News, Start Date, Judges & More

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.

Latest MasterChef Australia News & Rumours

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 has 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].”

Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo were the previous MasterChef Australia judges. Image: Network 10.

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-australia-judges-2024 — *Jean-Christophe Novelli, Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, Melissa Leong and Amaury Guichon. Image: Network 10.*

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.

*Feel like pure shit just want Season One of MasterChef Australia back. Image: Getty*, *Network 10.*

poh-masterchef-australia-2024 — *Feel like pure shit just want Season One of MasterChef Australia back. Image: Getty*, *Network 10.*

“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!

Poh-Ling-Yeow-masterchef-australia-judge-2024 — *That’s my queen!!! Image: Getty*

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.

*This woman is going to have a delectable way with words when it comes to feedback on the dishes, I’m so ready. Image: Network 10.*

“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.

Multi-Michelin Star celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli for Masterchef AU — *If a French chef looked at me like this I would simply cease to exist. Image: Network 10.*

“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.

jamie-oliver-masterchef-judges — *He knew exactly what he was doing here. Image: Network 10.*

“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?

The contestants for MasterChef Australia 2024 are yet to be revealed. However, given the show is out in a few weeks, I’m sure we’ll find out soon.

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.