As the 15th season of MasterChef Australia counts down to a grand finale cook-off in the next two weeks, speculation is mounting as to who will replace the late Jock Zonfrillo in the judging line-up next year alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Could it be just Allen and Leong, with a roster of guest judges throughout the year?

Maybe dessert chef Amaury Guichon, who’s about to appear in the MasterChef spin-off, Dessert Masters, with Leong?

Or maybe one of the old MasterChef guard of Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris or Matt Preston (who bowed out of Seven’s Dancing with the Stars last week)?

With the series down to five contestants, and with just two weeks left (Ten confirmed the grand finale will be on Sunday, July 16), several local big names in the culinary world have also been suggested.

Former contestants Hayden Quinn and Dan Churchill, as well as Italian chef Alessandro Pavoni and Vue De Monde’s Hugh Allen have been suggested, according to entertainment website So Dramatic!

Seafood expert Josh Niland, author Danielle Alvarez, Shell House director Joel Bickford and Mimi’s head chef Jordan Toft are also possible starters.

Above all, the winning candidate will need to have a charismatic presence on screen, as well as a good connection to Allen and Leong.

Either way, “a decision on Zonfrillo’s replacement for the next season of MasterChef Australia will not be considered until later this year”, a Ten spokesperson told The New Daily.

Chef Jock Zonfrillo was farewelled at an intimate funeral in Sydney on May 14 by family, friends and colleagues. Photo: AAP

The much-loved and respected Scottish-born restaurateur Zonfrillo died suddenly on the eve of this year’s premiere on April 30.

He was found unresponsive in a Lygon Street hotel in Carlton about 2am while his wife, Lauren Fried, and his two youngest children were in Italy.

With the support of his family, Ten decided to air the completed MasterChef season a week after his death on May 7.

So Dramatic! reported that “the replacement judge is rumoured to be a very ‘well-known chef’”.

“That will be the main thing because it was something that earned Jock the position originally,” an insider told the outlet.

“When Jock was cast he was a dark horse. He was a renegade in the industry and he wasn’t what many expected in that role. But his chemistry with the others was great.

“And the new host will need that more than anything.”

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MasterChef  lands ‘prime-time win’

With a special tribute package on Zonfrillo before the season opener, MasterChef Australia has enjoyed solid ratings.

According to ratings collated by the Ten network on July 5 (from OzTAM 5 City Metro, Regional Combined Aggregate Markets, May 7 to July 4), the show is averaging a national total audience of 800,000 viewers (including Broadcaster Video on Demand) across the series.

It is No.1 in its time slot in the 25 to 54 age group with a 28.1 per cent commercial share and is maintaining its 25 to 54 age group share year on year.

“It is also No.1 in its time slot in women, 18- to 49-year-olds and grocery buyers,” it wrote.

It also has the biggest ever BVOD audience – 83,000, up 24 per cent on last year, and the biggest ever live-stream audience of 29,000 up 32 per cent on 2022.

According to TVBlackbox, on June 13 alone the ratings jumped 30 per cent with a total of 787,000 viewers after launching in May to 1.28 million viewers.

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‘Think you have what it takes?’

As the free-to-air networks enter the second half of the year, the highly anticipated Upfronts – which outline all new and returning shows for the following year for media buyers and the press – will most likely begin from October.

That might be the time for Ten to either introduce a new judge or run a showreel on how next year will look, as filming for season 16 is set to start in November, most likely again at MasterChef headquarters in Melbourne.

As for contestants, a casting call by producers Endemol Shine Australia was posted on June 7.

“Contestant casting will commence this week, to find the next crop of Australia’s best home cooks for season 16 of MasterChef Australia,” a Network 10 spokesperson told the Herald Sun.

MasterChef Australia grand finale is on Ten and 10Play on Sunday, July 16