If you’re looking to fill the MasterChef Australia hole in your heart, the popular spinoff Dessert Masters is hitting our screens very soon.
As a plus, there are a bunch of MasterChef Australia fan-faves competing in the sugary sweet kitchen for season two! Yep, MasterChef Australia: Back to Win’s champion Emelia Jackson and Cakeboi himself, Reece Hignell are going head to head once again.
Judges Melissa Leong and Amaury Guichon are back to help crown this year’s winner and are impressed with the talent stepping up for 2024.
“I could not be more thrilled with the calibre of this season’s Dessert Masters lineup! Building on our amazing first season, this year’s crop only further celebrates and showcases the diversity and creativity of Australia’s pastry scene,” Melissa said.
Let’s meet the lucky contestants trying to secure the $100,000 prize money.
Dessert Masters contestants for 2024: Who’s in this year’s lineup?
Alisha Henderson
I’m obsessed with everything going on in this photo. (Image: Instagram @sweetbakes_)
Alisha Henderson is the woman behind online cakery Sweet Bakes, which has a whopping 228,000 followers on Instagram. She has the most gorgeous feed filled with her signature bakes and colourful style.
In her announcement post on Instagram, she donned a super cute purple and yellow apron and literally jumped onto the screen.
“I am so excited to represent all the cake makers out there. Cakers are often disregarded in the serious world of pastry, but I’m ready to prove we’re a sugary force to be reckoned with,” she wrote.
You can follow Alisha on Instagram @sweetbakes_.
Christy Tania
Christy is gonna crush it, I can just feel it. (Image: Ten)
This mum-of-one is a force to be reckoned with. Christy Tania, who originally hails from Indonesia, is known as one of Australia’s most wild and inventive pastry chefs. She specialises in making these adorable yet realistic fruit-filled petit fours, and she gives me major Reynold Poernomo vibes.
“Anxiety and excitement attack doesn’t even come close to be able to share [this] HUGE space and rub shoulders with these [contestants] and of course the judges!!! Let alone fresh from maternity leave!” she wrote on Instagram.
“Wish us luck! The cast is wild and the vibe is strong! I am beyond blessed to now [be] able to call all of them my good friends.”
Christy launched the artisanal dessert store chain GLACÉ in 2017 in Melbourne and previously worked as the Head Chef at Om Nom at Adelphi Hotel and at The Ritz Hotel in Paris. Big MasterChef Australia fans might also recognise her from a stint as a guest chef on the show. It’s an impressive resume, but can she handle the pressure of the Dessert Masters kitchen?
You can follow Christy on Instagram @christytania.
Emelia Jackson
She’s baaaaaaack! (Image: Ten)
Emelia Jackson needs no introduction! The two-time MasterChef contestant finally took out the crown in 2020 on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win, and has since released her first cookbook. Her next cookbook, Some Of My Best Friends Are Cookies, is slated for release in October this year.
“She’s BACK! Honestly at this point they can’t keep me out of that kitchen! So excited to bake my little heart out later on in the year on Dessert Masters,” Emelia announced on Instagram.
You can follow Emelia on Instagram @emelia_jackson.
Dan Pasquali
That sparkly pufferfish is the cake of my DREAMS. (Image: Instagram @dansbakelab)
I’m calling it, Dan Pasquali is gonna be the most joyful contestant in the kitchen this year. The Great Australian Bake Off runner-up has gone on to showcase his glittery and adorable cake creations on Instagram. He’s not afraid to create some truly outrageous mashups – like his Lucky Charms Foccacia or Cupcake Gelato.
He doesn’t have the same stacked resume as some of the other contestants, but you know what? Australia loves an underdog.
You can follow Dan on Instagram @dansbakelab.
Darren Purchese
I’m expecting big things from Dazza. (Image: Ten)
The Great Australian Bake Off meets Dessert Masters! Darren Purchese is an accomplished chef, who also judges Bake Off, and often appears as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia.
He’s worked in top restaurants in the UK as well as throughout Australia, including as a pastry chef at the Sydney Opera House’s Bennelong Restaurant. He’s written five cookbooks and previously owned a cakes and dessert shop in Melbourne called Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio.
You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenpurchese.
Donato Toce
The Gelato King is here to show us how it’s done. (Image: Ten)
Gelato Messina is in the house! Their Chief Creative Chef, Donato Toce, is here to show everybody how it’s done. Considering how popular Messina is, I reckon Donato has any gelato challenge on lock.
He started working in kitchens at just 13, which is impressive. When I was that age, I was doing nothing productive with my time… which is why he’s competing on Dessert Masters and I’m here writing silly little stories about it.
He’s also had experience in hatted restaurant A Tavola, where he worked as the Head Chef back in 2007. Messina now has over 30 Aussie stores and has even gone global with one in Hong Kong – as it should!!!
You can follow Donato on Instagram @donatotoce.
Jana Lai
When I grow up, I wanna be like Jana. (Image: Instagram @jana.lai)
Melbourne’s Jana Lai grew up baking with both her grandfather and her mum. She moved to Paris where she now works as a Pastry Chef Instructor at a top pastry school.
In more bad-ass news, she was the very first female to be part of Team France in a competition considered to be like the World Pastry Cup, called Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie. The Aussie managed to come second! How fkn awesome is that?
You can follow Jana on Instagram @jana.lai.
John Demetrios
I don’t know what any of these morsels are, but I’d eat them all. (Image: Instagram @gourmetfoodie__)
John Demetrios currently works as the Executive Pastry Chef at Melbourne’s Omnia restaurant. He’s worked at three Michelin-starred Pierre Koffman in London and two Michelin-starred Oaxen Krog in Sweden, so he’s no stranger to pressure.
His dishes are a combo of art and creativity, and I can’t wait to see what he plates up in the Dessert Masters kitchen.
You can follow John on Instagram @johndemetrios.
Katherine Sabbath
Cake queen Katherine is probably gonna produce some viral moments and I can’t wait! (Image: Ten)
Katherine Sabbath has racked up 475,000 followers on Instagram, and it’s not hard to see why. Her cakes are outrageous, beautiful, and epic! Though she only took the plunge and decided to pursue cake-making full-time in 2015, she’s already released three cookbooks. And of course, she’s already appeared on MasterChef Australia as a guest judge.
“THIS is the year I’m truly challenging myself! I’m beyond ecstatic to announce I’ll be joining Dessert Masters season two – coming to your screens later this year,” she wrote on Instagram.
You can follow Katherine on Instagram @katherine_sabbath.
Reece Hignell
Third time’s a charm? (Image: Ten)
Fan fave Reece Hignell is back and I reckon it’s about time he walked away with a grand prize! He came sixth on MasterChef season 10 and fourth on MasterChef season 12, so this could be his time to shine.
He’s founded the popular spot Cakeboi in Newcastle and is currently in the midst of a year-long residency at Newcastle’s QT Hotel. He’s got a new cookbook in the works called Cakeboi Goes Vegan, which I am very pumped about.
“Cakeboi is backkkk!!! I’m excited to announce that later this year, I’ll be whisking it all on season two of Dessert Masters. An adventure full of sweet surprises and plenty of flour power! Let’s see if this will be a piece of cake,” he announced on Instagram.
You can follow Reece on Instagram @reecehignell.
At this stage, Network 10 hasn’t confirmed when Dessert Masters is premiering. Season one hit our screens mid-November in 2023, so it’s possible they’re following a similar schedule. I can’t wait!!!
Feature Image: Network 10
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