MasterChef Australia winner Laura Sharrad has had people share their dreams of applying for the show with her, and she’s been used to assuring them.
Having competed on the show three times and winning last year, the Adelaide local is all too familiar with how much it has evolved over the years.
When asked by New Idea what she thinks of the 2026 season focusing on more home cooking, she agreed, saying it was “refreshing”.
She told us that she likes the show going back to its roots because she’s had people tell her that they want to apply, but worry it’s too technical.
“I think bringing it way back to this home cooking thing that MasterChef is known for, I think is great because then, like you do learn so much across the season,” she said, admitting that she wouldn’t have applied if the show had technical expectations.
With applications for the 2027 season already open, she encourages people to throw their hats in the ring.
“Winning or losing or not even coming close to the finale, it can change your life,” she exclusively told us. “I think what you put into the experience, you are going to get out of it free of cost. So I think go for it.”
She also encourages people to play it safe and to make themselves known in the competition, to make sure they don’t fly under the radar.
The 2025 winner acknowledges that because of the amount of filming of the contestants, not everyone can be shown all the time. This is all the more reason to give it your all, she says.
“You get highlighted if you’re in the top three or in the bottom three, and it’s always been like that,” she explained.
“Like if you stay in that middle of the pack, you’re never really highlighted because you’re not a dish that’s going to be spoken about, and there’s like 10 to 11 cameramen.”
“There’s at least 10 hours of footage on each camera every day, but you get one hour of TV.”
You can apply for the 2027 season here.
