MasterChef Australia 2026 has reached its top 12, with Victorian chartered accountant Petro Papathomas among the remaining contestants competing for the $250,000 grand prize after a season of eliminations, mystery boxes and pressure tests.
The competition, judged by Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli, has already delivered shock exits and high-pressure challenges, with celebrity guest appearances from figures including Curtis Stone, Meghan Markle, Jimmy Barnes and Robert Irwin.
Papathomas has stood out for his Greek-Cypriot inspired cooking, Mediterranean flavours and bold approach in the kitchen. He learned to cook from his mother and yiayiathes and has spent years refining his signature focus on halloumi, with ambitions to open a modern Cypriot restaurant.
His standout dishes include prawn bisque fettuccine, a Middle Eastern-inspired pumpkin dish with corn flake cumin cluster, and a tonka bean tart.
He is joined in the top 12 by a diverse group of home cooks whose styles range from rustic seasonal cooking to technical pastry work and experimental flavour combinations, all now vying for the title as the season moves into its most intense phase.
