MasterChef Australia is one of the most popular TV reality shows having a huge fan following from all over the world. At the Logie Awards 2010, MasterChef Australia was awarded with the Most Popular Reality Program Award. The show has successfully completed eight seasons and season nine is coming up in spring 2017. The judging panel for the eight seasons included top chefs George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and food critic Matt Preston.
The MasterChef Australia winner is awarded with a prize of $250,000. The winner also gets an opportunity to train under the best professional chefs and to publish a cookbook. Bagging the MasterChef Australia winner title is not everything, as being one of the top 24 contestants is sufficient in itself to have a bright career in the food industry.
Former contestants Poh Ling Yeow, Kylie Millar, Hayden Quinn, Callum Hann, Andre Ursini, Justine Schofield, and Amina Elshafei are now successful chefs. Some of them have their own restaurants, some have published their own cookbooks, and some even have their own cooking show!
MasterChef Australia also has four spin-off series: Junior MasterChef Australia, Celebrity MasterChef Australia, MasterChef Australia: The Professionals, and MasterChef Australia All-Stars.
Let’s have a look at all the MasterChef Australia winners from seasons 1 to 8.
“MasterChef Australia” Winners List
Season 1
More than 7,000 people auditioned for the first season which aired in 2009. Julie Goodwin emerged as the winner of season 1, defeating Poh Ling Yeow in the finale.
Season 2
The second season of MasterChef Australia premiered in April 2010. Adam Liaw, a lawyer, defeated Callum Hann and won the MasterChef title.
Season 3
The third season aired in May 2011 where a new judge, Matt Moran, joined the judging panel. Kate Bracks was the winner of season 3 by defeating Michael Weldon.
Season 4
Defeating Julia Taylor, Andy Allen won the MasterChef title in 2012.
Season 5
This season premiered in 2013. Emma Dean received the MasterChef title beating Lynton Tapp. Samira El Khafir was the second runner up of season 5.
Season 6
Kylie Kwong joined the judges as a guest mentor for season 6 which premiered in 2014. Brent Owens was the winner of the sixth season.
Season 7
Billie McKay won the seventh season of MasterChef defeating Georgia Barnes, which premiered May 5, 2015.
Season 8
The eighth season of MasterChef premiered on May 1, 2016. Elena Duggan defeated Matt Sinclair in the finale.
MasterChef uploaded a video on Facebook where judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, and Matt Preston can be seen posing with the other crew members. They captioned it, “It might not look like much is happening but we assure you we’re very busy filming the next season of MasterChef! #MannequinChallenge.”
Sources:
“MasterChef Australia,” Wikipedia web site; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterChef_Australia#Series_2:_2010, last accessed February 3, 2017.
Tescon, K., “‘MasterChef Australia’ 2017 latest news: Fans get a first glimpse of the upcoming season; judges take on the mannequin challenge,” IB Times web site, November 25, 2016; http://www.ibtimes.com.au/masterchef-australia-2017-latest-news-fans-get-first-glimpse-upcoming-season-judges-take-mannequin
