EXCLUSIVE: Ben Macdonald spills on reuniting with three of his season six co-stars.

MasterChef’s Andy Allen / Ben Macdonald.

MasterChef’s Ben Macdonald spills on reuniting with his season six co-stars. Photo:

If you were to ask a group of MasterChef fans what their favourite season of the reality show is, chances are they will each give a different answer. Some might say season one starring Julie Goodwin and Poh Ling Yeow for the nostalgia factor, while others may prefer the later seasons when Jock Zonfrillo and Melissa Leong were judges.

When it comes to the most successful season, however, it’s hard to look past season six in 2014. The season, won by Brent Owens, produced some of the show’s most recognisable contestants who have both built illustrious careers in the culinary world and made subsequent appearances in the MasterChef kitchen.

This includes Laura Sharrad, Sarah Todd, Jamie Fleming, and Ben Macdonald – all of whom returned for this year’s season and made it to the top six.

Following his elimination in Tuesday night’s episode, Ben tells Yahoo Lifestyle it was “very cool” not only getting to cook alongside his former co-stars again, but also making it so far in the competition together.

“I literally met those people in the MasterChef kitchen almost 12 years ago. We were friends back then, and we’re great friends again now,” he shares. “I’ve always been really close with Jamie, so we hung out an awful lot the whole time and motivated each other and helped each other, and also with Laura and Sarah.

“The fact that four of the top six were from season six, and you factor that the last Back to Win was also won by Emelia [Jackson] from season six, it just shows what a great year that was.”

MasterChef season 6's top 6.

MasterChef’s sixth season has produced some of the show’s most recognisable contestants. Photo: Channel 10

In the 11 years since he last set foot in the MasterChef kitchen, Ben relocated back to New Zealand, became a dad to two daughters, and ran his own café, bistro, and fresh pasta delivery business.

Although he finished sixth in season six and had plenty of memorable moments, including his viral ‘campfire’ dish for Heston Blumenthal, he admits he found it “really difficult” returning to the competition.

“You kind of think you’re going to walk back into the kitchen and cook the same way, and it just doesn’t work like that. It’s so much harder than you remember, because you remember all the good bits,” he remarks.

“Everything takes longer. You think, ‘I can do this in 60 minutes’, but then you’ve got to go and find all the ingredients. And for me, living in New Zealand as well, I walked into that pantry and I couldn’t even recognise most of the brands. I had to check every single packet to find which one’s the bread flour, which one’s the corn flour. I probably should’ve had some sort of handicap system!”

MasterChef’s Ben Macdonald on season 6 / Ben Macdonald on season 17.

It’s been 11 years since Ben first competed on MasterChef Australia. Photos: Channel 10

With the grand finale fast approaching, Ben shares that he’s hopeful his season six co-star Jamie will take home the $250,000 prize and coveted title.

“I think there are some obvious people who people think will win, but if I could choose one person, I’d really like Jamie to win,” he says. “He’s been a mate of mine for a long time, and he’s put his heart into this, and I know he’d do something really awesome with the prize.”

Ben adds that he’s working on a few exciting projects post-MasterChef and is thrilled to have his mojo back in the kitchen.

“I’m planning on producing a whole series of content to sort of put out there, get people cooking some interesting food, and just keeping the story going,” he teases.

MasterChef Australia: Back to Win. Watch + Stream Free Sundays at 7pm, and Monday to Wednesday at 7:30pm on 10.