The airing ofAustralian MasterChefSeason 15 tonight comes with bittersweet excitement. The nation is mourning the sudden death of judge Jock Zonfrillo, who passed away last week, aged just 46. After gaining permission from his family,Channel 10has decided to air the season as a celebration of Zonfrillo’s work and life.

Watch the trailer for the upcoming season here. Post continues below.

As we open our hearts to a new batch of hopeful chef super stars, we also want to look back and check up on how our old winners are doing.

Billie McKay, Season 14, Season 7

Season 14 was a little different, dubbedFans & Favourites, the show brought back 12 former contestants to compete against 12 new contestants. That’s how Australia got to see their Season 7 fave and winner, Billie McKay on their screens again - and she ended up taking the title in 2022 as well. Her double win made history as McKay became the first and only two-time winner onMasterchefAustralia.

Speaking to TV Week, McKay opened up about her dreams.

“It’ll definitely go towards opening up a little venue of my own. I’ve definitely realised after doing MasterChef again.That’s what I want to do, or at least try anyway, so it’ll be a huge help,” Billie revealed, after putting her passion on the back burner whilst she focussed on being a mother.

“I’d love to do a little restaurant, the town where I live is quite small and regional but it’s where I grew up and where I’m living now, so I’d love to do something there.”

There’s no news yet of if her plans are in motion but we look forward to hearing more.

Justin Narayan, Season 13

2021 winner Justin Narayan has since got married to the women he often gushed about during the show.

The WA youth pastor has launched his own online cooking school calledHouse of Hospitality, as well as running a YouTube channel sharing his awesome recipes.

Narayan has also racked up millions of views on TikTok sharing his creative ways with food.

Emelia Jackson, Season 12

Season 12 was the first season to kick off the new judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo after 11 seasons with Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston at the helm. They also decided to bring back high achieving past contestants for a second chance to win which saw Emelia Jackson bring home the bacon.

After her season, Emelia had a baby girl, ran pastry classes and released a range of baking kits.

But she wasn’t done yet. The high achiever is now a columnist forGood Food Magazineand has released her first baking cookbook.

Larissa Takchi, Season 11

Larissa Takchi made history in her season as the youngest winner ofMasterChefAustralia, ever. Larissa’s now-husband Luke popped the question jusdt a week after her epic win.

She’s now got a beautiful baby girl, Liliana ,and helps create incredible food for her family’s Sydney cafeWildpear.

Sashi Cheliah, Season 10

Sashi Cheliah came out of his 2018 win, guns-a-blazing. He is now the owner of two South Australian restaurants; GAJA by Sashi and GAYA Express.

But wait, there’s more. He’s also opened a restaurant called Pandan Club in Chennai, India, and has a series of his own home-cooking kits, Sashi’s Secret, that you can snag at Woolies.

Sashi also released a book called Kampong Boy that dives into his childhood growing up in Singapore and shares some flavour packed recipes using native ingredients.

Diana Chan, Season 9

Diana Chan carved a space for herself in the Australian media landscape after her Season 9 win. She hostedAsian UnplatedonSBSand even dabbled in podcasts, hosting on Turning Point.

Diana opened a pop-up restaurant Chanteen in Melbourne after her season win, which was hugely successful.

Her recipes frequently appear inGourmet Travellerand most exciting of all, she’s constantly working on delicious pre-made dumplings and dim sums in collaboration withGolden Wokfor all of us to enjoy from Coles and Woolies.

Elena Duggan, Season 8

From school teacher toMasterChefwinner, Elena Duggan won all our hearts in season 8 of the show. While she nurtured her love of food and cooking, Elena’s passion for teaching never went away and she’s constantly finding ways to combine both.

Elena co-hosted a podcast called Appetite for Change, she had a chef residency and Masterclass in Dubai, and took over hosting TV showMy Market Kitchen,all while raising two boys.