About this season
Aspiring chefs go up against one another in a culinary competition that requires them to impress the judges by preparing various types of dishes and become the ultimate winner.
Episodes (15)
1. Premiere: First Double Elimination
Aired 22 February 2026 • 45 min
The episode centers on a challenge to "put themselves on a plate," where contestants had to create an elevated dish based on a childhood memory triggered by a photograph found in their Mystery Boxes.
2. Apple Mystery Box Challenge
Aired 1 March 2026
A Mystery Box Challenge where the remaining 18 contestants must create a dish using the "humble ingredient of an apple". Contestants are tasked with thinking of the "apple of their eye"—someone special in their lives—to inspire their dish. The winner of the challenge receives immunity from the following week's elimination and gets to watch from the gantry.
3. Signature Savoury Pies
Aired 8 March 2026
Each of the 20 contestants opens a mystery box to find a photograph from their childhood. They must create and "elevate" a dish inspired by that specific childhood memory to a MasterChef standard.
4. Judges' Star Signs
Aired 15 March 2026
5. Translating Fashion into Food
Aired 22 March 2026
6. Buffet of New Beginnings
Aired 29 March 2026
7. Episode 7
Aired 5 April 2026
8. Episode 8
Aired 12 April 2026
9. Episode 9
Aired 19 April 2026
10. Episode 10
Aired 26 April 2026
11. Episode 11
Aired 3 May 2026
12. Episode 12
Aired 10 May 2026
13. Episode 13
Aired 17 May 2026
14. Episode 14
Aired 24 May 2026
15. Episode 15
Aired 31 May 2026