M-Net spokesman Lani Lombard said yesterday that the broadcaster was still planning for Masterchef .

"Neither the audition cities nor the dates for the auditions have been confirmed," she said.

"If everything goes according to plan, the auditions will be towards the end of this year.

"There have been many requests for a second season and we trust that it will draw big audiences again."

She would not reveal whether the state-of-the-art kitchen set at the picturesque Nederburg Estate, in Paarl, would be retained.

Last season's judges - Pete Goffe-Wood, Benny Masekwameng and Andrew Atkinson - had not signed new contracts yet, according to Lombard.

It has been just over two months since the inaugural season wrapped up, with Durbanite Deena Naidoo being crowned Masterchef for 2012, ahead of Sue-Ann Allen.

At Naidoo's winners' press conference, M-Net commissioning editor Anne Davis said that Masterchef SA had attracted more viewers than Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives.