MasterChef Australia in 2023 has 18 new contestants that are putting everything on the line to win the coveted gold plate at the end of the season.
The series, which premieres on Sunday, May 7 on 10 and 10Play, is once again helmed by Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen as judges; however, they are not the only ones returning to the kitchen. This year, Brent Draper will don the infamous white apron once again after leaving the 2021 MasterChef season to look after his mental health.
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“It’s a really wonderful platform to be able to be real, to tell the stories of who we are,” Leong told Mediaweek during an interview before the premiere. “Every human on this planet has their own unique set of experiences. For Brent to be brave enough to have put his hand up in his season and say, ‘Look, this is not where I need to be right now, I need to prioritise my health, my wellness, my family, and get good with who I am.'”
Brent Draper in 2021. 10.
Almost two years after his exit, Leong revealed that Draper, now a dad-of-one, has come back “firing on all cylinders” and was “thoroughly comfortable with the work that he has put into himself.”
“It’s a real testament to who he is, but also to the commonality that we all share, which is that we all struggle. We’ve all had times in our lives that we have not felt our finest and isn’t it a great thing to normalise conversations about how we should prioritise? Getting good with who we are and that way we can thrive in the best possible way.”
During the same interview, Allen said that Draper’s return was a good opportunity to personally “check” himself.
“He’s super inspirational,” Allen said. “And to the point that like, I don’t really struggle with mental health, so to speak… I lead a lovely life. I don’t struggle with mental health, but there’s having that self awareness and just being able to go, ‘I could be doing better in this area,’ whether it be being a brother, being a son, being a husband. There’s always things, that you mightn’t be deep in the darkness, but you can always be better. And I think that it was really touching for me because immediately I was checking myself and I think that not just every male but every every human out there. It just doesn’t hurt to give yourself check.”
Leong added: “Normalising conversations that maybe in generations past haven’t been at the forefront, I think, is a wonderful thing. Being real with each other is is something that I take great pride in. Like Andy said, I think he hit the the nail on the head. There is self awareness in knowing how you navigate the world, but also being aware of how other people are navigating the world and where they are in their own experience of becoming aware of how they’re going through life.”
Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo. 10.
Why the MasterChef Australia contestants become “family”
Even though the popular series is all about cooking, one of the most important ingredients is the contestants themselves and the stories they share with Australia.
“Everyone comes with so many special things about them,” Leong said. “And to be able to have that platform to express what’s important to them, I think is is a wonderful part of the show, it’s to have a voice.”
Allen, who won the 2012 series at just 23 before becoming a judge, reflected on how MasterChef is “such an amazing place”.
“It’s so hard. If you think about it, you’re away from your family, your loved ones, your solid group of support network for six months and you don’t really see them. You make phone calls. FaceTime is great, but you’re away from them. I always get asked how can you get really tight like in terms of being friends with someone in such a short period of time. First answer is, it’s six months so it’s not like just the 10 week block. The second answer is, it is so hard and these people become your new family and your new friends.”
MasterChef Australia Top 18. 10.
The contestants are the secret ingredient to the success of the show
This year, the Top 18 contestants range from 23-year-old Declan to Robbie, an Indigenous man who is in his 60s; and Allen admitted that it creates a “relatability” for viewers at home.
“I think relatability is probably the thing that I’m most excited about,” he said. “Relatability in the contestants. There’s everything from the knockabout 23-year-old to a bloke that goes over to Paris to learn how to bake sourdough and just finds this love for bread.”
The pair also revealed that there’s a Harvard graduate, doctors, economists, accountants, chippies and mums, all from a diverse range of cultures, which Leong says is a “great microcosm” of “who Australia is.”
“They all approach the challenge of being in the MasterChef kitchen with such heart and such an openness. It really is humbling to watch and I think that Australia, like with every other season, will fall in love with this whole new crop of cooks in a very different way.”
On the cultural diversity she said: “I think it’s really important to reiterate that this is what the show has always been about for 15 seasons. It has been about a wonderful multicultural mix of contestants and every year that changes. There may be a focus on a particular region because of the contestants involved in that season and it’s a wonderful thing.
“We learned so much as judges, but also this is just such an incredible place to share the cultural experiences that everybody brings to the kitchen. The common love language is food and with that comes an inquisitive nature in everybody to want to know about each other’s recipes, and the stories behind the recipes that give those recipes meaning.”
“They all approach the challenge of being in the MasterChef kitchen with such heart and such an openness,” Allen agreed.
MasterChef Australia premieres on Sunday, May 7 at 7.30 pm on 10 and 10Play.
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