MasterChef South Africa season 6
Season of television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The sixth season of MasterChef South Africa was announced on 12 September 2025 [1] and premiered on 22 February 2026 on e.tv.[2]
Judges
- Zola Nene
- Justine Drake
- Katlego Mlambo
No. of contestants20
WinnerAndrew "Benjie" Benjamin
Runner-upCandice Meth
Zola Nene, Justine Drake and Katlego Mlambo returned as judges, with the number of episodes increasing to 26 compared to the previous season's 20.[3] Filming took place at Atlantic Studios, Cape Town from 3 November 2025 to 5 December 2025, produced by Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios.[4] The season was won by Andrew "Benjie" Benjamin, while Candice Meth was the runner-up.[5]
Contestants
Top 20
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Residence | Episode of Elimination | Place Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew "Benjie" Benjamin | 40 | Maintenance worker | Kimberley | Winner | 1st |
| Candice Meth | 39 | Healthcare risk management team leader | Durban | Runner-up | 2nd |
| Simele Shange | 38 | Entrepreneur | Johannesburg | Episodes 22 & 25 | 3rd |
| Nkululeko Ngubane | 35 | Graphic designer | Johannesburg | Episode 23 | 4th |
| Jeshen Govender | 31 | Tax consultant | Johannesburg | Episode 21 | 5th |
| Reshoketjoe "Shoki" Ramontja | 30 | Social worker | Johannesburg | Episode 19 | 6th |
| Calvin Silson | 30 | Business development manager | Durban | Episode 17 | 7th |
| Ntobeko Dlamini | 28 | Entrepreneur | Johannesburg | Episode 16 | 8th |
| Keith Reddy | 38 | HR manager | Boksburg | Episode 15 | 9th |
| Phil Munda | 33 | General surgeon | Johannesburg | Episode 14 | 10th |
| Joshua "Josh" Lotz | 25 | Model | Johannesburg | Episode 11 | 11th |
| Lesego Motshana | 24 | Model | Johannesburg | Episode 10 | 12th |
| Mahlatse Mongatane | 23 | Hospitality student | Polokwane | Episode 9 | 13th |
| Karen van der Merwe | 38 | Personal assistant | Johannesburg | Episode 8 | 14th |
| Bandile "Bandziva" Madinane | 31 | Radio host | Durban | Episode 5 | 15–16th |
| Myles Heneke | 35 | Cultural producer | Johannesburg | ||
| Suhael Raghunath | 28 | Dispatcher | Durban | Episode 3 | 17th |
| Ali Sonday | 30 | Senior attorney | Paarl | Episode 2 | 18th |
| Chanelle Gale | 38 | Food and beverage manager | East London | Episode 1 | 19–20th |
| Rejane Gwynne | 50 | Fashion entrepreneur | Malgas |
Elimination table
| Place | Contestant | Episode | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7/8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13/14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | ||||
| 1 | Benjie | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | HIGH | IN | WIN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | WIN | WIN | IN | WINNER | ||
| 2 | Candice | IN | IN | LOW | WIN | IN | IN | PT | IN | IN | LOW | HIGH | PT | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP | ||
| 3 | Simele | HIGH | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | WIN | LOW | IN | ELIM | RET | IN | ELIM | |||
| 4 | Nkululeko | LOW | IN | LOW | LOW | LOW | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | ELIM | |||||
| 5 | Jeshen | IN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | LOW | IN | HIGH | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | ELIM | |||||||
| 6 | Shoki | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | WIN | HIGH | IN | IN | HIGH | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | ELIM | |||||||||
| 7 | Calvin | IN | LOW | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | PT | LOW | IN | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 8 | Ntobeko | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | IN | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Keith | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN | HIGH | IN | IN | PT | ELIM | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Phil | IN | LOW | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | PT | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | IN | ELIM | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Josh | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | WIN | IN | IN | ELIM | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Lesego | HIGH | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | LOW | PT | LOW | ELIM | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Mahlatse | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | HIGH | WIN | LOW | ELIM | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Karen | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | ELIM | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15–16 | Bandziva | IN | IN | IN | IN | ELIM | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Myles | IN | IN | IN | IN | ELIM | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Suhael | IN | IN | ELIM | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Ali | WIN | ELIM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19–20 | Chanelle | ELIM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rejane | ELIM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- (WINNER) This cook won the competition.
- (RUNNER-UP) This cook received second place in the competition.
- (WIN) The cook won the individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge, Pressure Test or Invention Test).
- (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and was safe from the Pressure Test.
- (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the Mystery Box Challenge, Pressure Test or Invention Test but didn't win.
- (CC) The cook received the advantage of competing against a celebrity chef in this challenge. If they won, they advanced farther on in the competition, skipping a number of challenges. The cook could not be eliminated after this challenge.
- (IMM) The cook won Immunity in the previous challenge and was safe from cooking.
- (IN) The cook was not selected as a top entry or bottom entry in the challenge.
- (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.
- (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, but did not compete in the Pressure Test.
- (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, but was not the last person to advance.
- (RET) The cook returned to the competition.
- (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, and was the last person to advance.
- (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.