MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites is set to air soon and you know what that means! It’s time to take a look back at the previous winners and what they’re up to now. From OG MasterChef queen Julie Goodwin to the most recent name added to the hall of fame, Justin Narayan, it’s always interesting to see how the show kicked off their food dreams.
Winning the cooking reality show is no easy feat, with each contestant facing extreme amounts of pressure in the kitchen. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the previous winners of MasterChef Australia, and how their lives changed after the show.
Julie Goodwin - Season One
Her family-style cooking immediately impressed the judges and after taking home the title, Julie Goodwin went on to write multiple cookbooks, become a TV and radio star and also launched her own cooking school.
“None of this would have been possible without MasterChef,” she says.
“To think I won a cooking competition and now work in breakfast radio is wonderful, and I’m really enjoying this new chapter!”
Adam Liaw - Season Two
Before appearing on MasterChef Australia, Adam Liaw was already successful in his own right. Giving up his job as a high-profile lawyer to pursue his food dreams, the season two winner has never looked back.
“I’ve been lucky enough that my series for SBS, Destination Flavour, has been running now for six seasons,” he says.
“I’ve also written six cookbooks, and I’m really proud of each of them.”
Since winning the show, Adam also married his partner Asami and the two share three kids together, Christopher, Anna and Benji.
Kate Bracks - Season Three
Kate Bracks decided to use her fame for good. After being crowned the winner of season three, the chef has travelled the country as an ambassador for the Cancer Council’s Eat It To Beat It program.
“The life experiences have been more rewarding than the prize money,” says the mum-of-three.
“We don’t eat off the land entirely, but the ultimate goal would be to do more of that.”
Andy Allen - Season Four
Of course, we’re already familiar with the formidable Andy Allen, who not only won the show in 2012 but returned to the MasterChef Australia kitchen in 2020 as a judge.
He is also the co-owner of the Three Blue Ducks restaurants and released a cookbook titled The Next Element. In 2018, Andy was awarded a Chefs Hat, making him the first MasterChef Australia alum to have been awarded the honour.
Emma Dean - Season Five
Since winning the show, Emma Dean has published her own cookbook and co-hosts cooking show My Market Kitchen with her 2013 MasterChef runner-up Lynton Tapp.
“I don’t have a restaurant because I am a bit risk-averse,” she says.
“However, the show is really fun and the best part is I get to do it with my best mate!”
Brent Owens - Season Six
After taking home $250,000 in prize money, Brent has travelled the world with the hope to make a difference in third-world countries.
“Being exposed to starvation in foreign countries made me recognise the major flaws in the global food ecosystem,” he says.
Now, he’s launching a food technology company that helps address some of those problems.
Billie McKay - Season Seven
Billie was best known for being as cool as a cucumber when facing enormous amounts of pressure in the MasterChef kitchen. So it was no surprise when she was offered a job by Heston Blumenthal himself after she was crowned the winner.
“Working there was fantastic but it wasn’t what I wanted long-term,” she says, revealing plans to open a restaurant of her own in the near future.
“At the moment I’m on the family farm making cheese with Mum. I’m still cooking but I don’t want to rush into anything!”
Elena Duggan - Season Eight
During her time on the show, Elena Duggan wanted to open a farm cafe, but the educator decided to remain in her field and teach special needs students leadership, hospitality skills and home economics.
“To know I’m giving something to people who are going to be our future leaders and giving them strength, confidence and life skills to help them move forward, that’s been the biggest highlight,” she says.
Diana Chan - Season Nine
She won by a single point, and Diana Chan has since gone on to open a pop-up restaurant in Melbourne called Chanteen.
“It serves authentic Malaysian street food, it’s reasonably priced and everything is cooked to order,” says Diana, who’s also designed in-flight menus for Malaysia Airlines.
“I never thought the day would come that I’d fly to London and eat my own food on the flight!” she laughs.
Sashi Cheliah - Season 10
Sashi was a force to be reckoned with, and after winning the show in 2018, he says he’s been “living the dream”.
Speaking to The Telegraph during his recent trip to India, the cook says he’s had “lots of offers”.
“In the short-term, I am keeping things fluid. Since winning MasterChef, I have got a lot of offers. I am trying out whatever I like,” he said.
Larissa Takchi - Season 11
At the age of 22, Larissa became the youngest ever winner of MasterChef Australia and it’s not hard to see why. These days, the dessert queen helps out at her family’s cafe, Wildpear, in the northwest Sydney suburb of Dural.
Larissa is now expecting her first child with husband Luke.
Emelia Jackson - Season 12
After coming third in season six of MasterChef Australia, Emelia Jackson took home the title in what was by far the toughest season of the show.
Beating out Laura Sharrad and Reynold Poernomo in Back To Win, an All-Stars edition of the series, Emelia fought tooth and nail to have her name engraved on the MasterChef trophy.
Since winning the show, she’s welcomed a baby girl named Addie and continues to bake sweet treats.
Justin Narayan - Season 13
He was a fan favourite from the very beginning and after beating his fellow contestants Pete Campbell and Kishwar Chowdhury, Justin Narayan cooked his way to the very top.
Plus, he had even more to celebrate after his win, as he tied the knot with his fiancee Esther in a beautiful ceremony that was attended by a number of his MasterChef co-stars.
“It was genuinely the best day of my life; winning MasterChef was awesome but getting married was a huge highlight – it’s been a crazy year, so who knows what’s next,” he told TV WEEK.