MasterChef back with a twist

Chef Simon Gault. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Masterchef New Zealand returns next week, with another batch of amateurs trying to carve out careers in the kitchen - and a few twists.

The TV One series has shifted from its midweek slot to a primetime position on Sunday night and will be supplemented by a Friday night companion show starting on March 7.

Established judges Simon Gault and Ray McVinnie will be joined by Melbourne-based Kiwi Josh Emett, who found acclaim working for Gordon Ramsay.

Thousands of people auditioned for the chance to emulate Brett McGregor, who quit his job as a deputy principal after winning season one.

Only two of the 12 finalists are full-time professional chefs and half have returned to their day jobs.

This year's hopefuls were interviewed by a panel of experts and had their dishes tasted throughout New Zealand. That process will form the bulk of episode one. Twenty-five contestants will go through to the second, when 12 finalists will be selected.

A TVNZ spokeswoman promised a surprise overseas trip and another twist later in the series. The main show will screen at 8.30pm on Sundays.

The spokeswoman said the slot should attract viewers ahead of new drama Offspring, which starts at 9.30pm. The companion show, MasterChef Masterclasses, will screen on Fridays.

It will be hosted by a different expert each week. Contestants will learn new techniques away from the pressure of elimination, and provide cooking tips.

The winner will receive more than $100,000 in prizes.

Last season was a ratings bonanza for TVNZ, with more than 1.1 million tuning in.

McGregor said victory had changed his life, with his burgeoning food empire encompassing book deals, cooking schools and a restaurant consultancy: "It's been a whirlwind. I haven't stopped."

Three other finalists - runner-up Kelly Young, Kirsty Cardy and Steve Juergens - went on to work for Gault.

Young and Juergens have since finished stints at his Auckland restaurant, Euro, and Cardy runs Gault's import business, Sous Chef.

Young, who left to set up a health-food business, is in talks to appear in a cooking show.

Only Nigel Anderson, head chef at Auckland-based Spit Roast Catering, and Tracey Gunn, chef de partie at the MacKenzie Country Inn in Twizel, South Canterbury, work as fulltime cooks. Gunn said: "I wouldn't have got the chef job without being on MasterChef."