The Excitement of MasterChef Australia 2026
The MasterChef Australia kitchen is filled with talented home cooks who dream of the prize and the coveted title. But sadly, only one contestant can make it through all the mystery boxes and pressure cooks to be crowned the MasterChef winner for 2026.
Along with watching the contestant’s culinary journeys, this season is set to be a good one. Judges Poh Ling Yeow, Andy Allen, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli have returned to bring us their signature flavours of expertise, humour and compassion.
Plus, this season features an incredible list of celebrity guests, including Meghan Markle, Jimmy Barnes and Maggie Beer — just to name a few — and promises to lift the standard of excellence in the kitchen to higher levels than we’ve ever seen before.
Exciting, don’t you think?
Without further ado, here’s everyone who has been eliminated from MasterChef Australia so far.
Episode 7 – Wednesday, April 29
The pressure was on in the season’s very first Pressure Test, with national treasure Maggie Beer setting a challenge for Jackie, Jeff, Pat, Luke and Vinnie. Their task? Master her iconic sour cream pastry.
The twist was that contestants had free rein to create their own filling, sauce and side dish – allowing each cook to leave a personal stamp on the challenge while still nailing Maggie’s famously flaky pastry.
But with elimination looming, one mistake would send someone home.
As the cook began, Maggie’s warning about adding too much liquid too quickly proved costly for Luke, whose pastry became overly wet.
Vinnie also hit trouble when his gremolata accompaniment for a ragù and béchamel pie came under scrutiny. Was it a sauce or a side? Forced to rethink on the run, he pivoted by serving the béchamel as the sauce instead of inside the pie.
When tasting time arrived, two dishes stood out. Luke impressed with a rich Boeuf Bourguignon pie served with mash and horseradish sauce, while Pat delivered a chicken curry pie with mango chutney, apple, cucumber and coconut salad – inspired by the quarterly spice market cooks at his workplace.
“There must be some hardcore people at that spice club,” Andy joked.
Luke was ultimately the star of the day, with judges admitting they had underestimated the 19-year-old and praising the level he was already cooking at so early in life.
Sadly, Jeff’s Hong Kong chicken pie with garlic chilli oil and Chinese broccoli missed the mark. His pastry was undercooked and the filling lacked balance, making him the latest contestant eliminated from the competition.
Episode 6 – Tuesday, April 28
Walking into MasterChef Australia kitchen, the remaining 23 home cooks were greeted by a giant display of cereals in every shape, flavour and colour imaginable.
For the first Invention Test of the season, contestants had to transform the humble pantry staple into something magical – and, hopefully, delicious.
With high stakes from the outset, the five least impressive dishes would be sent straight into the next night’s elimination challenge.
Some cooks, like ever-enthusiastic Dot, were thrilled by the creative brief. Others, including Lydia, were feeling the pressure, admitting it had been a long time since she’d even seen an Invention Test on the series.
The challenge proved the perfect way to measure imagination in the kitchen – and many rose to the occasion.
Twelve contestants chose to go savoury, including Dot, who wowed the judges with her “Trio of Corn Flakes”. She cleverly used the cereal in meatballs, creamy polenta-style grits and a crunchy pangrattato topping.
“The creativity of this dish, the invention of this dish, is epic,” Andy told a delighted Dot. “The celebration of corn flakes in a meatball dish said no one ever – but I love it.”
“I’d order this again and again,” Sofia added.
Others took the sweeter route, including Vinnie, who created a Coco Pops shell cannoli with Nutri-Grain ricotta filling.
“It’s not one for the traditionalists,” Vinnie joked, with Nonna no doubt watching nervously at home. Unfortunately, the judges felt the filling was too grainy.
“We want you to do well, but I can’t say that I like it,” Jean-Christophe told him.
The most inventive dish of the day, however, belonged to Casper. He recreated an actual bowl of Froot Loops using fried blue spirulina ravioli filled with fruit, served in a Froot Loops-flavoured panna cotta “milk”, alongside a clarified milk punch.
“I like that you used the blue spirulina to replicate the candy fake colour of so many cereals,” Sofia said. “I think this is probably the most inventive dish in the kitchen today.”
“I love that you cook with such intention,” Poh added.
At this early stage of the competition, the judges were impressed by the overall standard – but most of all by Dot, Aaron and Petro, who were named the top three performers of the day.
“You thought outside the box and used what was in the box to make something very special – well done,” Jean-Christophe declared.
Unfortunately, the five contestants missing the mark were Pat, Jackie, Jeff, Luke and Vinnie. They now face a Maggie Beer pie Pressure Test, where one home cook will become the next to hang up their apron.
Episode 5 – Monday, April 27
The very first elimination of the season kicked off with a sweet, heartfelt theme. The teams walked into the kitchen to find screens showing glimpses into the judges own home kitchens. They were then asked to create a dish which would treat the judges to a taste of their own kitchens and homelife.
After winning immunity, Casper was safe from the cook, but the rest of the 23 home cooks had to battle it out.
Sadly, it was Jackie and Megs in the bottom two.
Jackie cooked a shallot pancake. She’s initially attempted to make duck to go alongside it, but after accidentally cutting her finger, she wasn’t able to plate it up.
While the judges loved the chili crisp and the texture of the pancake, leaving out the duck would severely impact her chances.
“I can only imagine what it would be like if that perfectly cooked duck breast was sitting rosy and crispy off to the side,” said Andy
Meanwhile, Megs plated up prawns with herb butter, crispy potatoes and crostini.
“Megs, your prawns are uncooked,” Sofia said. Poh said that while Megs plated up five prawns, she should’ve used one of those prawns for a test before serving.
In the end, Megs’ uncooked prawns and lacklustre crostini saw her pack her bags.
In the opening week of the beloved cooking competition, we saw the Top 40 contestants be sliced and diced down to the Top 24.
Now, with the contestants wearing their crisp white aprons, the competition is well and truly heating up as they compete for the $250,000 AUD prize.
While more eliminations will be taking place this week, it’s worth noting that Casper has become the first contestant to receive a shiny immunity pin to place on his apron so far.
