MasterChef Australia series 14
| Company type | Television series season |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | April 18, 2022 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Parent | Network 10 |
The fourteenth installment of the Australian culinary contest MasterChef Australia debuted on 18 April 2022 via Network 10. This edition, named Fans & Favourites, brought together 12 new participants alongside 12 returning competitors. The judging panel, consisting of Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo, reprised their roles from the preceding season.
In October 2021, Network Ten confirmed the series' comeback for its 14th iteration, initially titled Foodies Vs. Favourites. Production experienced a short interruption in January 2022 after multiple cast and crew members tested positive for COVID-19, though all involved were fully vaccinated.
On 12 July 2022, Billie McKay secured victory, becoming the first contestant to win MasterChef Australia twice by surpassing Sarah Todd in the final showdown.
Changes
This season eliminated the traditional audition broadcasts, commencing immediately with the 24 contestants competing in an Immunity Pin Challenge. A record number of seven Immunity Pins were awarded to Christina, Harry, Tommy, Billie, Michael, Sarah, and Julie, each pin granting protection during forthcoming eliminations.
Initial team competitions pitted Fans (newcomers) against Favourites (returnees) until week six when team divisions were dissolved.
The weekly structure was adjusted: Mondays featured a Mystery Box challenge where the lowest performers faced Tuesday's Pressure Test elimination; Wednesdays hosted a Team Challenge, with victors advancing to Thursday’s Immunity Challenge, awarding immunity to one contestant; all others competed in Sunday’s All-In Elimination Challenge.
Similar to season 12, this season did not incorporate a "second chance" round allowing previously eliminated contestants to re-enter the competition.
Contestants
The returning group of 12 contestants was revealed on 23 March 2022, followed by the full roster of 24 participants announced on 3 April 2022. This diverse cast included former finalists and newcomers from various professional sectors such as culinary arts, restaurant management, firefighting, and dentistry.
| Contestant | State/Terr | Occupation | Original Series | Previous Season Placing |
Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billie McKay | NSW | Restaurant manager | Series 7 | Winner | Winner 12 July |
| Sarah Todd | VIC | Chef & restaurateur | Series 6 | 9th | Template:Sort |
| Daniel Lamble | NT | Firefighter | New Contestant | Template:Sort | |
| Keyma Vásquez Montero | VIC | Stay-at-home mum | New Contestant | Eliminated 10 July | |
| Julie Goodwin | NSW | Cook, author & media presenter | Series 1 | Winner | Eliminated 5 July |
| Alvin Quah | NSW | Medical manager | Series 2 | 6th | Eliminated 3 July |
| Mindy Woods | NSW | Chef & restaurateur | Series 4 | 4th | Eliminated 28 June |
| Aldo Ortado | NSW | Restaurant manager | Series 10 | 13th | Eliminated 26 June |
| Montana Hughes | QLD | TikToker | New Contestant | Eliminated 21 June | |
| Tommy Pham | NSW | Kindergarten teacher | Series 13 | 7th | Eliminated 19 June |
| Michael Weldon | VIC | Developmental chef & TV presenter | Series 3 | 2nd | Eliminated 12 June |
Future appearances
- During Series 15, Sashi Cheliah took part as guest team captain in a service challenge; Julie Goodwin returned as a guest judge.
- For MasterChef Australia series 16, Julie, Sashi, Alvin Quah, Mindy Woods, Aldo Ortado, Michael Weldon, Steph Woon, Harry Tomlinson, Ali Stoner, Dulan Hapuarachchi, and Chris Tran appeared as guests during the initial service challenge.
- In MasterChef Australia series 17, Sarah Todd competed once more and finished sixth on July 27, 2025; Julie Goodwin also served as guest judge on that day.
Guests
| Week | Guest | Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Adriano Zumbo | Pressure Test |
| Rosheen Kaul | MasterClass | |
| Matt Stone | Immunity Challenge | |
| 3 | Shannon Bennett | Service & Mystery Box Challenge |
| Reynold Poernomo | Pressure Test | |
| Curtis Stone | Service & Immunity Challenge | |
| 4 | Gareth Whitton | Pressure Test |
| Clare Smyth | Service Challenge | |
| 5 | Alla Wolf-Tasker | Pressure Test |
| 6 | Maggie Beer | Mystery Box Challenge |
| Josh Niland | Pressure Test | |
| 7 (Mega Week) |
Donny Toce | Pressure Test |
| Marco Pierre White | Immunity Challenge | |
| Nick Riewoldt | MasterClass | |
| Thi Le | ||
| 8 | Marco Pierre White | Elimination Challenge |
| Dave Pynt | Mystery Box Challenge | |
| Andreas Papadakis | Pressure Test | |
| 9 (Top 10 Week) |
Rick Stein | Elimination Challenge |
| 10 | Khanh Nguyen | Pressure Test |
| Natalie Paull | MasterClass | |
| 11 | Hugh Allen | Elimination Challenge |
| Kirsten Tibballs | Pressure Test | |
| 13 (Grand Finale Week) |
Peter Gilmore | Pressure Test |
| Shannon Bennett | Service Challenge | |
| Heston Blumenthal | Grand Finale |
Elimination chart
... [chart continues with contestant progress and eliminations, omitted for brevity] ...| No. | Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Finals | Grand Finale | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery Box Challenge Winner |
None | Aldo Melanie |
Ali Julie Sashi Tommy |
Minoli | Ali | Aldo Daniel Mindy |
Tommy | Sarah | Billie | Billie Julie |
Daniel Sarah |
None | None | |||||||||||||||||||
| Immunity Challenge |
'\'\'\'Christina\'\'\' \'\'\'Harry\'\'\' \'\'\'Tommy\'\'\ |
'\'\'Julie\'\ Montana |
Aldo Alvin<br style="color:#de6fa1;"|'\'\'Billie\'\ Julie Melanie<br style="color:#de6fa1;"|'\'\'Michael\'\ Minoli |
'\'\'Michael\'\ Sarah Sashi Tommy |
'\'\'Ali\'\ Jenn Montana |
None | '\'\'Sarah\'\ | '\'\'Julie\'\ Matt |
Alvin Harry<br style="color:lightseagreen;"|'\'\'Keyma\'\ Michael Mindy Montana Tommy |
'\'\'Daniel\'\ Montana Sarah |
'\'\'Billie Daniel Julie Mindy\'\ |
'\'\'Julie\'\ Mindy |
Alvin Julie<br style="color:lightseagreen;"|'\'\'Keyma\'\ Sarah |
Alvin<br style="color:lightseagreen;"|'\'\'Julie\'\ Sarah |
'\'\'Keyma\ | Billie Sarah |
None | |||||||||||||||
| Elimination Challenge Winner |
Minoli | None | Daniel | Melanie | Keyma Melanie Steph |
None | Aldo Alvin Billie Tommy |
Aldo Billie Julie Keyma Sarah |
Keyma Sarah |
Alvin Mindy Sarah |
Daniel Sarah |
Daniel | Daniel | None | ||||||||||||||||||
Episodes and ratings
- Colour legend:
- – Series' highest audience rating
- – Series' lowest audience rating
| Ep#/Wk-Ep# | Airdate | Episode Title / Event Description | Total Viewers (five metro areas) | Nightly Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | ||||
| 1/01-1 | Monday, 18 April 2022 | Series Launch: Immunity Pin Strength Challenge — Twenty-four contestants prepared dishes highlighting their culinary strengths to earn immunity pins. Harry secured a pin with his charred cabbage, Tommy's bún mắm earned him a pin for the Favourites team, and Christina received the final pin for her bacalhau à brás. | 545,000 | #9 |
| 2/01-2 | Tuesday, 19 April 2022 | Signature Ingredient Service Challenge — Teams competed in a three-course service using key ingredients selected by Fans or Favourites. The winning stations advanced to the immunity round. | 436,000 | #12 |
| 3/01-3 | Wednesday, 20 April 2022 | Food Pyramid Creation Test — Twelve contestants crafted dishes incorporating layers of the food pyramid. Four were chosen to proceed to the immunity challenge. | 376,000 | #15 |
| 4/01-4 | Thursday, 21 April 2022 | Random Draw Immunity Challenge — Participants cooked using ingredients drawn by chance. Julie won immunity with her prawn, leek, and chorizo paella. | 490,000 | #9 |
| Week 2 | ||||
| 5/02-1 | Sunday, 24 April 2022 | Great Australian Jaffle Elimination — Contestants utilized jaffle makers; Fans faced elimination after losing the initial round. Chris was eliminated following a flawed dish. | 442,000 | #5 |
| 6/02-2 | Monday, 25 April 2022 | Retro Mystery Box Challenge — Using ingredients from the first season’s mystery box, chefs prepared dishes. Aldo and Melanie earned immunity while others faced pressure tests. | 438,000 | #14 |
| 7/02-3 | Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | Adriano Zumbo Pressure Test — Alvin, Julie, Dulan, and Max attempted to replicate Zumbo's chocolate dessert. Dulan was eliminated due to an imbalanced dish. | 498,000 | #10 |
| 8/02-4 & 8/02-5 | Wednesday, 27 April 2022 | Chili Team Relay & MasterClass — Four teams competed in a relay cooking chili-based dishes; Grey Team emerged victorious. The MasterClass featured chefs Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and others sharing signature recipes. | 406,000 (average) | #15 & #17 |
| Summary of Weeks 3 through 13 (selected highlights) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highlights from Weeks 3 to 13: The competition featured service challenges led by guest chefs such as Shannon Bennett and Curtis Stone, along with mystery box and pressure tests presenting complex recipes from acclaimed chefs Marco Pierre White and Kirsten Tibballs. Immunity pin rounds tested contestants’ strategic cooking under time constraints with diverse ingredients including truffles and oysters. Key eliminations involved strong contestants like John and Jenn due to not meeting challenge criteria or technical mistakes. Midway through the season, Fans and Favourites merged into a single group to heighten competitive intensity. The finale showcased intricate recreations of signature dishes by Peter Gilmore and Heston Blumenthal. Audience numbers peaked during the Grand Finale with over 875,000 viewers tuning in. Billie McKay claimed the title along with the $250,000 grand prize, becoming MasterChef’s first two-time champion. For comprehensive episode details and ratings information, see the full series records. |
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