My Kitchen Rules 2026: Meet the gatecrashers stirring things up

Zoe, 30, and Zac, 30, have been best friends since meeting as teenagers at work. Their friendship has lasted 15 years, so can it survive the heat of MKR?

The loud, competitive duo are hoping their competitive spirit will serve them well in the competition, with Zoe having been banned from game nights because she’s so strong-willed.

They hope to one day open a brewery in Newcastle, serving up their own beers, and hope MKR will be their first step into the food industry.

Mother-son duo Sheridan, 53, and Ted, 25, have big plans to become the first team from Western Australia to win MKR.

The odds may not be in their favour, as a gatecrasher team has also not won before, but they are determined to hit the ground running.

In the kitchen, Ted loves to experiment with flavours while Sheridan brings the organisation, and they hope the combination will serve them well in the competition.

Self-confessed “hipster” mates Harrison, 30, and Oliver, 28, have bonded over their love of food ever since meeting at a brewery six years ago.

The NSW pals have very different cooking styles, something they hope will set them apart from their rivals.

Branding themselves as “mad scientists” in the kitchen, Harrison veers towards hearty, slow-cooked meals, while Oliver leans into his Italian roots.

We certainly won’t be forgetting this pair anytime soon!

Mother-daughter duo Krysten and Lucy entered MKR as an original team.

Hailing from a Queensland farm, they will be focusing on home-cooking and fresh ingredients to impress the judges.

Krysten is a self-taught baker who will be bringing her sweet tooth to the competition.

Mary and Golden are bringing their Filipino heritage to Australia, and they love serving food to people they care about.

The best friends met when they were studying nursing in the Philippines, and both moved to Australia in 2004 in search of a better life.

Entering as MKR‘s first Filipino team, they admit they were feeling the pressure.

“We were cautious because when Manu and Colin said that they haven’t tried Filipino food, there’s like more pressure on that,” Mary tells New Idea.

“We’re the first ones to introduce Filipino food to them. I was shaking!

“We were shaking in our seats. [Thinking] ‘Oh my God, we need to make a really good first impression’.”

Determined not to let their community down, they hope to become the first Filipino winners of MKR.

These self-described “classy bogans” are hoping to prove there is more to them than meets the eye.

The chaotic best friends are bursting with energy and take over any room they enter, and they’re already causing a stir.

“We’re two peas in a pod. We’re both chaotic, loud, in-your-face, crazy, funny and quick-witted – and we have absolutely no filter,” Alisha says.

Alisha and Deanne have a long history, being inseparable ever since they met at school as teenagers.

“We have massive personalities and are basically one brain. We always say we must have been switched at birth because we should be twins,” Deanne admits.

They spend almost all of their free time together, constantly “yapping” and rarely letting anyone else get a word in!

On MKR, they plan to impress with Alisha’s nan’s sticky date pudding and Deanne’s crowd-pleasing birria tacos.

Best friends Angus and Simon are bringing their wicked sense of humour to MKR 2026.

They’re confident their aptly named restaurant, Last Orders, will triumph over their rivals.

“The only thing we’re burying is the competition,” funeral director Angus jokes.

Angus and Simon have been friends for 11 years while working in a pub, and have bonded over their love of food.

Chalk and cheese in the kitchen, they’re convinced their differing styles will be the recipe for their success.

Tiffany, 37, and Giancarlo, 41, have been together for more than 20 years, and are now taking on a new challenge together.

They’re bringing their love of Italian food to the competition, with Tiffany crediting Giancarlo for teaching her how to cook.

However, it could be that the student is about to surpass the master…

When it comes to cooking, food stylist Jane and builder Shane make sure their food is “vibrant, passionate and packed with flavour”.

The married couple, who call the Blue Mountains home, hoped to make a mark on the cooking competition with their bold flavours and sophisticated presentation.

Jane certainly raised eyebrows with her confidence in the competition and her unfiltered verdicts on her rivals’ food; however, it wasn’t enough.

Despite talking a big game, Jane and Shane were the first to be eliminated.