MasterChef Australia still has some surprises up its sleeve, with a few highly anticipated guest judges yet to appear. However, now two months into the season, the Grand Finale is well and truly on the horizon, with a $250,000 cash prize up for grabs between the remaining contestants.
This season of MasterChef has been a wild one, with celebrity guests ranging from Aussie icons like Robert Irwin to MasterChef staples like Curtis Stone making surprise appearances. There have also been some formatting changes this year that have sent fans both spiralling and cheering.
While we don’t want to imagine a world without MasterChef on our screens four nights a week, now that the Top 10 contestants are starting to be whittled down, the end is fast approaching.
Here’s everything we know about the MasterChef Australia 2026 finale…
What were the changes to MasterChef 2026?
Since this season premiered, fans have had their fair share of gripes, from the introduction of more ‘social media influencer’ guest judges causing upset to hygiene complaints or budget cut accusations.
However, MasterChef judge Andy Allen, former MasterChef stars and a spokesperson from Channel 10 have responded to these complaints, defending the format changes and the success it has achieved for one of Australia’s much-loved shows.
“MasterChef Australia has served up success again this year, with Season 18 reaching its biggest total national audience since 2022,” a 10 spokesperson told WHO. “In addition to welcoming worldclass guest judges like Robert Irwin, Jimmy and Jane Barnes, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, this season of MasterChef brings back some fan favourite formats, including a return to Top 40 on-camera auditions, Invention Tests, and Beat The Chef.”
These fan favourite formats received an incredible response from fans, most notably the blind tasting challenge and service challenges.
In defence of the changes to guest appearances this year, Allen told WHO that each season being “beautifully different” is what the show is all about.
“It’s not just your three Michelin star chefs that come in to create a, you know, six-hour pressure test. Yes, there’s still, you know, those amazing Australian chefs that come in and really test out our contestants,” Allen said. “But we’ve kind of lent in to like this kind of undeniable thing that is social media, which is where a lot of people view their content, especially food content these days.”
“It’s same, same but beautifully different. You know, going back to fresh faces and newbies, and after having a year of returning contestants last year, that has been amazing – it’s what MasterChef is all about, in my opinion.”
With the highly anticipated appearance of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, on the show, the surprises for this season are still coming!
When do MasterChef Australia episodes air?
This season premiered on Sunday, April 19, 2026, and has been airing four nights a week from Sunday to Wednesday.
MasterChef Australia is available to watch on Channel 10 and 10 Play.
When is the MasterChef Australia 2026 finale?
In previous seasons, MasterChef has run for about 12 weeks, premiering in late April and ending early to mid-August.
Channel 10 is yet to confirm the finale date for MasterChef. However, given the programming of past years, we can expect to see the 2026 end at the start of August.
Luckily, this means we still have over a month of MasterChef content to enjoy, so while we’re on the tail end of the season, there is still plenty left in store!
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