The fifteenth series of the Australian cooking game show ''

MasterChef Australia ''MasterChef Australia'' is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British ''MasterChef (British TV series), MasterChef''. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and ch ...

'' premiered on 7 May 2023 on

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

and concluded on 16 July 2023. The series was originally announced at

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's and Network 10's

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in October 2022. Subtitled ''Secrets & Surprises'', the season featured 18 contestants, with 17 new to the show. Andy Allen,

Melissa Leong Melissa Leong (born 1982) is an Australian freelance food writer, food critic, television host, radio broadcaster, cookbook editor and marketer. She is currently a judge on Network 10's ''Dessert Masters'' alongside Amaury Guichon and was previ ...

, and Jock Zonfrillo returned to the show as judges from the previous season. The series was originally scheduled to premiere on 1 May 2023. However, following Zonfrillo's death on 30 April, the premiere was postponed until 7 May. Filming of the season had been completed in March 2023 and was thus unaffected by the death of Zonfrillo. The premiere was preceded by a special edition of ''

The Sunday Project ''The Project'' (previously ''The 7PM Project'' from 2009 to 2011) is an Australian news, current affairs, and talk show television panel program airing weeknights and Sunday across Australia on Network 10, produced by Roving Enterprises. The ...

'' that paid tribute to Zonfrillo. The series was won by Brent Draper, who previously appeared in series 13 but withdrew for mental health reasons.

Changes

Compared to previous seasons, series 15 featured 18 contestants instead of the typical 24. Like the previous season, the season omitted the broadcast of the audition stage. Subtitled ''Secrets & Surprises'', this season saw a secret or surprise revealed to the contestants in every episode. One example was the introduction of a surprise "second chance apron", which was won by the winner of the first challenge in the season and kept secret from the rest of the contestants; it allowed the contestant to come back from elimination and compete for re-entry at the next elimination challenge. Weekly immunity challenge winners had a chance to win an immunity pin by winning a cook-off against a professional chef. The winner was determined with a blind tasting by the judges, while

Shannon Bennett Shannon Bennett (born 23 November 1975) is an Australian chef and author. He is best known as the head chef of restaurant Vue de Monde at Melbourne's Rialto Tower. Bennett currently serves as the creative director at the restaurant and its pare ...

mentored the contestants. This was the first season not to feature any MasterClasses.

Contestants

The full cast was announced on 23 April 2023. Former contestant Brent Draper, who withdrew from series 13 citing mental health concerns, returned as a contestant for the season. Future appearances * In Series 16 Declan Cleary, Theo Loizou, Adi Nevgi, Grace Jupp, Phil Conway, Amy Tanner and Jessica Perri appeared as guests for the 1st Service challenge. * Declan & Theo along with Rhiannon Anderson, Cath Collins and Rue Mupedzi appeared in Series 17 for another chance to win. Cath was eliminated on 4 May 2025, finishing 23rd. Rhiannon was eliminated on 25 May 2025, finishing 18th. Rue was eliminated on 27 May 2025, finishing 17th.

Guest chefs

Elimination chart

Episodes and ratings

; Colour key: : – Highest rating during the series : – Lowest rating during the series

References

{{MasterChef Australia, state=expanded MasterChef Australia 2023 Australian television seasons