MasterChef Singapore Season Four: local flavours set to shine as Top 18 contestants face off in heated team battles

Singapore, 3 July 2023 – Get ready for a sizzling season of MasterChef Singapore, as the fourth season of the iconic cooking reality competition unveils a new twist: team battles. For the first time ever, 18 talented home cooks will be divided into three teams of six, each led by one of the three judges: Chefs Audra Morrice, Bjorn Shen and Damian D’Silva. A showdown is brewing – this time, between contestants and judges alike.

Produced by GroupM Motion Entertainment and Beach House Pictures, MasterChef Singapore Season Four will premiere on mewatch, Channel 5 and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on National Day, 9 August. In its ongoing quest to celebrate and elevate local cuisine, the latest instalment of Mediacorp’s top local English variety series in 2022¹ will reflect Singapore’s multicultural heritage, showcase diverse dishes and spotlight homegrown ingredients via its weekly surprises and curveballs.

Expertly tackling these challenges are the season’s top 18 contestants, who were shortlisted following an intense nationwide search for budding culinary stars from all walks of life. With ages spanning from 18 to 53, these MasterChef hopefuls include a spice mixer, a shipbroker, an engineer and a legal trainee, among others – each with unique stories that add depth and flavour to their culinary creations. Please click here for the biographies of the Top 18 contestants.

Throughout the season, contestants will clash and unite in turns as challenges vary from face-offs between teammates to joint battles against other teams. Meanwhile, judges will also enter a friendly rivalry as they lead their respective teams to success. In the company of special international guests and giants in the culinary world, viewers can look forward to gripping duels that test not only culinary prowess, but also teamwork, leadership and friendships – and it all begins with the intense auditions, during which the Top 18 contestants will compete for 12 coveted MasterChef aprons that unlock entry to the MasterChef kitchen.

As the competition heats up and alliances solidify, the focus shifts onto battles for individual honours. Amidst this fierce contest, a single home cook will rise to claim the coveted title of the next Singapore MasterChef, and walk away with a juicy $10,000 cash prize and a buffet spread of prizes, including prestigious internship opportunities, staycation packages and an array of homewares and appliances.

Angeline Poh, Chief Customer and Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp said: “We are thrilled to open the doors to the MasterChef kitchen this National Day, in a perfectly timed celebration of Singaporeans’ universal love for food. Beyond an enticing feast of local dishes reimagined by our aspiring home cooks, Season Four is poised to shake things up with the introduction of judges’ teams, dialling up the competition and drama. We hope viewers with join us on the journey, rally behind our aspiring chefs and witness their culinary dreams unfold.”

As an appetiser to the competition, a surprise awaits all fans of MasterChef Singapore: nine special ice-cream flavours, concocted by the Top 18 contestants themselves. This follows a series of interactive polls on Mediacorp’s Instagram page in the past week, inviting viewers to vote for their preferred ingredients – spanning love-it-or-hate-it durian and old-school attap chee to surprising spices like masala. And the fun doesn’t stop there, as fans will also get to taste these unique creations for themselves, vote for their favourite flavours, as well as meet the artisans – that is, the contestants – in person. Stay tuned to the MasterChef Singapore website for more details!

MasterChef Singapore warmly acknowledges the following sponsors who will journey with the contestants throughout Season Four: CS Fresh, Official Pantry Sponsor; V-ZUG, Official Appliances Sponsor; Singapore Food Agency, Partner; and Thermomix, Product Sponsor.

Created by Franc Roddam, MasterChef first launched in 1990 in the UK and was later revived in 2005, where it remains a number one hit for the BBC. In 2017, MasterChef was officially crowned the Most Successful Cookery Television Format by Guinness World Records and celebrated its 500th series globally in 2021. An international ratings hit, drawing in audiences in major markets including the UK, US, Brazil, Australia, Italy and Spain, the MasterChef format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Banijay. GroupM Motion Entertainment, part of GroupM, a leading media management company, has acquired the rights to produce and broadcast MasterChef Singapore from Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay.

Banijay has recently announced several new iterations for the MasterChef format including Young MasterChef in the UK, MasterChef: Young Talent which is coming soon to Denmark and Norway, and MasterChef: Dessert Masters launching in Australia in 2023.

MasterChef Singapore Season Four will premiere 9 August on mewatch and Channel 5 in two parts, starting from 8.30pm to 9pm, and resuming from 9.30pm to 10pm. Subsequent episodes will air from 13 August, every Sunday at 9.30pm. All episodes will be available on-demand, on the same night via mewatch and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel. For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg/MasterChefSG.

¹ Viewership measured from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. Source: SG-TAM (all rights reserved by IMDA). Data downloaded on 23 June 2023.

- end -

Annex A – About GroupM Motion Entertainment and Banijay Rights

About GroupM Motion Entertainment

GroupM Motion Entertainment (previously known as Motion Content Group) invests into entertainment content to support the commercial and editorial needs of over 200 network and platforms. It uses its global scale and relationships with the world’s leading talent, producers and distributors to gain access to the world’s best content for the benefit of our clients and media partners. Motion provides support and expertise to GroupM’s agencies and their clients to help realise and scale client entertainment ambitions. Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, Motion currently operates in 44 countries and has a broad range of award-winning programming distributed globally including LOVE ISLAND, on air in 24 markets, and Netflix’s hit social experiment THE CIRCLE. Motion is GroupM’s entertainment business, part of WPP.

About Banijay Rights

Leading independent global distributor, Banijay Rights, represents a world-class, multi-genre portfolio of over 130,000 hours of standout programming. Leading distribution for the largest international creator and producer, Banijay, the division handles the exploitation of some of the planet’s best scripted and non-scripted brands.

Representing quality, excellence and experience in the business of linear and non-linear television and ancillary activity across all platforms, Banijay Rights’ catalogue encompasses a host of top titles from Banijay’s 120+ in-house labels, and a number of third-party producers, spanning drama, comedy, entertainment, factual, reality, family, formats and theatrical.

Delivering high-quality IP, which was born locally and travels globally, the distributor offers the best stories told the best way. Its landmark brands include Survivor, Big Brother, MasterChef, Temptation Island, Grantchester, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Deal or No Deal, Versailles, Biggest Loser, Home and Away, Money Drop, Mr Bean and Black Mirror.

Built on independence, creative freedom, entrepreneurialism and commercial acumen, Banijay Rights operates under the direction of Chief Executive Officer, Cathy Payne.

Media contact
Lim Zi Ai
Communications Specialist
Email: ziai.lim@mediacorp.com.sg


About Mediacorp

Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and largest content creator. Its purpose is to create engaging and trusted content, as well as to connect communities and inspire people. Mediacorp engages over three million people in Singapore daily across four languages on its digital platforms including mewatch, melisten and CNA.asia, six TV channels and 11 radio stations. Beyond Singapore, Mediacorp also has a growing international audience through CNA and content distributed across markets.

With a focus on nurturing talent and growing the sector, the company is committed to investing in nation-wide initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star and SPOP, commissioning a wide variety of work from local content creators, and collaborating with institutes of higher learning. As Singapore’s first local Multi-Channel Network in partnership with YouTube, Mediacorp is also committed to developing a network of digital content creators.

For advertisers, Mediacorp has partnered industry-leading brands like ESPN, Mothership, theAsianparent, VICE, YouTube and 99.co to form the Mediacorp Digital Network in offering more effective content-driven solutions.

Mediacorp is the recipient of industry accolades including New York Festivals, World Media Festivals, PromaxBDA (World and Asia) and Asian Academy Creative Awards.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.