As to be expected after such a stunning debut, thousands of Australians from all walks of life wanted to have their shot at the title of Australia’s MasterChef this year. Over 7000 people applied in the hope of being able to cook in the famed MasterChef kitchen for the judging tastebuds and under the eagle eyes of Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.

From those multitudes, 50 were selected to compete in the frenzied Top 50 week, which this year features the involvement of top chefs Matt Moran, Donna Hay and Neil Perry. The ante has been upped and from the get go, the challenges that face these MasterChef hopefuls are nothing short of daunting.

Watch a sneak peek of the new series of MasterChef here

So get ready, Australia, MasterChef is about to plate up!