Corner Café

Season 18 of MasterChef Australia will premiere at 7pm on Sunday, April 19, 2026, on Channel 10. The four judges are back with all new contestants.

Update April 20, 2026: So did you watch the premiere last night? If you have, you would know who will be a guest judge later this season – here’s a hilarious tongue in cheek article about that guest judge…

Episode 1: Sunday, April 19, 2026
MasterChef Australia returns with auditions and 40 of the country’s best home cooks are ready. Tonight 20 cooks have 90 minutes to cook their dream dish in order to win one of the 10 aprons on offer.

Charred Octopus with Leek and Potato and Yoghurt Sauce with Dill Oil (Lydia Kamperos)
Black Sesame Yuzu Cake (Jackie Yu)

Recipe from Coles – Chicken and Prawn Dumplings with Crispy Chilli Oil (Inspired by Jeff’s mouth-watering “Mala Chicken & Prawn Dumplings” recipe)

Episode 2: Monday, April 20, 2026
Another 20 home cooks enter the MasterChef kitchen to compete for 10 aprons on offer. For those who miss out, they learn there will be one final chance to cook for the last four aprons tomorrow.

Wanton Wonton (Emily Sue)

Episode 3: Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Tonight, the 20 remaining hopefuls have a second and final chance to cook their way into the competition. Just who will score themselves one of the final four places?

Prawn Bisque Pasta With Citrus Prawns (Petro Papathomas)

Episode 4: Sunday, April 26, 2026
Aussie Rock legend Jimmy Barnes set this season’s first mystery box, inspiring the Top 24 with seasonal ingredients they love to cook with. Dish of the day will see its maker safe from elimination.

Orange & Whisky Marmalade Glazed Spatchcock with Adzuki Bean Purée, Cavolo Nero and Mulberry Beurre Blanc (Alyona Iljuhhina)

Immunity: Casper Kenworthy

Hmm, interesting that they didn’t publish Casper’s immunity winning dish… Maybe later or are they keeping it for a cookbook in the future?

Episode 5: Monday, April 27, 2026
In the first elimination of the competition, 23 cooks will show the judges a window into their homelife, through a favourite dish that they cook at home for their loved ones.

Hazelnut, Coffee and Fennel Seed Mille Feuille (Bella Di Conza)

Recipe from Coles – Spicy Beef Short Rib Pho (inspired by Emily’s mouth-watering short rib recipe, titled ‘To my mate Shorty’)

Eliminated: Megs Steel

Episode 6: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
It’s the return of a MasterChef classic with an Invention Test challenging cooks to create an inventive dish using cereal.

Steak Tartare (Aaron Kher)

Episode 7: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
The bottom five cooks from the Invention Test face off in a Pressure Test set by MasterChef favourite Maggie Beer, tasked with mastering her signature sour cream pastry in a high-stakes pie challenge.

Sour Cream Pastry (Maggie Beer)
Tips for Failsafe Pastry (Maggie Beer)
Chicken Curry Pie With Sri Lankan Green Apple Salad And Mango Chutney (Pat McGarry)

Eliminated: Jeff Lam

Episode 8: Sunday, May 3, 2026
It’s Family Favourites week and social media sensation Andy Cooks (chef Andy Hearnden) is on the hunt for the ultimate breakfast, in an immunity challenge cook with 60 minutes on the clock.

Turkish Eggs, Herb Yoghurt Sauce, Turkish Spiced Lamb Mince, Spiced Butter, Filo Crown (Dot McHugh)

Immunity: Aaron Kher (Dish of the Day), Kanika Gadyok, Alita Harvey-Rodriguez & Dot McHugh

What’s going on with the recipes this year? They made such a big fuss about the Pinterest and multi-platform campaign this year, yet the recipes are now slower in availability and it seems only one recipe is released per episode, and ridiculously not the recipe for the best dish of the night! Also Pinterest only releases the recipes at the end of the week instead of the next day as in previous years. ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead of fast and efficient of previous years, this year it is the slow and late campaign, the worst thing is that the Channel 10’s MasterChef official site doesn’t provide links to this year’s recipes anymore!

Episode 9: Monday, May 4, 2026
In an elimination challenge centred on reinventing the judges’ quick carb midweek dinner recipes, mistakes and time pressure sends one cook home.

Fakeaway Beef & Mushroom Noodles (Lucy Mansfield)

Recipe from Coles – Crispy barramundi with coconut sambal rice (Inspired by Annabel’s mouth-watering Pan-Fried Barramundi with Coconut Sambal Pilaf Rice recipe)

Eliminated: Belinda Gosden

I tried to get the recipes for the judges’ hacks from the episode, and have written them down in the comment section below. For Poh’s rice noodle hack, please refer to Lucy’s recipe above. For Jean-Christophe’s pilaf rice hack, I have to do a bit of research to get some approximate proportion since he didn’t specify how much of each ingredient is used…

Episode 10: Tuesday, May 5, 2026
It is the first team challenge of the series, and the contestants are all eager to see how well they can work together. The bottom two teams will find themselves in the elimination the following day.

Turquoise Team’s Middle Eastern Family Feast (Dot, Miin, Alita)

Best Dishes: Turquoise Team (Dot, Miin, Alita), Purple Team (Emily, Aaron, Lucy)
Elimination: Pink Team (Pat, Lydia, Olaolu), Navy Team (Hannah, Bella, Alyona)

Episode 11: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Six contestants face elimination as they must create a dish that represent their family food traditions to fight for their place in the competition.

Chicken Ball Avgolemono Soup (Lydia Kamperos)

Eliminated: Bella Di Conza

Episode 12: Sunday, May 10, 2026
The Top 20 compete for Immunity from tomorrow’s Elimination in a fruity Mystery Box challenge set by Catherine Zhang, marking the start of Viral Wonders Week.

Lemon Granita With A Lemon Leaf, Sesame And Fennel Biscotti (Grace King)

Immunity: Grace King

Episode 13: Monday, May 11, 2026
Viral sensation Victoria Minell (aka @recipesbyvictoria) sets a challenge to use one of her five viral ingredients in a 75-minute cook to save their place in the competition.

Sour Cream & Avocado Ice Cream With Pistachio Crumb, Burnt White Chocolate & Sour Cherry Coulis (Alyona Iljuhhina)

Advance to Immunity Pin Cook Off: Alyona Iljuhhina
Eliminated: Alita Harvey-Rodriguez

Episode 14: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Six teams will compete in their first service challenge, tasked with creating one perfect viral-worthy dish to serve to hundreds of diners, and impress a mystery social media-star critic.

Goodness gracious me, FINALLY, they put up the first recipe for Season 18 on the MasterChef Australia website from this episode today… They must have gotten plenty of complains as viewers couldn’t find any recipes this season, LOL… Pinterest is just useless for recipe updates after every episode, I don’t know why they decided to go with the recipe links there this year as recipe links are only available at the end of the week instead of a few hours after the episode aired like in previous years! Update: Oh well, the Season 18 recipes on MasterChef Australia site has disappeared after just a couple of hours, LOL…

Orange Team’s Pork Rendang Tostada With Pineapple And Cucumber Salsa (Miin, Jackie, Annabel)
Blue Team’s Pork Belly Roti Tacos (Hannah, Aaron, Lydia)

Best Dishes & Advance to Immunity Pin Cook Off: Orange Team (Miin, Jackie, Annabel), Blue Team (Hannah, Aaron, Lydia)

Episode 15: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
MasterChef alum and social media star Khanh Ong sets an epic challenge to create a bold, out-there sandwich with a banging cross section, to win the first immunity pin of the season.

Recipe from Coles – Bulgogi Philly cheesesteak (Inspired by Jackie’s mouth-watering Bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak recipe)

Immunity Pin: Jackie Yu

Episode 16: Sunday, May 17, 2026
It’s the start of Around the World Week, and global food icon Rick Stein joins the MasterChef Kitchen to set an extra spicy Mystery Box challenge.

Crab Curry And Spiral Spinach Flatbread (Miin Wei Looi)

Immunity: Casper, Grace, Miin, Alyona

Did anyone notice that Kanika was not present at the end when the result was announced? Wondered if she was sick or not feeling well during the cook, that may have affected her cooking since a challenge using spices is right up her alley…

Episode 17: Monday, May 18, 2026
In an Around the World elimination challenge, MasterChef contestants must create a dish inspired by a chosen cuisine, featuring a surprise hero ingredient revealed only after they commit.

Ricotta And Cavolo Nero Tortellini With Warm Tomato Cucumber Water, Basil Oil, Anchovy, Pine Nuts And Parmesan Crisp (Pat McGarry)

Recipe from Coles – Stuffed eggplant with lamb and rice with tahini sauce (Inspired by Lydia’s mouth-watering Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Rice, Tahini Sauce and Pine Nuts recipe)

Eliminated: Kanika Gadyok

Episode 18: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
It’s a fusion invention test today with the contestants having to make dish featuring cuisines from two countries.

Tsukune Dolmades (Casper Kenworthy)

Best Dishes: Casper, Dot, Alyona
Elimination: Jackie, Lucy, Vinnie, Miin

Episode 19: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Chef Rosheen Kaul sets the first full Pressure Test for the season, with an intense, three-hour challenge.

Chou Farci (Rosheen Kaul)

Immunity Pin: Played (Jackie Yu)
Eliminated: Lucy Mansfield

Episode 20: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Kicking off nostalgia-themed week in the MasterChef kitchen, social media sensation chef Dim Sim Lim sets a 60-minute mystery box challenge requiring a steamed element.

Chicken Momos With Tomato Chutney & Chilli Oil (Dot McHugh)

Immunity: Dot, Aaron

In previous years, when a contestant is not present for an episode, the judges would make a mention of what happened, but this year nada! I am sure I didn’t spot Jack in this episode… Also regarding the portion size being judged, especially Aaron’s dish tonight, LOL… Even I sometimes forget that the judging part is all just for show only, since the food would be stone cold by the time they filmed the “official” judging for the episode. The judges go round and taste all the dishes straight after time’s up while they are still hot and they would have picked the winning dish by then and also choose which dishes to be presented for the judging on camera although they told us they are only tasting 10 dishes (all lies for the camera, LOL…). So when they film the “judging” for camera, they are all part of the reality show element to create tension, etc… The contestants always make extra for the tasting that is not shown, they would say something like “I will choose the better one for the (camera) judging”, but in reality that extra one is for the tasting straight after cooking which is never shown to us viewers. Do you think all the benches are cleaned and cleared up in five minutes? Of course not, it would take at least a couple of hours or more to clean all the benches after the cook especially when there are still a lot of contestants left in the competition, before they could film the “official” judge…

Episode 21: Monday, May 25, 2026
The MasterChef contestants must cook something connected to their heritage to avoid being eliminated.

Beef Efo Riro With Semo (Olaolu Olorunnimbe)

Recipe from Coles – Sweet soy pork ribs and spring onion buns (Inspired by Jackie’s mouth-watering Sweet Soy Pork Ribs & Spring Onion Buns recipe)

Winner: Olaolu Olorunnimbe
Eliminated: Miin Wei Looi

Episode 22: Tuesday, May 26, 2026
In MasterChef’s most notorious team challenge, four teams will navigate the chaos of the Team Relay to compete for a chance to cook for Immunity.

Purple Team’s Herb Crusted Lamb Rack, Hasselback Potatoes, Honey Cumin Glazed Carrots, Tangy Yoghurt Sauce (Jack, Hannah, Vinnie, Casper)

Best Dish: Purple Team (Jack, Hannah, Vinnie, Casper)

Episode 23: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Guided by MasterChef Alumni Justine Schofield, four contestants put their French techniques to the test for a chance to win a coveted immunity pin.

Pâté En Croûte (Vinnie Gibaldi)

Immunity Pin: Vinnie Gibaldi

Episode 24: Sunday, May 31, 2026
It’s Perfect Pairings week and today the contestants must choose between two Mystery Boxes. One set by MasterChef Legend Matt Sinclair and one by his Peli’s head chef Daniel Dobra, aka ‘Dobbers’.

Glazed Duck Breast With Potato, Goat’s Cheese, Tarragon & Fresh Truffle Gratin, Brown Butter Fig And Radicchio Salad (Annabel Lloyd)

Immunity: Annabel Lloyd (restaurant box), Pat McGarry (home box)

Episode 25: Monday, June 1, 2026
In the second episode of Perfect Pairings week, the home cooks must today select one of five classic flavour pairings to hero as they go head-to-head in an elimination cook off.

Classic Flavour Pairings: Coconut & Pineapple, Lime & Chilli, Orange & Fennel, Honey & Soy Sauce, Maple Syrup & Bacon

Loukoumades Stuffed With Bacon And Maple Syrup (Lydia Kamperos)
Cured Kingfish Tartare With Lime & Chilli (Aaron Kher)

Eliminated: Olaolu Olorunnimbe

What a conundrum! So Vinnie was probably sick and did not cook in this elimination, does that mean he has to automatically give up his immunity pin since he’s not cooking? Or he’s automatically into the next elimination… The clue is five contestants in the next elimination, LOL…

Anyway, talking about flavour pairing, with coconut and pineapple, the first thing that came into my mind was NOT dessert, it is the classic Nyonya dish, Spicy Prawn Curry with Pineapple (Udang Masak Lemak Nenas). If Miin is still in the competition, he might have cooked this dish, LOL… The link to the recipe is from Poh’s Kitchen episode way back in 2010, the recipe is by well known Malaysian Nyonya chef Florence Tan. However, the recipe, I believe, was tweaked to make cooking easier for westerners at the time (since some ingredients were hard to source in Australia at the time) and the recipe was not complete due to the tweaking I guess. There should be fresh turmeric in the spice paste (rempah), use about 2cm knob (if push comes to shove, use about 1 tsp ground turmeric instead if you don’t have fresh), and if you have a block of belacan paste use maybe about 2cm cube instead of the shrimp paste granules. Leave prawns whole (up to you, or remove shells but leave tails on) but remove legs, feelers, and deveined, or remove prawn heads to make stock and use it instead of water, then you don’t need to add the anchovy granules. The dried tamarind pieces are known as asam keping, or asam gelugur, if you can’t get this use about 2 tbsp tamarind juice (always taste, taste, taste, add one tbsp first then adjust to your liking), add tamarind at the same time as the makrut (kaffir) lime leaves. As usual with seasoning, always adjust to your taste, add less first then adjust instead of following the recipe blindly as the pineapple you use may be of different sweetness/sourness, remember also different countries have different measures of tsp and tbsp. I sometimes suspect many old verbal pass down recipes use cutlery spoons to measure, and they guesstimate the amount when written down. Especially the nyonya recipes, they are always agak-agak (estimated) amount, instead they are always based on taste and senses rather than specific amount. Oh, soak the dried chillies in hot water (or boil them), remove seeds before using, don’t substitute totally with fresh chillies, but you can substitute, say, a quarter with fresh chillies.

I just saw another more recent live stream video of this recipe in Malay from a few months ago, Florence said you can use only 3/4 of the 175ml oil first, so about 1/2 cup (125ml) oil, reserve the remaining for top-up only if necessary. In the video, they blended the chillies and the rest of the spice paste separately, that’s just so if you want the recipe less spicy hot, you don’t need to add all the chillies. Of course you can use less chillies at the start, it is just up to you. The reason they do it this way is since they use chillies in many other recipes, they can blend up a larger amount of chillies separately in one go, use some in this recipe, use the rest in other recipes, so it is just a convenient thing to do. Also, another tip, if you use too much water while blending the spice paste, you can cook the spice paste first without oil to cook off some of the moisture before adding the oil to continue the cooking. Of course that’s not a problem if you pound the spice paste instead of blending in a blender.

Episode 26: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
As perfect pairs week continues, contestants must work in perfect pairs to create four serves of a dessert inspired by the iconic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Recipe from Coles – Chocolate and peanut banoffee pie (Inspired by Pat & Dot’s mouth-watering Chocolate Peanut Banoffee Pie recipe)

Best Dish: Pot (Pat & Dot)
Elimination: Hannabel (Hannah & Annabel), Lydyona (Lydia & Alyona) + Vinnie

Episode 27: Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Five cooks in the bottom are facing a Time vs Ingredients elimination challenge and the bottom dish will send its maker home.

Pan-Seared Scallops With Miso Cauliflower Purée (Alyona Iljuhhina)

Immunity Pin: Played (Vinnie Gibaldi)
Eliminated: Lydia Kamperos

Episode 28: Sunday, June 7, 2026
Curtis Stone kicks off Aussie Classics week, with a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the cooks to have their dish stocked in Coles, as they are challenged to whip up nostalgic Pie and Ice-cream flavours.

Immunity: Hannah (pie), Pat (ice cream)

This is so funny, I was searching for the recipes from this episode, and guess what, Coles actually have their own Cheeseburger Pie and Butter Chicken Pie (of course using their simmer sauce and frozen pastry) recipes. However the Cheeseburger Pie recipe is no longer on their site, but AI somehow has that recipe, so I’ve copied and pasted it in the comment section below, LOL… I also found some recipes from the appliance makers and also delicious magazine, they are Butter Chicken Pies (Sunbeam AU), Cheeseburger Pies (delicious magazine), Salted Caramel Ice Cream (delicious magazine), & Salted Caramel Ice Cream (KitchenAid Australia), and also one using pie maker from the producer of puff and shortcrust pastries in Australia, Cheeseburger Pie (Borg’s)…

Episode 29: Monday, June 8, 2026
With Curtis Stone back in the kitchen, and the MasterChef contestants are challenged with cooking a dish that heroes pork to save their place in the competition.

Pork & Peaches (Dot McHugh)

Eliminated: Jack Hosking

Episode 30: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
It’s Aussie Classics Week, there’s nothing Aussies love more than a great comeback story. Today, the previously eliminated contestants return for a chance to earn their place back in the competition.

Recipe from Coles – Nonna’s garden (Inspired by Bella’s mouth-watering Nonna’s Garden recipe)

Returnee: Bella Di Conza

Haha, I was saying Miin might cook a Masak Lemak dish if he wasn’t eliminated and in the Flavour Pairings episode, and he cooked a Masak Lemak dish in tonight’s comeback challenge, albeit using fish instead of prawn and pineapple!

I am sure Coles have access to the contestants’ recipes, because in the early years, they used to give out free recipe cards from the show. Therefore for all these Coles’ recipes this year, I think they must be quite close to the original recipes from the contestants, except they may have simplified some steps, like for example in Bella’s comeback recipe, they use their brand of commercial blueberry sorbet in place of the capsicum sorbet made by Bella, but the rest of the recipe seems to be what Bella made…

Episode 31: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Aussie Classics week draws to a close with an exciting day in the MasterChef Kitchen as guest judge and Aussie icon Robert Irwin sets an Aussie Native Ingredients Elimination Challenge.

Duck Roasted On The Crown, Macadamia And Black Garlic Puree, Ooray Sauce (Vinnie Gibaldi)
Cured Coral Trout with Davidson Plum Ponzu, Macadamia Cream, Lime Kosho, Cucumber & Finger Lime (Annabel Lloyd)
Wattleseed Ice Cream, Macadamia Crumb, Soy Sauce Caramel, Ooray Plum Gel and Wattleseed Coral (Aaron Kher)

Eliminated: Dot McHugh
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo, reminded me of Marion Grasby’s elimination… Here I was thinking Dot could make it to at least final 3… Did she subconsciously sabotage herself with all the talks about honeymoon, LOL…

LOL, isn’t the AI oven supposed to help rather than tripping up the contestants? There were already a few mistakes this season with the cooking settings of those ovens… Did the AI change the setting to grill thinking that was pork crackling instead of puff pastry, that would be so funny… Also did they have a mini masterclass behind the scenes, those using ooray plums are balancing ooray with raspberries? And takeout instead of takeaway during Aussie Classics Week? Too much brainwashing by Americans with these influencer generation!

Episode 32: Sunday, June 14, 2026
It’s the start of Sweet Week and confectionary king Adriano Zumbo challenges the cooks to hero a mystery ingredient in a dessert. The top three dishes will win immunity from tomorrow’s elimination.

Tonka Bean Tart (Petro Papathomas)

Immunity: Pat, Petro, Alyona

Episode 33: Monday, June 15, 2026
As Sweet Week continues the contestants take part in an Ice Cream Taste Test. The first four who guess incorrectly will land in the Round Two cook, after which someone will be sent home.

Round 2 Elimination: Casper, Annabel, Aaron, Jackie

Tomato Salad (Aaron Kher)

Eliminated: Jackie

Episode 34: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
It’s Sweet Week, and today’s challenge is an Air Fryer Invention Test, with the top four dishes going into tomorrow’s Immunity Challenge. Dish of the day will claim a $5,000 Harvey Norman voucher!

Air Fryer Apple Tart Tatin With Wattle Seed And Malt Ice Cream (Pat McGarry)

Winner: Pat
The other top four desserts are from Alyona, Hannah & Bella.

Episode 35: Wednesday, June 17, 2026
On Sweet Week’s final day, four contestants face dessert powerhouse Jess Lemon in a ‘Beat the Chef’ Immunity Pin challenge, attempting to outcook one of the MasterChef kitchen’s pastry prodigies.

Order of choosing core ingredients (number hidden in macaron): 1. Bella (fennel), 2. Alyona (lemon), 3. Pat (raspberries), 4. Hannah (hazelnuts), Jess got the remaining ingredient which is ginger.

Ginger Threads (Jess Lemon a.k.a. Jess Liemantara)

Best Dish: Jess Lemon

No immunity pin given out… Well, that was a weird episode. The past Beat the Chef episodes were always blind tasting, but not tonight! They got four judges, they could easily choose one of them to watch over the cooking, while the other three judges do the blind tasting. JC and Poh plus either Sofia or Andy could do the blind tasting. Without the scoring at the end, the plain announcement was so anticlimactic…

Also I was reading some comments online that Jess used lemon and shouldn’t she be disqualified since they said “off the table” once another contestant chose that ingredient? Well, they said “off the table” only as the core/hero ingredient, but not as a side/complementary flavour, so Jess can use lemon as long as lemon is not the main flavour of her dessert!

Episode 36: Sunday, June 21, 2026
To kick off Masters Week, industry icon Josh Niland gives a fish butchery masterclass and the contestants must use one of his signature butchery techniques to prepare flathead in 75 minutes.

Butterflied, Stuffed, Rolled Flathead With Fish Jus (Annabel Lloyd)

Immunity: Petro, Annabel, Casper

Episode 37: Monday, June 22, 2026
Masters Week continues Michelin-starred chef Curtis Stone returns to the MasterChef kitchen for a high-stakes elimination where contestants must hero a flat iron steak.

Tartare With Crispy Potato & Crostini, And Hibachi-Grilled Flat Iron With Salsa Verde, Fennel & Orange Salad (Vinnie Gibaldi)

Recipe from Coles – Flat iron steak with cheesy polenta, tomato and bread salad, and green herb sauce (Inspired by Pat’s mouth-watering Barbecue Flat Iron Steak with Cheesy Polenta, Tomato & Bread Salad & Green Herb Sauce recipe)

Best Dishes: Pat, Vinnie
Eliminated: Bella

Episode 38: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Masters Week continues as hatted Melbourne chef Tom Sarafian joins to showcase his famous hummus dish, inspiring contestants to make an immunity-worthy dish to get one step closer to the Top 10.

Taramosalata (Petro Papathomas)

Best Dish: Petro
Elimination: Luke, Emily, Aaron, Grace

Episode 39: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
In the final Masters Week challenge, four contestants compete in a pressure test set by Kirsten Tibballs to avoid elimination and secure their place in the Top 10.

Iris (Kirsten Tibballs)

Eliminated: Grace

Episode 40: Sunday, June 28, 2026
It’s Knockout Week, and our 10 cooks face the iconic twins challenge inspired by MasterChef couple Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary and their identical twin girls, Charlotte and Claudia.

Black Garlic Glazed Eye Fillet, Parsnip Purée And Pickled Kohlrabi & Apple Slaw (Pat and Petro)

Recipe from Coles – Garlic-glazed eye fillet with parsnip purée, pickled radish and apple slaw (Inspired by Pat & Petro’s mouth-watering Black Garlic Glazed Eye Fillet, Parsnip Purée and Pickled Kohlrabi & Apple Slaw recipe)

Best Twins: Pat & Petro
Elimination: Casper & Emily

Episode 41: Monday, June 29, 2026
As Knockout Week continues, the MasterChef judges have each filled a fridge with ingredients. Eight contestants must choose a fridge, without looking inside, and use its contents to make a dish.

Filo Cigars (Petro Papathomas)

Winner: Petro
Elimination: Hannah, Luke

Episode 42: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
It’s Knockout Week, and two teams of three led by Andy and Jean-Christophe must deliver a two-course fine dining menu for 16 Coles Farmers. The losing team will head into tomorrow’s elimination.

Roasted Pork Chop With Pineapple Sambal (Aaron and Vinnie)

Elimination: Pat, Alyona, Petro

Not surprised Orange Team lost, the three of them were doing individual challenge, and not a team challenge! Did Alyona even ask Pat or Petro to taste the sauce at all to get some feedbacks? Did she add orange zest? That should have increased the orange taste and fragrance… Hasn’t Pat made a lot of herb oil before, they could have made orange oil to add to the sauce… Also Petro’s single éclair on a plate looked like an afternoon tea snack than fine dining, LOL… Plating like that is just asking you to eat it with your hands instead of knife and fork… I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the farmers just picked the whole thing up with their hands and ate it like a hotdog! At least have some more elements like maybe a little chocolate sauce to drizzle over or pipe some of the filling around or on top of the éclair to make it look more sophisticated, or maybe add a tuille that looks like a slice of orange, even some candied orange on top would be nice to emphasize the orange as the core ingredient… Also, Aaron in the pantry, don’t know if it was just editing or not but it looked like he was in there for 10-20 minutes, LOL… He should have come back out and start on the marinade and think about that extra element (and discussed it with his teammates) while making the marinade instead of wasting time in the pantry… Maybe it was just editing and he was in there for less than 5 minutes! Also Aaron saying he has to plate a small portion of food again for fine dining at the beginning, but the end result was a full plate of food more reminiscence of bistro/pub dining, LOL… To be fair, he wanted to make chicken thigh, it was Vinnie who insisted on a big chunk of pork chop… And also wondering what Vinnie did with his time, because we saw in a couple of shots of him just standing around doing nothing – all he did was rubbed the marinade that Aaron made onto the pork chops, put them in the oven, took them out and sliced, cooked the radicchio, finally charred some pineapples, in the meantime Aaron did all the prep works and made the sambal, and Annabel was running off her feet trying to make her dessert, LOL…

Episode 43: Wednesday, July 1, 2026
It’s Knockout week and the first elimination for the Top 10. The seven contestants cooking must feature an ingredient chosen by one of their fellow cooks to keep their place in the competition.

Japanese Dashi-Infused Mussel Broth With Pickled Apple & Russian Buns (Alyona Iljuhhina)

Best Dishes: Petro, Alyona
Eliminated: Hannah

Episode 44: Sunday, July 5, 2026
Our Top 9 contestants welcome one of the most famous chefs in India with over 150 cookbooks and 20 million social media followers, it’s Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, here to set a Mystery Box.

Sweet Potato Curry With Pickled Mussels (Casper Kenworthy)

Best Dishes: Casper, Emily
Immunity: Casper

Episode 45: Monday, July 6, 2026
Contestants must produce a dish featuring one of five internationally sourced ingredients that they have never used before, in an elimination cook off. For one cook, it will be their final dish.

Juniper Roo (Pat McGarry)

Best Dishes: Alyona, Pat
Winner: Pat
Eliminated: Emily

Episode 46: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
The top eight of MasterChef Australia get to select a Connoisseur ice cream to start the day. Cooking for immunity, they must cook a dessert inspired by their ice cream flavour.

Choc Orange And Almond Tart (Vinnie Gibaldi)

Recipe from Coles – Flourless chocolate sponge, chilli peanut praline and soy ice cream (Inspired by Aaron’s Flourless Chocolate Sponge with White Soy, Black Pepper & Vanilla Ice Cream recipe)
Recipe from Coles – Salted caramel and macadamia eclairs (Inspired by Petro’s mouth-watering Salted Caramel and Macadamia Eclairs recipe)

Immunity: Vinnie, Aaron, Pat, Petro

Episode 47: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
In a high-stakes pressure test featuring Michelin-starred Chef Sam Aisbett’s ‘Crab Salad’, four contestants must navigate complex technical components and personal errors to avoid elimination.

Mud Crab Salad (Sam Aisbett)

Eliminated: Alyona

Luke overextending himself in many previous challenges has actually helped him to be fast and do well in Pressure Test, LOL… Now, I get it, he has been setting his own little pressure tests all these times and I didn’t realize… Is Luke doing an Andy Allen in his season because Andy was looking like zero chance of winning until semi-final week when he suddenly went from NO CHANCE to win to the person most likely to win in the blink of an eye! Also glad to see Casper safe even though his dish had bits of crab shell in it, but apart from that his dish was very close to the chef’s dish. In the restaurant that would be a big NO-NO since you have to pay for it, but we can’t compare a dish cooked in a reality competition to a dish from a proper restaurant. In the restaurant there are apprentices to do all the preps ahead of time, whereas in the competition the contestant is doing EVERYTHING from scratch under the pressure of time – just imagine asking one single chef in a restaurant to prep everything and cook under time limit, that there won’t be any mistakes, that’s unrealistic!

Episode 48: Sunday, July 12, 2026
To mark the start of Heat Week, food and media mogul Marion Grasby returns to the MasterChef Kitchen for the first time in sixteen years, with a spicy mystery box challenge.

Thai Green Curry Dumpling Soup (Marion Grasby)
Hot & Numbing Bombe Alaska (Marion Grasby)

Gochujang Braised Pork Belly with Pumpkin & Lime Puree (Casper Kenworthy)

Immunity: Casper

Episode 49: Monday, July 13, 2026
Heat Week continues with a looming elimination as six of the seven remaining cooks are challenged to create a hot new chilli dish in just 60 minutes.

Hibachi Butterflied King George Whiting With Thai Red Curry Sauce And Pipis (Annabel Lloyd)

Immunity: Annabel

Episode 50: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
In today’s episode of MasterChef Australia, five cooks must prove their skill and creativity using only a hibachi to cook, with the winner earning immunity and their spot in the Top 6.

Charred Corn Ice Cream (Petro Papathomas)

Immunity: Petro

Episode 51: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
It’s the final day of HEAT WEEK and four cooks face off in head-to-head duals in an elimination challenge. After two rounds of battle, the bottom dish in the final dual will send its maker home.

Round 1:
Fire (Flambé) – Aaron vs Pat
Smoke – Luke vs Vinnie
Winners: Aaron, Vinnie

Drunken Prawns With Butter Egg Floss (Aaron Kher)

Round 2:
Luke vs Pat

Eliminated: Pat

Episode 52: Sunday, July 19, 2026
Contestants must choose a mystery box set by Sofia containing just one ingredient. Using just that and under bench staples, the best dish wins immunity and the first spot in the Top 5.

Brown Onion Three Ways: Agnolotti, Charred Onion Brodo & Sweet Sour Onion Petals (Vinnie Gibaldi)

Immunity: Vinnie

Episode 53: Monday, July 20, 2026
With a coveted place in the Top 5 of MasterChef 2026 at stake, contestants must personalise a classic French sauce, as demonstrated by Jean-Christophe. For one cook, it will be the end of the line.

Fish And Chips (Annabel Lloyd)

Eliminated: Luke

Episode 54: Tuesday, July 21, 2026
It’s an immunity challenge today for the Top 5 to ‘Keep up with Andy’, cooking his delicious BBQ Lamb, Burnt Eggplant Cream and Braised Borlotti Beans dish. The top cook will go directly into Top 4.

Barbecued Lamb, Burnt Eggplant Cream & Braised Borlotti Beans (Andy Allen)

Immunity: Vinnie

Episode 55: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Four of the Top 5 contestants battle it out to stay in the competition, taking on an epic pressure test set by judge Poh Ling Yeow to recreate three of her beautiful and delicious Malaysian snacks.

From the preview… They are…
Curry Puffs, Kuih Koci (Coconut Rice Dumpling in Banana Leaf-Parcel), & Kuih Lapis Kukus (Steamed Nine-Layer Ricecake or Rainbow Ricecake)

Also from Poh’s Kitchen in 2010… Five Traditional Kuih recipes from The Girls

Poh’s Malaysian Snacks (Poh Ling Yeow)

Eliminated: Annabel

Top four are all male contestants this year… Watching Annabel kneading that dough, LOL… That was the right texture because it is a rice dough, NOT wheat dough, NO gluten in rice dough so no need to knead so hard as it will never produce gluten! If she hadn’t wasted time on that, she might have gotten the Kuih Koci to cook through in time… Also just a quick mention, Italian Lobster Tail pastry (Sfogliatella) has a very similar concept to the Chinese spiral pastry used in the Curry Puffs… Petro may have made Sfogliatella before, that’s why he felt the spiral pastry is familiar to him… Nowadays I actually prefer to watch this type of 3 different street-food/home food Pressure Test than the difficult 5-star restaurant dish type of Pressure Test. In the early years, those Pressure Tests were all “wow” since we never got to see dishes like that, but they got staled very quickly after a while and we never want to recreate those dishes at home especially as we have to source so many unobtainable ingredients… However Pressure Test like today with three different dishes where they are doable at home and we actually want to try are more enjoyable to watch and recipes that we want to keep. I think they should do more of this type of beloved traditional recipes from different countries and cuisines passed down from generation-to-generation in the future especially early in the season and save the difficult restaurant-type Pressure Tests for later in the season. This way the contestants are also exposed to different cuisines early in the season especially as MasterChef in recent years have too many contestants that just cooked their own cuisines and rarely go outside of their comfort zone… I mean we’ve already got so many successful contestants like Marion, Philip, Diana, Sashi, Aldo, Nat, Khanh, Minoli, Depinder, Snezana, Juan, & Sav who could set this type of Pressure Tests from their specialist cuisines…

Episode 56: Sunday, July 26, 2026
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle joins the MasterChef Australia kitchen today, offering some of her favourite seasonal produce to feature in a heartfelt dish, with immunity on the line.

Celeriac Ice Cream (Petro Papathomas)

Immunity: Petro

That phone call from Prince Harry was such a set up, LOL… Are we really going to believe that their minions haven’t been in contact with each other throughout the day to report on what they were doing?

Episode 57: Monday, July 27, 2026
It’s elimination day and there are two spots up for grabs in the semi-final. Emotions run high when letters and ingredients from home inspire our cooks to make a dish to keep them in the competition.

Garlic Pasta, Spanner Crab, Garlic Sauce, Fried Whole Garlic, Garlic Flower (Aaron Kher)

Eliminated: Casper

Episode 58: Sunday, August 2, 2026
Today’s challenge is a MasterChef classic. First the tables are turned and the judges cook off head-to-head, before teaming up to take on the Top 3 contestants, with bragging rights on the line.

If you want to learn how to pleat/crimp the leaf-shaped Culurgiones that Poh made in round one, here’s a short video you can watch…

The Chiffon Cake that Petro made was adapted from Poh’s Strawberry Lychee Chiffon Cake which was used as one of the Pressure Test dishes she set in 2025…

The Judges’ Family Feast (Jean-Christophe & Poh)

Episode 59: Monday, August 3, 2026
In today’s Semi Final, the Top 3 contestants will battle it out in a two-course service challenge, each cooking for more than 20 diners. By the end of the day we will have our two Grand Finalists.

Good One, Channel Ten! It is now Monday morning and Network Ten just spoiled who is eliminated in tonight’s episode by already publishing the recipes from two contestants in the Grand Finale, so we now know who the two finalists are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL…

Tiramisu Tart (Vinnie Gibaldi)

Eliminated: Aaron

Bake Off: The Professionals UK judge and Pastry chef Cherish Finden will set the finale Round 2 Pressure Test. The finalists will have to recreate her “Chinese Afternoon Tea”, which includes three desserts and nine petit gateaux in five hours. She was last seen on MasterChef Australia in Season 2 during the London Week’s “Afternoon Tea” Invention Test… Round 1 will be a Mystery Box challenge filled with ingredients inspired by some of the special guests they’ve had this season. It will be interesting to see if Vinnie can handle the Chinese theme Pressure Test as he has just stuck to his Italian cuisine all along and he wasn’t involved in Poh’s Malaysian Snacks Pressure Test… At least Petro did the Poh’s Pressure Test… However looking at Cherish’s Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea menu from early this year, they are just Chinese prosperity ingredients used to make western desserts, so we will have to wait and see if she has any kind of kuih in one of her dishes since she grew up in Singapore…

Episode 60: Sunday, August 9, 2026
After months of cooking in the MasterChef kitchen, it comes down to this. Our two finalists arrive at the Grand Finale, where they will battle it out for the title of MasterChef champion 2026.

Round 1: Mystery Box

Butterflied Flathead, Caramelised Jerusalem Artichoke Purée, Cavolo Nero Salsa & Sage Oil (Vinnie Gibaldi)
Szechuan & Chocolate Tart (Petro Papathomas)

Vinnie: 37/40
Petro: 32/40

Round 2: Pressure Test
Chinese Afternoon Tea

Final Scores:
Vinnie: 80/90
Petro: 67/90

MasterChef Champion 2026: Vinnie

Got to say, Vinnie kept calm when he made mistakes all through the finale, while Petro panicked and lost control… Well, time to re-watch The Great Celebrity Bake Off SU2C from earlier this year with judges Paul and Cherish, fun series to watch now that MasterChef Australia has ended for another year… Also looking forwards to the new season of GBBO premiering sometimes next month with new regular judge Nigella Lawson, together with permanent regular judge Paul Hollywood…