She came so close to nabbing the MasterChef Australia trophy after placing third in Season 5 back in 2013. Now, Samira El Khafir has returned to the cooking show franchise with an eagerness to claim victory (of course) – but also with a sense of greater purpose.
Since appearing on reality TV 12 years ago, the former hairdresser and telecommunications worker has been working in the food industry. She’s opened her own cafe, Modern Middle Eastern, staged six-course Arabian Nights private fine dining events, launched her product range called Eat with Love, and published a cook book as well.
Samira says “it was a really hard decision” to make when she was asked to return to the 2025 all-stars season called MasterChef Australia: Back To Win.
“It has been a very long time since I’ve competed,” she tells Missing Perspectives.
“It was a real nerve-racking decision to make, especially with these times and days and everything that’s happening in society. To put myself out there, I knew there’s a lot of pros, but then there’s a lot of cons that I’m going to be facing as well,” she continues.
“But when I was talking about it at home, and my daughters were listening [with] big ears. They were just so excited. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Like, is this a sign?’ They’re excited, hubby was all for it. And he goes, ‘We’re supporting you’.”
Keeping her family front of mind, Samira says that their support made her realise that she could embrace this TV opportunity to be a role model for her daughters and other young Muslim women. The representation of diverse women on Australian television is gradually progressing, but there’s still a way to go. When it comes to the depiction of Muslim women in media and on social media, it’s often still linked to negative connotations in many cases.
“There were many reasons why I decided to go back on [MasterChef]. But, you know, my daughters are teenagers at the moment – and one of them does wear a hijab like I do,” she says. “And I thought, with everything that’s happening on social media – they see so much – why don’t I use this opportunity to show the younger generation that you can be comfortable in your own skin, the way you dress, the way you look, and make it and be on national TV. So you don’t need to change just because society wants you to be a certain way.
“I thought this would be the best example I can provide for my daughters and for the younger generation as well,” she adds. “You don’t need to change who you are. You can be you, and you can succeed as well.”
Earlier this week, Samira shared an Instagram post of one of the recent dishes she has cooked on MasterChef this season.
“Honoring tradition with every bite—Egyptian mahshi cabbage rolls, vegetarian, made with love on MasterChef tonight. Who would like a reel for this dish,” she captioned the post.
It’s just one example of the diverse cuisines she’s keen to explore on the show this year – with Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and Sofia Levin being the judges who will taste every dish.
“My game plan this time around is pretty much to travel the world as much as I can whilst I’m on MasterChef, and to show my broad knowledge of food with different cuisines and techniques,” she says.
Samira explains that when she first appeared on the reality show in 2013, her focus was on “modernising Middle Eastern food to be more finer dining, and presenting it in a different way”.
This time around, she’s getting back to basics in terms of techniques, ingredients and also costs, saying that “after all of these years of working in the food industry and doing a cookbook and seeing a lot more and travelling, I realised some things are just beautiful the way they are, and they don’t need to be changed.”
“Unfortunately, it took me a while to realise that,” she adds, “and I was just fascinated by the beauty of old-school techniques, old-school food and flavour that’s real and humble and down to earth. It’s cost effective, it’s sustainable, and that’s what I want to do on MasterChef. I want to make foods that the Australian public can make – being cost effective and sustainable.”
With the goal of helping make cooking more accessible and diverse, Samira has her eyes set on an aligned goal after this season wraps up.
“I always had a love for travel and culture and history, and I really want to push myself in food travel… I want to be able to showcase beautiful spots to eat throughout the Middle East or Southeast Asia as well, and then vice versa, also here in Australia.”
The world is truly her oyster, and we can’t wait to see what Samira does next.
This year’s season of MasterChef has 24 cast members: Alana Lowes (Season 3), Andre Ursini (Season 1), Audra Morrice (Season 4), Beau Cook (Season 4), Ben Macdonald (Season 6), Callum Hann (Season 2, Season 12), Cath Collins (Season 15), Darrsh Clarke (Season 16), Declan Cleary (Season 15), Depinder Chhibber (Season 13), Jamie Fleming (Season 6), Jimmy Wong (Season 8), Laura Sharrad (Season 6, Season 12), Matt Hopcraft (Season 7), Pete Campbell (Season 13), Rhiannon Anderson (Season 15), Rue Mupedzi (Season 15), Samira El Khafir (Season 5), Sarah Todd (Season 6, Season 14), Sav Perera (Season 16), Snezana Calic (Season 16), Steph de Sousa (Season 11), Theo Loizou (Season 15) and Tim Bone (Season 11).
MasterChef Australia: Back To Win continues on Sunday at 7pm on Channel 10 and 10 Play.
Top photo source: Supplied/Channel 10
