The eighth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 1 May 2016 on Network Ten. All the judges from the previous series returned.
This series was won by Elena Duggan in the grand finale against Matt Sinclair, on 26 July 2016.
Contestants
Top 24 The first 19 contestants were announced on 1 May 2016. Cecilia Vuong was chosen having previously been selected in series six, as she withdrew that year before the competition started because of complications from a brain injury. A further 11 applicants were required to cook again the next day for the next four positions. The remaining seven cooks then competed for the final place. The competition includes two siblings for the first time in MasterChef Australia; Jimmy Wong and Theresa Visintin.
Contestant Age State Occupation Status Elena Duggan 32 NSW TeacherWinner 26 July Matt Sinclair 27 QLD Coffee RoasterRunner-up 26 July Harry Foster 21 QLD Cocktail Bartender Eliminated 25 July Elise Franciskovic 28 QLD Pharmacy TechnicianEliminated 24 July Mimi Baines 26 VIC Product ManagerEliminated 20 July Trent Harvey 29 NSW ElectricianEliminated 18 July Brett Carter 43 WA Airline CaptainEliminated 14 July Chloe Bowles 24 QLD NannyEliminated 7 July Theresa Visintin 44 NSW Stay-at-home MumEliminated 4 JulyReturned 14 JuneEliminated 30 May Heather Day 32 SA Sales ManagerEliminated 30 June Karmen Lu 24 WA WaitressEliminated 23 June Anastasia Zolotarev 26 NSW Marketing Co-OrdinatorEliminated 20 June Nicolette Stathopoulos 19 VIC StudentEliminated 16 June Zoe Konikkos 31 VIC Sales ManagerEliminated 13 June Miles Pritchett 46 QLD Park RangerEliminated 9 June Charlie Sartori 24 VIC Professional GolferEliminated 6 June Cecilia Vuong 31 VIC TeacherEliminated 2 June Con Vailas 31 VIC Restaurant SupervisorEliminated 26 May Jimmy Wong 49 NSW Sustainability SpecialistEliminated 23 May Nidhi Mahajan 30 SA Call Centre WorkerEliminated 19 May Olivia Robinson 26 NSW Restaurant ManagerEliminated 16 May Adam Mizzi 30 SA Adventure Company OwnerEliminated 12 May Nathaniel Milevskiy 29 QLD Paramedic StudentEliminated 9 May Ashley McConnell 29 WA Software SalesEliminated 5 May
Future appearance
In Series 9 Elena Duggan appeared as a guest judge for a Mystery Box and an Invention Test Challenge, while Matt Sinclair appeared as guest chef for a team challenge. In Series 10 Elena appeared at the auditions to support the top 50, while Sinclair appeared as a guest chef for an Immunity challenge and won against contestant Khanh Ong. Elena later appeared at the Semi finals service challenge as a guest along with Harry Foster, Elise Franciskovic, Mimi Baines, Trent Harvey, Heather Day, Nicolette Stathopoulos & Con Vailas. In Series 11 Sinclair was one of the mentors for the Immunity Challenges, while Elena appeared at the team challenge in "Queensland Week" as a guest judge. Harry appeared in Series 12 and was eliminated on April 28, 2020, finishing 21st. In Series 15 Sinclair appeared as a guest team captain for a service challenge. Jimmy Wong appeared in Series 17 and was eliminated on May 20, 2025, finishing 19th for the second time.
Guest chefs Week Guest Judge Challenge 1 Billie McKay Top 24 Mystery Box Challenge 2(Marco Week) Marco Pierre White All Challenges & MasterClass Jake Kellie Immunity Challenge 3 Reynold Poernomo Pressure Test Braden White Immunity Challenge Anthony Hammel Team Challenge Daniel Wilson 4(Nigella Week) Nigella Lawson All Challenges & MasterClass Lachlan Colwill Immunity Challenge 5 Jason Atherton Pressure Test Thomas Woods Immunity Challenge Hayden McFarland6 Maggie Beer Mystery Box Challenge/Invention Test Anna Polyviou Pressure Test Morgan McGlone Immunity Challenge Kylie Kwong Team Challenge7(Power Apron Week) Luke Nguyen Mystery Box Challenge/Invention Test Ross Lusted Pressure Test Curtis Stone Team Challenge8 Flynn McGarry Pressure Test Victor Liong Immunity Challenge 9(Heston Week) Heston Blumenthal All Challenges & MasterClass10 Peter Gilmore Pressure Test Troy Rhoades-Brown Team Challenge Nick Holloway Iain Todd Hadleigh Troy11(California Week) Dominique Crenn Pressure Test Wes Avila Team Challenge Curtis Stone Elimination Challenge Javier Plascencia MasterClass 12 Christy Tania Pressure Test Alla Wolf-Tasker Service Challenge Final Heston Blumenthal Grand Final Ashley Palmer-Watts
Elimination chart No. Week1234567891011Finals MysteryBoxChallengeWinner JimmyMimiNidhi Charlie Anastasia Heather Chloe Zoe Elise(Power Apron) Elena None Brett Matt Harry Elena InventionTestWinner None NidhiOliviaZoe AnastasiaConNicolette HarryKarmenMimi KarmenMattMimi BrettChloeTrent Anastasia(Power Apron) ElenaKarmenMattTrent BrettEliseHarry Trent ElenaEliseHarry None ImmunityChallenge Lose: Zoe Win: Nicolette Lose: Harry Win: Chloe, Matt Lose: Chloe None Lose: Matt Lose: Brett Win: Elena None1 ElenaTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN colspan=2 colspan=2 IN 2 MattTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN 3 HarryTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN 3rd 4 EliseTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN P.A. colspan=2 IN 4th colspan=2 5 MimiTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN 6 TrentTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN colspan=2 7 BrettTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN 8 ChloeTop 24 IN IN colspan=2 IN 9 TheresaTop 24 IN IN IN Eliminated (Ep 22)P.A. 10 HeatherTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN IN 11 KarmenTop 24 IN IN IN IN 12 AnastasiaTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN P.A. Saved 13 NicoletteTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN 14 ZoeTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN 15 MilesTop 24 IN IN IN IN IN 16 CharlieTop 24 IN IN IN colspan="2" 17 CeciliaTop 24 IN IN IN IN colspan="3" 18 ConTop 24 IN IN colspan="5" 19JimmyTop 24 IN IN colspan="6" 20 NidhiTop 24 IN colspan="7" 21 OliviaTop 24 IN colspan="8" 22 AdamTop 24 IN IN colspan="9" 23 NathanielTop 24 IN colspan="10" 24 AshleyTop 24 colspan="12" Eliminated Ashley Nathaniel Adam Olivia Nidhi Jimmy Con Theresa Cecilia Charlie Miles Zoe Nicolette Anastasia Karmen Heather Theresa Chloe Brett Trent Mimi Elise Harry Matt84 points Elena86 points (win)
Episodes and ratings Colour key: – Highest rating during the series – Lowest rating during the series