Whip out your fine dining sets and wipe the drool off of your chin because MasterChef Australia‘s 2024 season is steaming hot and almost ready to be served.
The iconic — and surprisingly generous — cooking show is back for its 16th season, but with a sad twist: beloved judge Melissa Leong will not be returning to the series in 2024.
With the untimely and tragic death of MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo last year, this year the show will have several new judges. Here’s everything we know about MasterChef Australia‘s 2024 season so far.
Table of contents
- Latest MasterChef Australia News & Rumours
- When does MasterChef Australia 2024 start?
- Who are the Masterchef Australia judges?
- Who are the MasterChef Australia contestants for 2024?
- Is there a trailer for MasterChef Australia Season 16?
- Where is Season 16 filmed?
- Where to watch MasterChef Australia 2024
- What day and time will MasterChef Australia be on?
Latest MasterChef Australia News & Rumours
April 18
In a fresh new twist, the winner of the MasterChef opening night challenge will win an immunity pin that will cover them for the whole season. Ooft.
April 14, 2024
Well, would ya look at that? Just two days before the season premiere the good people at Channel 10 have released the full MasterChef Australia cast list. I can’t wait to see their Hot ‘n’ Cold opening sequence!!!!
April 11, 2024
HUGE news, everyone!!! Australia’s favourite recipe creator — or at least, our favourite recipe creator – RecipeTin Eats Nagi Maehashi has been confirmed as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia this season. If she brings her dog Dozer I’m going to absolutely LOSE it.
April 9, 2024
A new season of MasterChef Australia is almost upon us, folks! And that means a whole new batch of talented cooks. Today, six of the the 2024 contestants were announced. Yahooo! Not long to go now.
March 24, 2024
Jamie Oliver was confirmed as a guest judge, alongside Adriano Zumbo and Anna Polyviou, after rumours he was going to be one of the main judges of the season.
October 23, 2023
Melissa Leong stepped down from MasterChef Australia and will be pursuing other TV roles.
When does MasterChef Australia 2024 start?
Masterchef Australia premieres on Monday, 22 April at 7.30pm on 10, and you can also stream it on 10 Play.
Who are the Masterchef Australia judges?
Channel 10 announced in October last year that Melissa Leong will no longer be a judge on MasterChef Australia. Instead, she will be co-hosting its spin-off series Masterchef: Dessert Masters, which will air its second season this year. How bittersweet.
“Over the past four years, MasterChef Australia has infused my life with something truly magical. It has provided me with life-changing experiences that have given me the courage to continue to put myself outside of my comfort zone,” Leong said in a statement when the heartbreaking news was announced.
“The great honour of growing the MasterChef Australia family with the introduction of Dessert Masters is not lost on me. I relish the sweet opportunity to nurture this special series alongside Amaury [Guichon].”
MasterChef Australia will introduce three brand new judges this year, with one judge returning from previous seasons. God, remember when Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan were judges? What a time. Read more about the new judges below!
Season judges
Celebrity chef Andy Allen
Andy Allen was the winner of the fourth season of MasterChef Australia in 2012, and became a judge for the show in 2020.
Last year was a hard year for Allen, who was close friends with Jock Zonfrillo and a pallbearer at his funeral.
He said the decision to return to MasterChef after Zonfrillo’s death was difficult, but ultimately felt like the right thing to do.
“There is something special in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, and it feels right to come back to work with the amazing production team, and to play my role in seeing the contestants do as I have done,” he said in October last year.
“2024 will be the start of a new chapter, and it will be surreal — yet brilliant — to share this moment with my fellow judges, Poh [Ling Yeow], Sofia [Levin] and Jean-Christophe [Novelli].”
MasterChef alum Poh Ling Yeow
Poh Ling Yeow is a MasterChef veteran. She was runner-up to Julie Goodwin in the very first season of MasterChef Australia — an iconic “where were you when” event for kids who grew up in the early 2000s like me — and has returned to the series as a mentor, guest judge and contestant over the years.
“Talk about a thrilling, full circle moment,” she said when her judging was announced last year.
“MasterChef Australia is where my food story began, so this feels like coming home. A big part of me will always be standing on the other side with the contestants and I hope when they look to me, they see proof you don’t have to win to win.”
Aww. What a gorgeous sentiment. You were always the winner in my heart, Poh!
Food critic Sofia Levin
Sofia Levin is a renowned Melbourne-based journalist and food critic who’s been writing about the yummy stuff for more than a decade.
She’s written for heaps of publications including Guardian Australia, The Age and Broadsheet — and she’s also appeared on TV before, on shows like Postcards and The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.
“The first season of Masterchef Australia aired the same year I started writing about food,” Levin said when her casting was announced.
“By the time I graduated from journalism, I was sharing lesser-known food stories while the show was exposing the nation to cuisines and cultures they had never considered before. Becoming a judge on MasterChef feels like two parallel paths converging, and I’m giddy with excitement at the people I get to stand beside.”
Multi-Michelin Star celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli
Jean-Christophe Novelli was born in France and moved to the UK in 1983, where he won four Michelin stars at Gordleton Mill before he opened his first restaurant, Maison Novelli, in 1997.
Since then, he’s worked at — and owned — heaps of restaurants across the UK, France and South Africa. He also launched a cooking school called the Novelli Academy Cookery School, and he published a recipe book aimed at busting the myth that French cuisine is too complicated for most people to dip their toes in.
“Fostering culinary talent is something I have cared about for many years, and it is a passion I am excited to share in the Masterchef kitchen,” he said last year.
“Australian cuisine has a remarkable reputation on the world stage, and it will be a great privilege to meet and mentor the country’s top home cooks on their journeys to greatness.”
Guest Judges
Rumours sprouted last year that Jamie Oliver would be the judge replacing Jock Zonfrillo on the show. While this isn’t the case, it turns out there was some truth to the claim: Oliver will be on MasterChef Australia, but as a guest judge alongside a few other familiar faces.
“When it comes to guest chefs, Jamie Oliver isn’t the only one heating up the kitchen,” Network 10 said in a press release.
“Expect fan favourites Adriano Zumbo and Anna Polyviou to set challenges fiercer than ever, while social sensations Vincent Yeow Lim (AKA DimSimLim) and Mikiko Terasaki cross the MasterChef Australia Kitchen threshold for the first time.”
Okay, but what about Nagi Maehashi (the BEST celebrity chef) who even taught Jamie Oliver a thing or two about cooking? Petition to get her on MasterChef too!
Who are the MasterChef Australia contestants for 2024?
There are 22 contestants who will compete on MasterChef Australia 2024. Some of the contestants have been given their own trailers, so let’s investigate who these key players are, shall we?
One of the first contestants announced was Nat, a 28-year-old barista from Victoria whose family runs a Thai restaurant in Melbourne. It looks like Nat takes a risk and decides to make larb, a traditional Thai dish, with kangaroo mix. We love a fusion moment!
Khristian, 26, works in insurance but has always dreamed of being a chef — and turns out Jamie Oliver is his hero. Well, aren’t you in for a treat, Khristian!
Josh Perry, a butcher from Tasmania, loves a simple meat-and-three-veg meal, which may prove a challenge in MasterChef Australia since the show expects its contestants to have quite a bit of range. I am genuinely intrigued to see the myriad of ways he will be creative with such a simple format.
Stephen is the oldest contestant in the kitchen this season at 62-years-old, but surely that just means he has more experience and wisdom to share? The tour guide loves French cuisine, so it’ll be interesting to watch him try to impress our very own French judge with his skills!
Savindri, or Sav, is already my favourite contestant. The 30-year-old Sri Lankan banking consultant from South Australia is clearly the class clown of the group, dropping spicy zingers (and flavours) with every challenge. Honestly, she’s an icon and I already want her to win.
You can read the full list of contestants here.
Is there a trailer for MasterChef Australia Season 16?
There is no full length trailer for MasterChef Australia 2024 yet, but there is a first look in the form of a short teaser — and boy do things look hectic. Peep it below.
Where is Season 16 filmed?
MasterChef Australia‘s 16th season will be filmed in its studio kitchens, in Centenary Hall in the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. However, there will also be three episodes where contestants will head overseas to Hong Kong.
Where to watch MasterChef Australia 2024
You can watch MasterChef Australia 2024 on Channel 10. You can also stream it on 10 Play.
What day and time will MasterChef Australia be on?
MasterChef Australia will premiere on Monday April 22 at 7.30pm.
