Behind The Scenes

With 24 contestants now whittled down to just six, judge Matt Preston takes a look at their chances of scooping the much coveted trophy…

Showbiz

DIANA CHAN

“Just like former contestants Justine Schofield and Elena Duggan, she wrings powerful flavours out of anything. Her spectacular list of fans includes Curtis Stone,

5/1 Heston Blumenthal and Yotam Ottolenghi.”

KARLIE VERKERK

“Early favourites like Karlie often wane about halfway through the competition but she’s just got stronger. She’s as capable of knocking up a gnarly street-food dish as she is of playing it elegant, as with that stunning “apple pie” she put up in the Mount Fuji challenge in Japan.”

BEN UNGERMANN

“Ben is one of the few contestants who has developed his own distinctive plating style. He’s also one of the most hard-working and most improved contestants left standing. He reminds me of Brent Owens, the last bloke to win the trophy,

back in 2014.”

SARAH TIONG

“Sarah’s not just on a roll – she’s on a massive loaf of bread! In Japan she shone, pretty much unbeatable in any of the individual challenges, and put up some of the best food we’ve seen in the competition, confirming her as the hot favourite.”

TAMARA GRAFFEN

“Tamara is the wild child of the final six. With the sort of constant sunny disposition that would put the sunshine hours of her home town of Broome to shame, Tamara has had her wins scattered along the way but it’s the sheer tastiness of so many of her dishes that has endeared her to us.”

ARUM NIXON

“Arum’s been on a roll and steadily improving. He produced a winning beef Wellington in Shannon’s Mystery Box and then went on to smash the Invention Test. Not that personality plays any part in our judging, but he’s a top bloke to boot.”