The thirteenth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 19 April 2021 on Network 10. Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo returned to the show as judges from the previous season.
Applications for contestants for the 13th series of MasterChef Australia were open between April and August 2020.
Changes Only three Immunity Pins were up for grabs this season, which all 24 contestants competed for during the first Mystery Box challenge. In addition to being exempt from the first Elimination Challenge, the holders of the Immunity Pins were able to use them at any point during future Elimination Challenges, including right up to the end of a challenge.
The Second Chance Challenge returned as Second Chance Week, with two eliminated contestants being given the chance to return instead of one.
This season featured three finalists in the Grand Finale instead of two.
Contestants Top 24 The Top 24 contestants were announced on 19–20 April 2021. Contestant Age State/Terr Occupation Status Justin Narayan 27 WA Youth pastorWinner 13 July Pete Campbell 36 NSW Tattoo artist Kishwar Chowdhury 38 VIC Printing business owner Elise Pulbrook 28 VIC Lawyer Eliminated 11 July Linda Dalrymple 38 NSW Stay-at-home mum Eliminated 6 July Sabina Newton 21 TAS Commerce student Eliminated 5 July Tommy Pham 31 NSW Kindergarten teacher Eliminated 4 July Depinder Chhibber 29 NSW Pharmacist Eliminated 29 June Scott Bagnell 40 QLD Commercial interior designer Eliminated 27 June Minoli De Silva 34 NT Chemical engineer Re-eliminated 27 JuneReturned 1 JuneEliminated 2 May Aaron Sanders 34 SA Insurance claims manager Eliminated 20 June Maja Veit 33 WA Small business owner Re-eliminated 15 JuneReturned 3 JuneEliminated 4 May Brent Draper 31 QLD BoilermakerWithdrew 13 June Amir Manoly 30 VIC Construction project manager Eliminated 8 June Dan Dumbrell 31 NSW Research project officer Eliminated 6 June Tom Levick 24 NSW Law graduate Eliminated 30 May Eric Mao 21 NSW Medical student Eliminated 25 May Jess Hodge 36 NSW Landscape architect Eliminated 23 May Conor Curran 27 VIC Restaurant manager Eliminated 16 May Therese Lum 31 NSW Performance data analyst Eliminated 11 May Wynona Davies 27 NSW Marketing coordinator Eliminated 9 May Katrina Dunnett 25 VIC Marketing coordinator Eliminated 27 April YoYo Yang 19 SA Medical student Eliminated 25 April Trent Vu 23 VIC Marketing executive Eliminated 22 April
Future Appearances
In Series 14 Tommy Pham and Minoli De Silva appeared for another chance to win the title. Minoli was eliminated on 17 May 2022, finishing 18th and Tommy was eliminated on 19 June 2022, finishing 10th. Depinder Chhibber appeared as a guest Judge on MasterChef India Season 7. In Series 15 Brent Draper appeared again and won the title. In Series 16 Kishwar Chowdhury, Amir Manoly and Connor Curran appeared as guests for the 1st service challenge. Depinder along with Pete Campbell appeared on Series 17. Pete withdrew from the competition on 30 April 2025, finishing 24th and Depinder was eliminated on 4 August 2025, finishing 4th. Therese later competed in the 2026 revival of MasterChef Asia, alongside alumnus Khanh Ong.
Guest chefs Week Guest Challenge 1 Emelia Jackson Mystery Box Challenge 2(Superstars Week) Nigella Lawson Pressure Test & Elimination Challenge Yotam Ottolenghi Team Challenge Massimo Bottura Elimination Challenge Clare Smyth Mystery Box Challenge Heston Blumenthal Immunity Challenge Poh Ling Yeow Elimination Challenge Callum Hann Reynold Poernomo3(Learning Week) Laura Sharrad Masterclass 4(Masters Week) Andreas Papadakis Team Challenge Kirsten Tibballs Pressure Test Masahiko Yomoda Mystery Box Challenge Scott Pickett Immunity Challenge Curtis Stone Elimination Challenge 5(Service Brigade Week) Frank Camorra Immunity Challenge Adam D'Sylva Jenna North Jason Staudt 6 Clinton McIver Pressure Test 7(Second Chance Week) Anthony Hart Pressure Test Josh Niland Elimination Challenge 8(Victorian Culinary Road Tour) Alla Wolf-Tasker Elimination Challenge Kate Reid Immunity Challenge 9 Khanh Nguyen Pressure Test Nick Holloway Elimination Challenge 10 Darren Purchese Pressure Test Curtis Stone Immunity Challenge Nornie Bero MasterClass 11 Rayleen Brown Elimination Challenge Finals Martin Benn Elimination Challenge Hugh Allen Pressure Test Peter Gilmore Grand finale
Elimination Chart No. Week123456789101112Finals MysteryBoxChallengeWinner EliseThereseWynona(Immunity Pin) AaronConorDepinderLindaPete ConorDanDepinderKishwarTherese DepinderJessPeteScott None DanEliseKishwarLindaPete EricMajaTomWynona DepinderKishwarLindaTommy DepinderJustinPeteTommy KishwarSabina EliseJustinLinda None Pete ImmunityChallengeWinner Pete Depinder Depinder Linda None Tommy Justin Sabina Linda Pete None 1Justin Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN 2Pete Top 24 IN IN IN 3Kishwar Top 24 IN IN IN IN Third-place 4Elise Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN 4th colspan="1" 5Linda Top 24 IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 6Sabina Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 7Tommy Top 24 IN IN colspan="1" 8Depinder Top 24 IN IN IN colspan="1" 9Scott Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 10Minoli Top 24 IN IN Eliminated (Ep 10) colspan="1" 11Aaron Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 12 Maja Top 24 IN Eliminated (Ep 12) colspan="1" 13Brent Top 24 IN IN DNP IN IN IN IN Quit Withdrew (Ep 40) 14Amir Top 24 IN IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 15Dan Top 24 IN IN IN colspan="1" 16Tom Top 24 IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 17Eric Top 24 IN IN IN colspan="1" 18Jess Top 24 IN IN IN IN colspan="1" 19Conor Top 24 IN colspan="1" 20Therese Top 24 IN IN IN colspan="3" 21Wynona Top 24 IN colspan="4" 22Katrina Top 24 IN IN colspan="7" 23Yo Yo Top 24 colspan="8" 24Trent Top 24 colspan="9" Eliminated Trent Katrina Minoli Maja Wynona Therese Conor Jess Eric Tom Dan Amir Brent Maja Aaron Minoli Scott Depinder Tommy Sabina Linda Elise Kishwar114 points Pete124 points Justin125 points (win)
Episodes and ratings Colour key: – Highest rating during the series – Lowest rating during the series