Celebrity chef Kylie Kwong joins Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris in the next season of 'Masterchef Australia' which airs next year.

In a statement released by Ten Network this week via TV Tonight, the network announces the entry of the Chinese-Australian chef as the show's resident mentor for its sixth season. The chef's inclusion followed after Matt Moran stepped down from the show last year as its fourth judge.

Various sources, however, suspect that the move was an attempt to increase the viewership of the show after the season five finale had less than a million viewers. In the said episode, cyclist Emma Dean was declared winner of the reality cooking competition.

Aside from recruiting Kwong into the show, Ten Network has also decided to scrap the show's spin-offs and focus on the main show format. The network also promises its viewers that the upcoming season will be its 'most authentic,' and that it will be 'less scripted, less predictable, more exciting and more focused on food than ever before.'

Kylie Kwong is best known as the chef-owner of Billy Kwong restaurant in Surry Hills in Sydney, which is committed to serve 'fantastically fresh Chinese food.' She is also known for her string of cookbooks and the TV appearances that came with it, including 'Kylie Kwong: Heart and Soul' and 'Simple Chinese Cooking,' which aimed to make Chinese cooking as easy as possible.

Kylie has also previously appeared in the fourth season of Masterchef as a guest judge.

Meanwhile, the show may have kicked off the filming of its latest season, as it is scheduled between November 2013 and July 2014. Last August, the show announced its call for applicants for its newest season, submission of which has closed last September 29.

'Masterchef Australia' is the country's version of the famed reality cooking show franchise which started in Great Britain, and has stemmed versions from 35 countries including Australia. But unlike the original version which has a host, the Australian version features judges Gary, Matt and George doing the hosting as well.