Episode 1
The best home cooks from around the country will face challenge after challenge to see who will rise to the top and take home the coveted title of Australia's next MasterChef.
Episode 2
The judges are looking for just five more cooks to round out the top 24. The home cooks who are given a second chance will battle it out for the remaining aprons.
Episode 3
This mystery box is selected by MasterChef Australia champion Emelia Jackson. The three best dishes will be awarded an immunity pin that can be played at any time during an elimination cook.
Episode 4
In this two round challenge, contestants must create dishes that feature a chicken or an egg. The contestant with the least impressive dish will be the first sent home.
Episode 5
Superstars Week kicks off with Nigella Lawson. Contestants must recreate Nigella's favourite dish based on her detailed description, with no ingredient list, recipe or visual reference to work from.
Episode 6
Yotam Ottolenghi presents his favourite flavour bombs: numbing oil, fenugreek marinade and chipotle peanuts. Each team must create a meal that features one of Yotam's flavour bombs.
Episode 7
The judges reveal this elimination challenge is over two rounds and is set by cooking legend Massimo Bottura. Massimo presents his take on the classic dish: mac and cheese.
Episode 8
Clare Smyth reveals the dish that has inspired her choice of mystery box ingredients. Contestants must create a sweet or savoury dish using the ingredients that Clare has chosen for the mystery box.
Episode 9
Heston Blumenthal sets an immunity challenge in which contestants must use a popular breakfast ingredient to create a delicious dessert.
Episode 10
MasterChef alumni Poh, Callum and Reynold present the contestants with three dishes from their venues. Contestants must create a dish worthy of a place on the menu at any of these establishments.
Episode 11
Each team must cook the same six dishes within the time allocated. Each contestant on the team will cook one of the dishes and will be judged against the same dish made by the other two teams.
Episode 12
Each contestant must choose the dish they feel most comfortable making: a savoury tart or sweet tart. Jock then switches the dishes and contestants must cook the dish they're least comfortable with.
Episode 13
Contestants must create a dish using the staple ingredients under their benches as well as two ingredients from the garden for flavour. Contestants with the top five dishes will compete for immunity.
Episode 14
Contestants must choose an ingredient they would like to feature in a dish, but they won't know the ingredient they must pair it with until they have locked in their choice. A Masterclass follows.
Episode 15
Keen as mustard, the contestants have to cook a dish that interprets one of the classic food sayings on display. The contestant who fails will be going home. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
Episode 16
It's Meet the Masters Week. This opportunity gives the contestants up-close insights into the skills of the best culinary masters in Australia.
Episode 17
The least impressive team from the master team challenge must cook off in this pressure test.
Episode 18
The contestants enter the kitchen ready to take on the mystery box challenge set by a Michelin-starred chef.
Episode 19
In a very special challenge, the top four contestants from the previous challenge meet in the kitchen to be taught a lesson in cooking with fire. The most impressive cook wins immunity.
Episode 20
For the final cook of Meet the Masters Week, the bottom four contestants must make a dish that demonstrates how they have mastered a skill, flavour or technique they have learnt across the week.
Episode 21
Andy reveals that every challenge this week will be a service challenge and all 16 contestants are in with a chance at winning immunity from Sunday's elimination.
Episode 22
This challenge is all about the ingredients. Each team must feature the same ingredient in each course
Episode 23
For this challenge, two pantries are on offer: a European pantry and an Eastern pantry. By the toss of a coin, the team that win the toss get to choose their desired pantry.
Episode 24
Each team has two-and-a-half hours to cook a three-course meal and each course must champion a colour chosen by the toss of a coin.
Episode 25
Each team must create a dish that features the ingredient hidden underneath the tablecloth and must also use an allocated electrical appliance at some stage during the cook.
Episode 26
Contestants must choose from either a potato, broccoli, carrot, brown onion or zucchini, to make a delicious dish featuring the vegetable of choice, but not necessarily a vegetarian dish.
Episode 27
In this pressure test, it's a fight to stay in the competition and four contestants must re-create a dish without ever seeing it.
Episode 28
The contestants must create a dish using only the 11 utensils in the mystery box. The dish can be sweet or savoury, with an open pantry and access to the garden.
Episode 29
The contestants must cook a dish using some of the hottest chillies in the world. The dish that best highlights the heat and flavour of their chilli will win immunity.
Episode 30
This elimination is played over two rounds. In the first round, contestants must identify the 14 game meats on display. The six contestants with the lowest scores will cook off in round two.
Episode 31
It's Second Chance Week in the MasterChef kitchen. Across the week, 11 previously eliminated contestants are back with not one, but two chances to get back in the competition.
Episode 32
Renowned pastry chef Anthony Hart reveals his pressure test dish: chocolate oasis. The contestants have 2 hours and 15 minutes, plus a further eight minutes to plate up Anthony's creation.
Episode 33
This episode, the 10 returning contestants can choose between a clear mystery box where the ingredients are visible or a regular mystery box where the ingredients are hidden.
Episode 34
Four contestants are told they will have two-and-a-half hours to prepare a three-course menu. But the catch is that after each course is tasted, one contestant will be knocked out of the competition.
Episode 35
Josh Niland demonstrates how to make the most of a Murray cod utilising the entire fish. For this challenge, contestants are given one Murray cod and must use the same fish for up to three rounds.
Episode 36
Contestants must pair up with another contestant to form seven teams. Each team must create crayfish two ways, one familiar dish and one inventive dish, utilising the freshly caught crayfish.
Episode 37
The four contestants cooking in this elimination challenge discover they will be cooking a vegetarian dish, with all ingredients harvested fresh from Dairy Flat Farm in Daylesford.
Episode 38
The mystery box reveals a map of Melbourne and a camera phone to take pictures. The contestants must explore the city streets and laneways to take a picture that will inspire their dish.
Episode 39
Jock introduces Kate Reid, the mastermind behind Lune Croissanterie. Contestants must use Kate's world-class pastry and turn it into a dish that is not a croissant.
Episode 40
The contestants must decide how much of their 90-minute cook time they use in round one, because they will only have the remainder of that time to cook in round two.
Episode 41
Teams must create a three-course home delivery menu and can choose any theme or cuisine for their menu. Each team has three hours to produce 60 serves.
Episode 42
Guest chef Khanh Nguyen from Sunda has taken South-East Asian food to the next level. The contestants must create Khanh's dish: pork wellington with lattice crackling and flavours of banh mi.
Episode 43
Jock reveals this mystery box is different. Contestants need to use four ingredients in their final dish, but before the cook starts, they can barter for the ingredients from each other.
Episode 44
The top four cooks from the latest mystery box challenge battle it out for immunity and a guaranteed spot in the top 10.
Episode 45
Contestants must correctly identify ingredients in three dishes from Nick Holloway's Nu Nu menu. The five contestants who name the least amount of ingredients correctly will cook off in round two.
Episode 46
The top 10 contestants arrive at URBNSURF, the home to Australia's first ever surf park in Melbourne's west to discover they will be running Andy Allen's restaurant, Three Blue Ducks.
Episode 47
Contestants must cook a sweet pressure test recipe of their own design. Darren Purchese will be running the floor and mentoring the contestants and the judges will do a blind tasting of each dish.
Episode 48
After watching emotional messages from their family members, Melissa explains that contestants must make a dish inspired by their family. The top two dishes will cook in tomorrow's immunity challenge.
Episode 49
In today's challenge, the contestants must keep up with Curtis Stone as he cooks his ultimate roast chicken dish. Andy, Jock and chef Nornie Bero show off their skills in a delicious Masterclass.
Episode 50
Today there is a massive double elimination. Contestants must choose between cooking with the black mystery box or the black cloche, with the ingredients only revealed when they make their choice.
Episode 51
Today we are in the spiritual heart of Australia, Uluru. Contestants must create a fine dining three-course meal under the stars at the stunning Field of Light installation for 25 diners plus judges.
Episode 52
The team arrive at Simpson's Gap and judges reveal the contestants must create a dish using a variety of foraged bush foods. The contestant with the least impressive dish will be sent home.
Episode 53
In the toughest mystery box challenge of the season, the contestants discover they must create a dish using all seven ingredients under the mystery box.
Episode 54
Each cloche represents an ingredient, a cuisine, food related word, or kitchen equipment. The contestants must choose any two cloches and feature whatever is under the cloche in their dish.
Episode 55
Contestants must choose an ingredient and cook it two ways, in a fast-food and in a fancy food application. The contestants with the three least impressive fast-food dishes will cook in round two.
Episode 56
The judges welcome the contestants to Martin Benn's opulent new Melbourne restaurant, Society. The pressure is on as they discover today's service challenge is also an elimination.
Episode 57
Contestants face a pressure test like no other. Chef Hugh Allen from restaurant Vue Du Monde, challenges contestants to recreate his dish, bottlebrush, mum's gum nuts and billy buttons.
Episode 58
The finalists enter the MasterChef kitchen to discover the day's advantage challenge, which will see the winner cooking in the Finale.
Episode 59
Contestants compete in a semifinal service challenge. The contestant with the least impressive menu will leave the competition. Finalists are joined by returning contestants for the final MasterClass.
Episode 60
It’s here, the MasterChef Australia Grand Finale for 2021. Our three finalists face an incredible three round challenge over two days with a total of 140 points up for grabs.
Episode 61
It’s day two of the epic MasterChef Australia Grand Finale for 2021 and the contestant who scores the most points overall will win the title of MasterChef 2021 and walk away with $250,000.
