Lose		Top 4	IN	Btm 15	Team Lose			Btm 9	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	Btm 10	IN
	Grace	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	IN	IMM	Team Lose		IMM	IN	Btm 4	Team Lose			Btm 9	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	Btm 10	IN
	Hannah	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	Btm 2	Btm 18	Team Win 1		Btm 11	IN	Btm 15	Team Win			Top 4	Btm 4	IMM	Btm 13	Btm 10	Top 4
	Luke	Top 24	Btm 21	Btm 5	Btm 15	IN	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 11	IN	Btm 4	Team Lose			Btm 2	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	Btm 10	IN
	Pat	Top 24	Btm 21	Btm 5	Btm 15	Btm 6	Btm 18	Team Lose		Top 4	IN	Btm 15	Team Lose			IMM	Top 2	IMM	Btm 13	IMM	WIN
	Petro	Top 24	Btm 21	Top 3	Top 3	IN	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 11	IN	Btm 15	Team Lose			Btm 9	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	IMM	IN
	Vinnie	Top 24	Btm 21	Btm 3	Btm 3	IN	Btm 2	Team Lose		Btm 11	Btm 2	Btm 15	Team Win		I.P.	DNP	Btm 5/Imm.	Btm 12	Top 3	Btm 10	IN
13	Jackie	Top 24	Btm 2	Btm 3	Btm 15	IN	Btm 18	Team Win 2	I.P.	Btm 3	Btm 4/Imm.	Btm 15	Team Lose			Btm 9	IN	Btm 12	Btm 13	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 33)
14	Dot	Top 24	Btm 21	Top 3	IMM	Top 6	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 11	Top 3	IMM	Team Lose			Btm 9	Top 2	Btm 12	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 31)
15	Jack	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	IN	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 11	IN	Btm 4	Team Win			Btm 9	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 29)
16	Lydia	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	Btm 6	Btm 18	Team Win 1		Top 4	IN	Btm 15	Team Lose			Top 4	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 27)
17	Olaolu	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 3	Btm 6	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 3	IN	WIN	Team Lose			Elim	Eliminated (Ep 25)
18	Miin	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Btm 15	Top 6	Btm 18	Team Win 2		IMM	Btm 4	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 21)
19	Lucy	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Top 3	Top 6	Btm 18	Team Lose		Btm 11	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 19)
20	Kanika	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	IMM	IN	Btm 18	Team Lose		Elim	Eliminated (Ep 17)
21	Alita	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	IMM	Top 6	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 13)
22	Belinda	Top 24	Btm 21	IN	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 9)
23	Jeff	Top 24	Btm 23	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 7)
24	Megs	Top 24	Elim	Eliminated (Ep 5)
	Eliminated		Megs	Jeff	Belinda	Bella 1st elimination	Alita			Kanika	Lucy	Miin				Olaolu	Lydia	Jack	Dot	Jackie

Episodes and ratings

Ep#/Wk-Ep#	Original airdate	Episode title / event	Viewers (national reach & total)	Nightly ranking
Week 1 (Auditions Week)
1/01-1	Sunday, 19 April 2026	Series Premiere: Auditions Part 1 — Forty hopefuls were welcomed to the competition, where they were split into two groups of 20. The first group of 20 contestants competed for a Top 24 spot. To earn it, the judges asked them to cook their dream dish in 90 minutes, with 10 cooks earning a white apron and advancing to the Top 24. Four contestants impressed the judges and were awarded an apron during the tasting session. They were Lydia's octopus, Olaolu's Ofada stew, Jackie's black sesame and yuzu cake, and Jeff's dumplings. After the tasting, the other six aprons were given to Alita, Jack, Annabel, Casper, Megs, and Aaron. The 10 contestants who failed to receive a white apron will be given a second chance to earn an apron in episode 3.	1,301,000 / 722,000	#8
2/01-2	Monday, 20 April 2026	Auditions Part 2 — The second group of 20 contestants competed for 10 white aprons. The challenge was the same: cook their dream dish in 90 minutes. During the tasting, three contestants impressed the judges and were awarded an apron. They were Pat's 'bread & fat' lamb dish, Emily's herbal wonton noodle soup, and Vinnie's porchetta sandwich. After the tasting, seven aprons were awarded to Hannah, Kanika, Alyona, Miin, Bella, Belinda, and Dot. The remaining 10, who failed to earn a white apron, will be given a second chance in episode 3.	1,115,000 / 660,000	#12
3/01-3	Tuesday, 21 April 2026	Auditions Part 3 — The 20 contestants who failed to earn a white apron in the initial rounds were given a second chance to compete for the last four aprons. The challenge was to cook a showstopping dish in 90 minutes. On the back of the tasting, the final four aprons were awarded to Luke (whose risk-taking on cooking a bombe Alaska paid off), Lucy (with her Earl Grey choux au craquelin), Grace (with her fig leaf sponge cake), and Petro (with his prawn bisque fettuccine).	1,093,000 / 659,000	#11
Week 2
4/02-1	Sunday, 26 April 2026	Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge — The first challenge for the Top 24 was a mystery box set by Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and his wife Jane. They had to cook with the ingredients inside the box in 75 minutes. The judges would only taste the 10 dishes that had the most appealing presentation. Halfway through the cook, Barnes added a twist. The cooks who incorporated whiskey marmalade into their dish would receive an additional 15 minutes to complete the challenge. All but Grace decided to take on the marmalade twist. After the cook, the top 10 dishes were cooked by Casper, Dot, Alyona, Jack, Luke, Pat, Hannah, Miin, Alita, and Annabel. All 10 of them shone during the tasting, with Casper and Alyona's respective spatchcock dish (despite the latter changing the protein from rainbow trout to take advantage of the twist) and Annabel's cured rainbow trout dish being singled out as the top 3 performers. In a close decision, Casper's dish was the one that the judges chose as the challenge winner, winning him immunity from the first elimination challenge of the series.	1,158,000 / 640,000	#9
5/02-2	Monday, 27 April 2026	First Elimination Challenge — For the first elimination challenge of the series, all but Casper (who had immunity) had 75 minutes to cook a dish that gives the judges a look into their own lives. During the tasting, Emily impressed the judges with her tomato and short rib noodle soup, to the point where Jean-Christophe took off her black apron, earning her safety. Another dish that impressed the judges and earning its maker safety was Bella's hazelnut, coffee, and fennel mille-feuille. The bottom 2 performers were Jackie and Megs. Jackie failed to plate her duck in time on her scallion pancake dish. Her error was outweighed when Megs served undercooked and inedible prawns, making her the first contestant to be eliminated this series.	1,091,000 / 718,000	#11
6/02-3	Tuesday, 28 April 2026	Cereal Invention Test — Cereal is the main focus for the season's first invention test, and the chefs were asked to cook an inventive dish starring the ingredient in 75 minutes. After the tasting, Dot (with her corn flake trio), Aaron (with his steak tartare tartlet on corn flake shell), and Petro (with his Middle Eastern-inspired pumpkin with corn flake cumin cluster) were deemed the best performers in the challenge. However, Pat's steak tartare, and beer batter with rice bubble prawns, lacked clarity and were poorly executed, Jackie's Coco-Pops and kumquat tart was overpowered with cocoa powder, Jeff's Coco-Pops mille-feuille was a bit soggy, Luke's Korean fried chicken had poor batter distribution and lacked inventiveness and punch, and Vinnie's Nutri-Grain cannoli had textural issues. Having cooked the bottom 5 dishes, Jackie, Jeff, Luke, Pat and Vinnie were send to the pressure test.	1,158,000 / 678,000	#12
7/02-4	Wednesday, 29 April 2026	Maggie Beer's Pressure Test — After Maggie Beer presented two pies (one savory and one sweet), both made with the same sour cream pastry, Pat, Jackie, Jeff, Luke, and Vinnie had 1 hour and 45 minutes to create their own pie using Maggie's sour cream pastry recipe, with an accompanying side and sauce. After tasting, Pat's Sri Lankan chicken curry pie and Luke's beef bourguignon pie were deemed the two best. While Jackie's lo mai gai pie filling divided the judges' opinions and Vinnie's bechamel was too rich for his lasagne-style pie, the judges agreed that the time pressure got to Jeff, and combined with the undercooked pastry and overpowering spring onion flavor on his Hong Kong chicken pie, it was enough to seal his elimination.	1,114,000 / 669,000	#11
Week 3 (Family Favorites Week)
8/03-1	Sunday, 3 May 2026	Immunity Challenge: Andy Cooks — After a demonstration on how to cook an omelette, tornado egg and omurice from social media cook Andy Hearnden aka Andy Cooks, the remaining contestants had 60 minutes to create their ultimate breakfast dish, with immunity from the next elimination at stake. The judges would only taste 12 of the most appealing dishes. After the cook, the judges decided to taste the dishes made by Alita, Aaron, Emily, Casper, Jackie, Vinnie, Annabel, Bella, Jack, Hannah, Dot and Kanika. Of those, it was Alita (Peruvian cachanga flatbread dish), Aaron (fish congee), Dot (Turkish eggs), and Kanika (Uttapam dish) who cooked the Top 4 dishes, and all of them were immune from the next elimination.	1,100,009 / 642,000	#11
9/03-2	Monday, 4 May 2026	Elimination Challenge: Reinventing Carbs — After the judges gave a demonstration of different ways to prepare quick carbs, where Jean-Christophe made oven-cooked pilaf rice, Poh made rice noodles, Sofia made potato latkes, and Andy made his two-ingredient yoghurt flatbread, the contestants (except Alita, Aaron, Dot, and Kanika, who had immunity) had 36 minutes (the average time for a family to prepare a dinner on a weeknight) to use one of the four hacks to make a dish that would save them from elimination. After tasting, Annabel (barramundi with Sri Lankan sambal and rice pilaf), Lucy (crispy beef noodles), and Petro (prawn moilee paired with flatbread) were judged to have the top dishes. Meanwhile, Olaolu, Belinda, and Vinnie landed in the bottom 3. Olaolu struggled with his flatbread and, while he managed to recover and earned praise for the flatbread, the kofta, which was served with the flatbread, was dry. Vinnie's dish had good flavours, but his lamb was undercooked, and the flatbread was too doughy. It was Belinda's mismatched concept of a smashburger on top of a flatbread, judged to be very dry and rubbery, that sent her home.	1,196,000 / 706,000	#12
10/03-3	Tuesday, 5 May 2026	First Team Challenge — The remaining 21 contestants were welcomed with a cloche on their bench, revealed to be a coloured apron. The colour determined the teams of 3 for the series' first team challenge. The task is to cook a family feast consisting of two mains, three sides, and a dessert in 75 minutes. After the tasting, the judges were impressed by 2 teams. The Turquoise team of Dot, Miin and Alita was praised for their generosity and cohesiveness, especially praising Dot's cauliflower salad. The Purple team of Aaron, Emily, and Lucy was also praised for their teamwork and how it showed in their Chinese feast. Those two teams were deemed the top performers and were safe. Unfortunately, the Pink team of Pat, Lydia, and Olaolu was plagued with unevenly-cooked chicken and a lack of seasoning across the board, whilst the Navy team of Hannah, Bella, and Alyona overcomplicated their feast, and the amount of sauces overpowered the dishes. As a result, those two teams will face off in the next elimination.	1,179,000 / 708,000	#11
11/03-4	Wednesday, 6 May 2026	Elimination Challenge: Family Traditions — After the judges showed the photo of their food traditions (Andy and his family going fishing on the school holidays, Poh helping her mother make and decorate cakes, Sofia incorporating her culture into her family and food, and Jean-Christophe's food tradition with his wife and children), Pat, Lydia, Olaolu, Hannah, Bella, and Alyona were given 75 minutes to make a dish that showed the judges their family traditions. After tasting, the judges deemed Lydia's chicken avgolemono as the best dish, with the judges commenting that it made them feel like one big family. The bottom two were Bella and Hannah. While Hannah's sauce for her sticky date pudding was unpleasant, it was Bella's over-complicated entremet dish that was rushed and had overall flaws in most of her elements that caused her elimination.	1,029,000 / 695,000	#11
Week 4 (Viral Wonders Week)
12/04-1	Sunday, 10 May 2026	Mystery Box Challenge: Catherine Zhang — To kick off Viral Wonders Week, the remaining contestants were welcomed by a mystery box set by pastry chef and social media sensation Catherine Zhang, which contained a variety of Catherine's viral fruit desserts. The challenge was to create their own dessert that celebrated fruit in 75 minutes, with the judges tasting only the top 10 dishes based on the most appealing presentation, the best dish will win immunity from the next elimination. After looking at the dishes, the judges chose to taste the dishes made by Emily, Casper, Grace, Olaolu, Lucy, Vinnie, Petro, Dot, Jack and Pat. The decision on who earned immunity came down between Jack and Grace. While Jack's honey and thyme panna cotta with blood orange and Campari granita earned rave reviews, it was no match for Grace's whole lemon dessert with lemon biscotti, and she earned immunity from the next elimination.	1,022,000 / 601,000	#10
13/04-2	Monday, 11 May 2026	Elimination Challenge: Victoria Minelli's Viral Ingredients — Social media creator Victoria Minelli set the challenge for everybody (except Grace, who won immunity) to cook a dish using one of her five viral ingredients: cucumber, burrata, pistachio, rice paper, or gochujang, in 75 minutes, to keep their place in the competition. The top dish of the challenge will be fast-tracked to the immunity challenge at the end of the week. After tasting, the judges deemed Alyona's avocado and sour cream ice cream with pistachio crunch as the best, fast-tracking her to the immunity challenge. Alita and Vinnie wound up at the bottom of the pack. Vinnie struggled with the focaccia for his pork and gochujang sandwich; as a result, he was forced to use the bread from the pantry, which was criticized. It was Alita who made more mistakes, as her confusing dumpling lasagne dish was wet and had the wrong usage of burrata, which was enough to eliminate her.	1,157,000 / 696,000	#12
14/04-3	Tuesday, 12 May 2026	Team Service Challenge: Viral Worthy Dish — The remaining contestants (save for Alyona, who was fast-tracked to the immunity challenge) were split into 6 opposing teams of three for their first service challenge, where they had to create one viral-worthy dish for hundreds of diners. They had two hours of prep time before the diners came, and amongst the diners, there was a mystery guest. After the challenge was over, the mystery guest was revealed: food influencer and social media creator Lily Huynh. After the tasting, Orange team (with their pork rendang tostada) and Blue team (with their pork belly roti taco) were deemed the best, so Miin, Annabel, and Jackie (Orange) and Aaron, Hannah, and Lydia (Blue) would join Alyona to compete for immunity.	1,029,000 / 607,000	#14
15/04-4	Wednesday, 13 May 2026	Immunity Pin Challenge: Khanh Ong — Former contestant Khanh Ong returned to the kitchen to set up a challenge for Miin, Annabel, Jackie, Aaron, Hannah, Lydia, and Alyona: to create their version of an epic sandwich in 60 minutes, with an immunity pin at stake. After the tasting, although everyone rose to the challenge and produced exemplary sandwiches, the judges singled out Jackie's bulgogi Philly cheesesteak sandwich as the most memorable, and she earned the series' first immunity pin, which gave her the opportunity to skip any elimination challenge, but only after she heard the challenge and before cooking began.	1,086,000 / 668,000	#11
Week 5 (Global Week)
16/05-1	Sunday, 17 May 2026	Mystery Box Challenge: Rick Stein — Global Week began with the arrival of celebrity chef Rick Stein, who set the mystery box for the remaining contestants. They have to create an international dish from at least one ingredient of the mystery box, plus at least one of the 120 herbs and spices on display, in 75 minutes. The judges will only taste the 12 most appealing dishes from the challenge, with the 4 best performers earning immunity. After the challenge, the judges decided to taste the dishes made by Casper, Olaolu, Alyona, Vinnie, Pat, Emily, Annabel, Miin, Jack, Petro, Hannah, and Grace. Amongst these 12, the judges singled out Casper's mango and chili ice cream, Grace's crumbed snapper, Miin's Malaysian crab curry, and Alyona's Italian whole baked snapper as the best four dishes, and the 4 of them received immunity from the next elimination.	992,000 / 609,000	#11
17/05-2	Monday, 18 May 2026	Elimination Challenge: Cuisines from Around the World — In this elimination challenge, the contestants (except Casper, Grace, Miin, and Alyona) had 75 minutes to create a dish from either one of five cuisines: Vietnamese, Mexican, Lebanese, Japanese or Italian, with a hero ingredient (lemongrass for Vietnamese, corn for Mexican, eggplant for Lebanese, miso for Japanese and tomatoes for Italian) being revealed after they chose the cuisine. After tasting, the judges deemed Emily's jibu-ni duck and broth dish, Annabel's seared scallops with corn butter, Lydia's stuffed eggplant, and Pat's cavelo nero and ricotta tortellini with tomato water as the top-performing dishes. Unfortunately, Olaolu, Kanika, and Jackie ended up in the bottom 3. Olaolu's charred corn salsa for his Mexican beef quesadilla was overcooked and chewy. Jackie, who did not play her immunity pin, put herself in danger, as her miso and pumpkin cake was too sweet and had an inconsistent miso flavor. Fortunately for those two, it was Kanika, who had the most flaws in her Mexican prawn and corn dish: a missing tortilla element, a one-note sauce that did not meet the brief, and a corn element that lacked focus, which saw her eliminated.	1,103,000 / 678,000	#12
18/05-3	Tuesday, 19 May 2026	Invention Test: Fusion — In this invention test, the remaining contestants were asked to combine two cuisines into a cohesive dish in 75 minutes that celebrated both countries they selected. After tasting, the top three performing dishes were Dot's Hungarian langos with Turkish lamb mince, Alyona's matcha choux buns, and Casper's Japanese dolmades. Unfortunately, Jackie's stuffed fish was overcooked and had an underwhelming Italian-inspired sauce, Vinnie's mango sticky rice arancini was too mushy, Miin's rasam ceviche lacked Indian flavors and was overpowered by chipotle, and Lucy's Vietnamese iced coffee crullers were rushed and poorly executed. Having cooked the four least-impressive dishes, Jackie, Lucy, Miin and Vinnie were send to the pressure test.	1,057,000 / 630,000	#11
19/05-4	Wednesday, 20 May 2026	Pressure Test: Rosheen Kaul — Rosheen Kaul presented her version of chou farci for the pressure test. Before it began, Jackie decided to play her immunity pin, saving her from possible elimination, while Lucy, Miin, and Vinnie had to replicate the dish in three hours. Miin struggled during the challenge, the chou farci was cracked, and the presentation was chaotic, but thanks to his palate and intuition, his filling thrived in the judging, and he was the first to be declared safe. Vinnie executed all the elements well, but the dish as a whole was salty and over-seasoned. Although Lucy's dish was stunning and had great presentation, both the cabbage and mousseline were undercooked, and that was enough to seal her elimination.	1,099,000 / 671,000	#10
Week 6 (Nostalgia Week)
20/06-1	Sunday, 24 May 2026	Mystery Box Challenge: Dim Sim Lim — Nostalgia Week commenced with a mystery box challenge, set by social media presenter Vincent Yeow Lim, aka Dim Sim Lim. After he demonstrated his pork and prawn shumai, the contestants had one hour to produce a dish with a steamed element. The judges will only taste the ten most appealing dishes, with the top two cooks earning safety from the next elimination. After the cook is over, the judges decided to sample the dishes made by Dot, Annabel, Hannah, Pat, Petro, Miin, Casper, Vinnie, Grace, and Aaron, with Aaron's snapper roulade and Dot's chicken momos were singled out as the best dishes of the challenge, earning them safety from the next elimination.	1,065,000 / 671,000	#10
21/06-2	Monday, 25 May 2026	Elimination Challenge — In this elimination challenge, the contestants (apart from Aaron and Dot) were asked to channel their nostalgia and create a dish inspired by their family tree and roots in 75 minutes. After the tasting, the judges determined that the top-performing dish was Olaolu's Efo Riro, and he received the $10.000 from Ancestry. Unfortunately, Grace, Jack, Luke, and Miin were the bottom-performing contestants for various reasons. Jack's honey semifreddo was too sweet, Grace's vanilla ice cream had melted quickly, Luke overcomplicated his paella, and the dish did not have a crispy bottom. Fortunately for them, it was Miin who fared worse: he struggled with the noodles for his Kiam Chye Ark dish, and as a result, he had to pivot with rice. On the final dish, the duck was undercooked and underseasoned, the broth lacked punch, and the rice did not have flavor. The lack of technique in Miin's dish ultimately sealed his elimination, to the shock of everyone (particularly Pat).	1,232,000 / 714,000	#10
22/06-3	Tuesday, 26 May 2026	Team Relay Challenge — The remaining contestants were split into four teams of four, to compete in a team relay. They had to cook a dish that features Greek yoghurt. Each member will have 20 minutes to contribute to the dish, and 30 seconds to transfer the information to the next member. Out of the four teams, only one team managed to execute the vision properly and demonstrate excellent communication from start to finish. Against the flaws of the other dishes, the Purple Team won the challenge, and its members: Casper, Hannah, Jack, and Vinnie, will compete for immunity.	1,179,000 / 695,000	#11
23/06-4	Wednesday, 27 May 2026	Immunity Pin Challenge: Justine Schofield — Season 1 contestant Justine Schofield presented an immunity challenge that was close to her and Jean-Christophe's heart: classical French cuisine. Casper, Hannah, Jack, and Vinnie had 75 minutes to create their classical French dish. The catch is that the judges will taste each dish blindly after the cook. Jack's lobster bisque earned praise for the cooking of the lobster but the bisque was hollow and lacked body. Hannah's take on duck à l'orange was praised for the cooking of the duck, but the sauce was too sweet. While Casper's poulet rôti and boulangère potatoes earned strong reviews, it was no match to Vinnie's pâté en croûte, which was praised for its technicality and flavors, earning him the immunity pin.	986,000 / 592,000	#11
Week 7 (Perfect Pairs Week)
24/07-1	Sunday, 31 May 2026	Mystery box Challenge: Matt Sinclair & Daniel Dobra — All the challenges this week will revolve around pairs. To kick off the Perfect Pairs week, the contestants had to choose between two mystery boxes set by two guest judges: a home-style box set by Season 8 runner-up Matt Sinclair or a restaurant box set by chef Daniel Dobra. Whichever box they choose, they have 75 minutes to cook. The contestant who cooks the best dish from each box wins immunity. Aaron, Annabel, Alyona, Casper, Emily, Hannah, and Petro choose Daniel's restaurant box, while the rest choose to work with Matt's home-style box. Aaron and Annabel (who cooked with the restaurant box) and Pat and Jackie (who cooked with Matt's home-style box) had the top dishes of the day. The judges decided that Annabel, with her duck breast, potato gratin and radicchio and fig salad, and Pat, with his stuffed chicken Maryland, pumpkin and onion purée, had the best dish from each box category. As a result, Annabel and Pat won immunity from the next elimination.	1,066,000 / 655,000	#8
25/07-2	Monday, 1 June 2026	Classic Pairs Elimination Challenge — The remaining contestants (except Annabel and Pat) had to choose one out of the five classic flavor combinations: lime and chillies, honey and soy sauce, bacon and maple syrup, orange and fennel, and coconut and pineapple, to cook a dish in one hour to save their place in the competition. After the tasting, Aaron (with chili and lime cured kingfish tartare), Casper (with orange and fennel dessert), Hannah (with orange-glazed pork with braised fennel), and Lydia (with maple and bacon loukoumades) were deemed the best four performers. Meanwhile, the decision on who to eliminate came down to Luke and Olaolu. Luke risked the challenge by cooking fish en papillote with orange and fennel salad. The risk backfired as he overcooked the fish, and his decision not to serve it in the cooking bag turned out to be a mistake. But despite the flaws, at least Luke heroed the flavor pairings more than Olaolu with his breakfast trifle, which failed to highlight the coconut and pineapple pairing he had selected, and as a whole, the dish was muted in flavors. As Olaolu's dish had missed the mark, it sealed his elimination.	1,300,000 / 741,000	#10
26/07-3	Tuesday, 2 June 2026	Invention Test: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup — The remaining contestants are facing an invention test in pairs, and their task is to create a dessert dish with chocolate and peanuts (the 2 main ingredients of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) as the main component in 75 minutes, and each pair had to make 4 servings of the dish. After the tasting, Dot and Pat's Chocolate and Peanut Banoffee Pie was the best dish of the night, and the judges praised the way they heroed the flavors without the banana being overpowering to the dish. Unfortunately, the pairings of Alyona and Lydia, and Annabel and Hannah cooked the least successful dishes. Alyona and Lydia's peanut butter ice cream failed to set, derailing the cohesion with the rest of the ingredients, while despite Annabel and Hannah's dish impressing in the tasting and the execution, they only served 2 servings instead of the required 4 servings. The 4 of them had to compete in the next elimination with Vinnie, who did not cook in Monday's elimination.	1,035,000 / 653,000	#11
27/07-4	Wednesday, 3 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Time or Ingredients? — Alyona, Lydia, Annabel, Hannah, and Vinnie were faced with a time displacement challenge, where they had to gather their ingredients from one of the four hidden pantries, which would be unveiled every 15 minutes. Whichever pantry they chose, they had the use of their usual staple box. Vinnie decided to play the immunity pin to save himself from elimination. Lydia had 75 minutes to cook with herbs, spices, and alliums. Hannah and Annabel waited another 15 minutes to cook with the addition of fruit and vegetables. Alyona waited for the last two pantries to be unveiled, and she had 30 minutes to cook with the addition of flavour bombs and seafood. After the tasting, the judges deemed Alyona's decision to risk it all with her pan-seared scallops dish paid off, and she was the first to be declared safe. The bottom two were Annabel and Lydia, and while Annabel's ricotta and leeks gnocco fritto was disjointed, Lydia's onion tart had problems with the pastry, which was crumbly and greasy, and it was this poorly executed dish that eventually sent Lydia home.	1,108,000 / 695,000	#10
Week 8 (Aussie Classics Week)
28/08-1	Sunday, 7 June 2026	Mystery Box Challenge: Ice Cream and Pie — Aussie Classics Week kicks off with a mystery box set by chef, restaurateur, and MasterChef regular Curtis Stone, where everyone received either a pie or an ice cream. Those who got pies must create a family-sized pie with condiments or sides, while those who got ice cream must create an ice cream and showcase it as an element of a complete dessert. The judges are looking for the best pie and the best ice cream to earn immunity from the next elimination, and have their products on sale in all Coles supermarkets for a limited time. After tasting, the judges singled out Hannah's cheeseburger pie with fries and Pat's salted caramel ice cream with golden biscuit crumb and apple pie as the top 2 dishes, and the two of them earned immunity, plus Hannah's cheeseburger pie and Pat's salted caramel ice cream will be put for sale in all Coles supermarkets for a limited time, starting from the day after the episode aired.	964,000 / 589,000	#10
29/08-2	Monday, 8 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Curtis Stone — After Curtis Stone presented the contestants with a display of various cuts of pork, the contestants (apart from Hannah and Pat) had 75 minutes to cook a pork dish that would save them from elimination. After the tasting, Dot's pork and peaches dish was declared the best of the night. The decision of elimination ultimately came down to Alyona and Jack. Alyona struggled throughout, and while the pork chop was cooked perfectly, the apple and fennel puree was grainy, and the dish lacked sauce. But, despite all the troubles, though, it was Jack's pork belly dish that fared worse, with an inconsistently cooked pork belly, a disjointed concept, and clashing flavor profiles. Those errors were enough to send Jack home.	1,212,000 / 704,000	#8
30/08-3	Tuesday, 9 June 2026	The Comeback Cook — As the competition reached the halfway mark, the remaining contestants will be taking a break for the day. Instead, 8 out of the 11 previously eliminated contestants (Jack, Bella, Miin, Lydia, Lucy, Belinda, Megs, and Alita) are given a chance to return to the competition in the second-chance cook. They had 75 minutes to cook a dish they hadn't had the opportunity to cook in the MasterChef kitchen so far. Although all the dishes were praised by the judges, 4 dishes were singled out as being the best: Lydia's Greek Salad, Lucy's scallops and corn noodle soup, Miin's Barramundi Masak Lemak, and Bella's 'Nonna's Garden' capsicum sorbet dessert. And, it was Bella's dish that the judges considered had shown the most originality, technique, balance, and incredible flavor profile. For these reasons, she was reinstated into the competition, and she has also earned immunity from the next elimination.	1,127,000 / 694,000	#11
31/08-4	Wednesday, 10 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Native Ingredients with Robert Irwin — Conservationist and television personality Robert Irwin presented 5 of his favorite native Australian ingredients: lillypilly, Davidson plums, lemon myrtle, wattleseed, and river mint. The contestants (except Bella) had 75 minutes to cook a dish featuring one of these 4 ingredients. After the tasting, Aaron's wattleseed ice cream, Annabel's cured coral trout, and Vinnie's crown roasted duck were the best dishes, with Robert deeming Vinnie's duck as the best duck he has ever eaten. But, despite some struggles throughout, Dot's river mint doughnuts was ultimately singled out as the least impressive dish, as the river mint flavor was overpowering throughout. This error ended her impressive run, as to the sadness of everybody, she was eliminated.	1,127,000 / 694,000	#11
Week 9 (Sweet Week)
32/09-1	Sunday, 14 June 2026	Zumbo's Sweet Lucky Dip — To commence Sweet Week, the remaining contestants were faced with a lineup of cloches. It was revealed that they will face a lucky dip challenge set by pastry chef and MasterChef regular Adriano Zumbo. Under each cloche, there is a different hero ingredient. They will select a cloche and the ingredient underneath will be revealed. They can pick again if they did not like the initial pick, but they will be stuck with the 2nd ingredient they picked. Whatever they pick, they must use the ingredient to cook their dessert creation in 75 minutes. The judges will pick the Top 3 performers to earn immunity. At the end of the day, it was Pat's Orange Mille-Feuille, Alyona's fish sauce ice cream, and Petro's tonka bean tart that were singled out as the top 3 and earning the makers immunity from the next elimination.	1,175,000 / 712,000	#15
33/09-2	Monday, 15 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Ice Cream Taste Test — In this 2-round elimination challenge, the remaining contestants (apart from Pat, Alyona, and Petro) are going to participate in an ice cream taste test. One by one, they will all step up, pick an ice cream, taste, and correctly identify the flavors. Unfortunately, it was Casper (who mistook saffron for jackfruit), Annabel (who mistook mango for orange), Aaron (who mistook cauliflower for parsnip), and Jackie (who mistook watermelon for rockmelon) who got their answers wrong, and they ended up in round 2. In round 2, Casper, Annabel, Aaron, and Jackie have 75 minutes to cook a dessert using all the ingredients found on the ice cream from the first round, plus their usual staple pantry box. In the tasting, Annabel's brown butter ice cream dish and Aaron's tomato salad-inspired dessert shone in the judging, while Jackie and Casper faced the final verdict. While the elements of Casper's Saffron and Orange Ice Cream were too subtle and lacked definition, Jackie's fig and ice cream dessert creation had an undercooked financier and a misplaced mint and lime granita, which sealed her elimination.	1,266,000 / 744,000	#9
34/09-3	Tuesday, 16 June 2026	Air Fryer Desserts — In this challenge, the remaining contestants have 75 minutes to cook their desserts using a Tefal air fryer. In addition to that, they will not have access to the oven. The Top 4 dishes will earn their makers a chance to cook in the immunity challenge, and the overall top dish will earn a $5000 voucher from Harvey Norman. After tasting, Alyona's whiskey and miso chocolate torte, Pat's apple tarte tatin, Hannah's After Dark donuts, and Bella's apple meringue tart were selected as the top 4 dishes, and Alyona, Pat, Hannah, and Bella will compete for immunity. In addition, the judges singled out Pat for producing the best dish of the challenge, earning him the $5000 voucher.	1,100,000 / 696,000	#12
35/09-4	Wednesday, 17 June 2026	Immunity Pin Challenge: Beat The MasterChef with Jess Lemon — In this immunity challenge, Alyona, Pat, Hannah, and Bella had to beat former contestant Jessica 'Jess' Liementara aka Jess Lemon, who previously competed in season 10, season 12, and Dessert Masters. The 4 contestants got to pick their core ingredients from the choices of raspberries, lemon, hazelnut, fennel, and ginger, while Jess got what was left, and they drew macarons to determine who would pick first. Bella got first pick, and she picked fennel. Alyona got second pick, and she picked the lemons. Pat got 3rd pick, and he picked raspberries, and Hannah got 4th pick, and she picked hazelnuts, leaving Jess with the ginger. The contestants have 75 minutes to create their desserts, featuring their chosen ingredient; Jess only has 60. All of the dishes, except Pat's raspberry and rhubarb tart (which over-reached the challenge, resulting in an undercooked pastry and frangipane) thrived in the judging, and despite particular praise for Bella's fennel and yuzu parfait and Hannah's hazelnut and orange tart, they were no match for the simplicity and innovation of Jess' Ginger Threads dessert, as Jess was declared the victor. Since neither of them could not beat Jess, no one will be awarded an immunity pin this time.	932,000 / 535,000	#15
Week 10 (Masters Week)
36/10-1	Sunday, 21 June 2026	Mystery Box Challenge: Josh Niland —
37/10-2	Monday, 22 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Curtis Stone —
38/10-3	Tuesday, 23 June 2026	What's Under the Cloche? —
39/10-4	Wednesday, 24 June 2026	Elimination Challenge: Kirsten Tibballs —