While the judges and contestants on MasterChef Australia are drawn to the show for it’s celebration of food and innovation, a love of cooking isn’t quite enough to live off.
For the last couple of years, the salaries of the judges have been a point of contention, as previous judges who made “shock” exits from the show shone a spotlight on the profits that MasterChef Australia – and all of its spin-off series – makes.
While the contestants entering the show may take a bit of a pay cut depending on what their normal day-to-day jobs are, for the judges – Andy Allen, Sofia Levin, Poh Ling Yeow, and Jean-Christophe Novelli – their earnings make up a pretty decent yearly salary for half a year of work.
Here’s the latest data we can find on the salaries of the 2026 MasterChef Australia judges.
How much do the current MasterChef Australia judges earn?
The last time the salaries of the MasterChef Australia judges were reported was in 2020-2021 off the back of 2019 reporting on failed contract negotiations between Channel 10 and MasterChef Australia’s original judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, and Matt Preston. Prior to their departure from the show, these judges were reported by SMH at the time to have been earning over $1 million.
After these judges’ departure in 2020, Women’s Day reported that the next judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo were taking home an estimated $500,000. Since then, there hasn’t been any recent evidence to suggest an increase or decrease in this estimated figure. While New Idea reported that there was a pay freeze implemented by Channel 10, preventing any increase in talent salaries, this hasn’t been confirmed by the broadcaster.
Therefore, we can’t confirm the current salaries of 2026 MasterChef Australia judges Andy Allen, Sofia Levin, Poh Ling Yeow, and Jean-Christophe Novelli, however, based on the increasing success of the reality tv show in recent years, we can assume that the alleged “pay freeze” may not be lasting long.
What else do the MasterChef Australia judges do?
Luckily for the judges, MasterChef Australia isn’t their only source of income.
Andy Allen is probably the show’s best success story, leveraging his post-MasterChef fame into a major hospitality career with the launch of Three Blue Ducks, a restaurant group with locations in Byron Bay, Sydney, and Melbourne. The chef has also been smart with sponsorships and media partnerships and co-founded beer brand Travala with actor Travis Fimmel.
Jean-Christophe Novelli is probably the most similar to Andy Allen when it comes to business ventures. While the French-born chef has built an international hospitality empire with Michelin-starred restaurants and hotels in Europe and beyond, he also runs a prestigious Novelli Academy cookery school in Bedfordshire, England.
Sofia Levin earns outside of MasterChef Australia through a more untraditional route as her culinary travel content, blog, brand partnerships, and storytelling has established her as an important and recognisable media voice within the industry. While this storytelling will earn her sponsorship and income, she has also used her media connection to fundraise for causes close to her heart.
Poh Ling Yeow has had multiple creative pursuits ranging from her own television show Poh’s Kitchen in 2010 that lasted three seasons to her bakery business Jamface and her visual art career. When it comes to creativity, Poh is your girl!
How successful is MasterChef Australia for Channel 10?
While MasterChef Australia has declined from it’s early 2009–2015 hay-day – based on reports by news.com.au and SMH at the time – the show is still very much valuable, and still boasts high ratings.
For the show’s launch this year, 2026, B&T reported that ratings were up 7% compared to last year’s ratings, reaching 1.3 million national viewers and an average national audience of 722,000.
Therefore, while the numbers may not be what they used to be, the media landscape and how audiences are watching the show – that is, on social media and through content creators – has made a significant impact on how it progresses, and what pay rises may be in store for the judges in the future.
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