Channel Ten has confirmed that fan-favourite MasterChef Australia judges will return for the 2025 season.
Season 16 of the popular reality television cooking show saw Andy Allen carry on the legacy of his dear friend and colleague Jock Zonfrillo alongside three fresh faces.
In 2025, former fan favourites will also return as contestants in another Back to Win season, determined to win the coveted title. You can find out more about the 24 hopefuls here.
Find out more about the judges below.
Who will be the judges on MasterChef Australia 2025?
Andy, MasterChef alumni Poh Ling Yeow, food critic, journalist Sofia Levin, and multi-Michelin Star award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli were all a hit with fans in 2024.
So it’s no surprise that they were invited back to judge once more.
For Poh, who was runner-up in the inaugural season, becoming a full-time judge was an emotional “full-circle” moment.
“MasterChef Australia is where my food story began, so this feels like coming home. A big part of me will always be standing on the other side with the contestants, and I hope when they look at me, they see proof you don’t have to win to win,” she said when she became a judge in 2024.
Before the season one runner-up became a permanent judge, she returned several times as a guest judge and mentor, and then made an additional appearance as a contestant in 2020.
For Sofia, her journey to becoming a MasterChef judge was one of excitement, bringing to fruition her almost 15-year-long career writing about her love of food.
“The first season of MasterChef Australia aired the same year I started writing about food. By the time I graduated from journalism, I was sharing lesser-known food stories, while the show was exposing the nation to cuisines and cultures they had never considered before. Becoming a judge on MasterChef feels like two parallel paths converging, and I am giddy with excitement at the people I get to stand beside,” she has previously gushed.
For Jean-Christophe he knows exactly what it takes to get the best out of aspiring chefs.
“Fostering culinary talent is something I have cared about for many years, and it is a passion I am excited to share in the MasterChef kitchen. Australian cuisine has a remarkable reputation on the world stage, and it will be a great privilege to meet and mentor the country’s top home cooks on their journey to greatness.”
Andy described his decision to return in 2024 and again in 2025 as one made with great consideration, reflecting on the loss of Jock.
“MasterChef Australia has been part of my life for over a decade. It gave me a pathway into the industry and led me to a career that I’m forever grateful for. After an extremely difficult year in 2023, and upon reflection, the decision to return to the series is not one I took lightly,” he said.
“But there is something special in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, and it feels right to come back to work with the amazing production team and to play my role in seeing the contestants do as I have done.”
Who are the guest judges on MasterChef Australia?
In 2024, it was Jamie Oliver who brought the heat to the kitchen as a guest judge. This year, internationally renowned and multi-Michelin-starred Chef Gordon Ramsay will kick off the season as a guest judge.
Channel 10 has revealed a star-studded line-up of judges will feature on MasterChef in 2025. Some famous names include Curtis Stone, Maggie Beer, Peter Gilmore, and Kirsten Tibballs.
