MasterChef (American TV series) season 16
2026 season of television series
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The sixteenth season of the American competitive reality television series MasterChef (also known as MasterChef: Global Gauntlet) premiered on Fox on April 15, 2026. Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Tiffany Derry returned as judges.[1]
| MasterChef: Global Gauntlet | |
|---|---|
| Season 16 | |
Promotional poster for season 16, featuring (L to R) judges Joe Bastianich, Gordon Ramsay, and Tiffany Derry | |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 20 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | April 15, 2026 – present |
| Season chronology | |
Production
Contestants
The top twenty contestants from this season were selected and represented four different regions in the world, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Americas.[4][5][6][7]
Note: Contestant details are as shown in graphics in the show except where cited.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Country heritage | Region | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julia Cili[8] | 23 | Miami, Florida | Financial analyst | Italy | Europe | Top 18 |
| Nico (Cosereanu) Savoré[9] | 21 | Millburn, New Jersey | Student | Italy/Romania | Europe | |
| Aghata Sunsi[10] | 35 | Westminster, Colorado | Stay-at-home-mom | Spain | Europe | |
| Ted Pappas[11] | 50 | Chicago, Illinois | Architect | Greece | Europe | |
| Basia Newman[12][13] | 45 | Asbury Park, New Jersey | Teacher | Poland | Europe | |
| Aishu (Challa) Leitz[14] | 33 | Boston, Massachusetts | Mom of three | India | Asia-Pacific | |
| Daniel Meng[15] | 23 | Johns Creek, Georgia | Business school graduate | China | Asia-Pacific | |
| Foo Nguyen[16] | 53 | Irvine, California | Stay-at-home dad | Vietnam | Asia-Pacific | |
| Jaime Horan (Tan)[17] | 27 | Queens, New York | Content creator | Malaysia | Asia-Pacific | |
| Shompa Kabir-Furqan[18] | 29 | Brooklyn, New York | Content creator | Bangladesh | Asia-Pacific | |
| Rita Igbinoba[19] | 24 | Brooklyn, New York | Human resources case manager | Nigeria | Africa | |
| Dave Patera[20] | 42 | Chicago, Illinois | Food content creator | Algeria/Morocco | Africa | |
| Heidi Muston[21] | 51 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Yacht charter broker | South Africa | Africa | |
| Peter Egede[22] | 29 | Atlanta, Georgia | Former banking consultant | Nigeria | Africa | |
| Tkaiya Dryden[23] | 23 | Jamaica, New York | Digital content specialist | Jamaica | The Americas | |
| Britny Underwood[24] | 34 | North Hollywood, California | Pro-wrestler & personal trainer | Barbados | The Americas | |
| Jake Kelley[25] | 24 | Alma, Michigan | Pharmacy technician | Mexico | The Americas | |
| Maria Bourland[26] | 48 | Miami Beach, Florida | Food content creator | Brazil | The Americas | |
| Camilo Chavez III[27] | 54 | Bastrop, Texas | Wholesale business director | Mexico | The Americas | Eliminated May 20 |
| Nora Chakri[28] | 35 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Former model | Morocco | Africa | Eliminated May 13 |
Elimination table
| Place | Contestant | Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 6 | 7 | ||
| TBA | Aghata | HIGH | IN | TBA |
| Aishu | WIN | IMM | TBA | |
| Basia | IN | HIGH | TBA | |
| Britny | IN | IN | TBA | |
| Daniel | IMM | IN | TBA | |
| Dave | IN | IMM | TBA | |
| Foo | IMM | LOW | TBA | |
| Heidi | IN | WIN | IMM | |
| Jaime | IMM | IN | TBA | |
| Jake | LOW | IN | TBA | |
| Julia | LOW | IN | TBA | |
| Maria | IN | HIGH | TBA | |
| Nico | IN | LOW | TBA | |
| Peter | HIGH | IMM | TBA | |
| Rita | IN | IMM | TBA | |
| Shompa | IMM | HIGH | TBA | |
| Ted | IN | IN | TBA | |
| Tkaiya | HIGH | IN | TBA | |
| 19 | Camilo | IN | ELIM | |
| 20 | Nora | ELIM | ||
- (WINNER) This cook won the competition.
- (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished as a runner-up in the finals.
- (WIN) The cook won the individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge/Skills Test or Elimination Test).
- (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.
- (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the individual challenge but didn't win.
- (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the Team Challenge.
- (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge.
- (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in a team challenge.
- (IMM) The cook didn't have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination.
- (IMM) The cook had to compete in that round of the competition but was safe from elimination.
- (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, and was the last person to advance.
- (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge and they advanced.
- (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [29][30] | Original release date [29][30] | Prod. code [29] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 1 | "Auditions Day 1 (Europe)" | April 15, 2026 | MCH-1601 | N/A |
|
The contestants will be separated into audition groups based on the territory they are representing. They will have 45 minutes to prepare a signature dish. Europe is up first. In order to receive a white apron, contestants must receive yeses from all three judges. The first contestants are Dan and Julia. Dan fails his audition, but Julia receives three yeses and advances. Nico and Jocelyn are next. Jocelyn does not advance, however Nico does. Aghata is the next contestant. She receives three yeses earning her the next apron. Ted auditions next and earns the next apron. The final auditions are of Jeff and Basia both representing Poland. Jeff fails, however Basia succeeds earning her the final apron for Europe. | |||||
| 302 | 2 | "Auditions Day 2 (Asia-Pacific)" | April 22, 2026 | MCH-1602 | N/A |
|
The territory auditioning next is Asia-Pacific. Laurence is the first to audition but he fails. Aishu is the next to audition and she receives three yeses advancing her. Foo and Shompa both earn three yeses each and advance. Tony and Iman are next but both fail to earn an apron. Jaime auditions next and she gets three yeses giving her the next apron. Fatima is the next to audition but fails. Daniel is the last to audition of the day and he gets three yeses winning him the final apron for Asia-Pacific. | |||||
| 303 | 3 | "Auditions Day 3 (Africa)" | April 29, 2026 | MCH-1603 | TBD |
|
Africa will be the next territory to audition. Nadine is the first to audition but she fails. Nora auditions next and earns three yeses which earns her the first apron. Rita is next to audition and she also receives three yeses and an apron. Dave is the next contestant to audition and he gets three yeses as well earning him the third apron. Abel is next to audition but doesn't earn an apron. Heidi auditions next and she gets three yeses earning her the fourth apron. Meryhan is the next contestant to audition, she only receives one yes so she does not advance. The final contestant to audition is Peter and he receives three yeses and the final apron for Africa. | |||||
| 304 | 4 | "Auditions Day 4 (The Americas)" | May 6, 2026 | MCH-1604 | TBD |
|
The final territory to audition will be The Americas. Tkaiya is the first to audition and she receives three yeses earning her the first apron. Coby is next but fails his audition. Camilo auditions next and receives three yeses earning him the next white apron. Both Harold and Jhanelle fail their audition. Britny is who auditions next and she earns three yeses along with the third apron. Jake auditions next and receives a unanimous yes along with the fourth apron. Maria and Andrea are the final two who audition. Andrea fails her audition, but Maria receives three yeses and the last apron for Americas and overall. | |||||
| 305 | 5 | "Game Day Gourmet" | May 13, 2026 | MCH-1605 | TBD |
|
| |||||
| 306 | 6 | "Eggs Benedict" | May 20, 2026 | MCH-1606 | TBD |
|
| |||||
| 307 | 7 | "Team Pitch to Plate" | May 27, 2026 | MCH-1607 | TBD |
| 308 | 8 | "World Cup Cookoff" | June 3, 2026 | MCH-1608 | TBD |