All The Contestants We’re Pumped To See Make A Return To MasterChef This Season
Catch MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites Sunday to Thursday at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play on demand.
The beloved cooking show that turns household cooks into household names is turning up the heat for its 14th season as everyday homecooks come up against returning contestants in MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites.
Premiering Monday April 18, Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen & Melissa Leong will be judging the culinary skills of the top 24 made up of 12 MasterChef superfans and 12 legendary MasterChef favourites including three previous winners.
Yep, when they say favourites they are not messing around. Here are the contestants we are most pumped to see return and why!
Julie Goodwin – Season 1
Do we even really have to explain why we are excited to see our inaugural winner back in the MasterChef kitchen? Oftentimes, the winner of a reality show’s first season fades into obscurity in the shadow of newer winners/contestants. But not our Julie. Never our Julie.
Since first winning MasterChef Australia in 2009, this Cenny Coast mum of three has gone on to release five cookbooks, host radio, become a regular columnist for Australian Women’s Weekly and even head her own cooking school, Julie’s Place.
She’s also a grandmother now which means Maggie Beer might have to look over her shoulder when defending the title of Australia’s Nana.
Billie McKay – Season 7
Back in the simpler time that was 2015, 2.2 million Australians tuned in to watch Billie McKay recreate Heston Blumenthal’s 20 element, 50 stage dessert, Botrytis Cinerea, in front of the man himself. Although she was trailing by four points, Billie received 36 points out of a possible 40 in the final Pressure Test to claim the series title.
So what has the Bowraville dairy queen been up to since then? Well, so impressed was Heston with Billie’s performance that he offered her a job at his famed three-Michelin star restaurant, The Fat Duck.
With experience at literally one of the world’s best restaurants it might not be too much of a shock if some of the other contestants quit on episode one. Billie also loves cheese and wants to keep making soft cheese with raw milk from her family’s dairy farm so yeah, we need to fund this now!
Sashi Cheliah – Season 10
Completing our trio of returning winners is none other than the smiling assassin himself, Sashi Cheliah. Formerly working in counter terrorism in the Singapore Police, Sashi was inspired by the cooking in his mother’s cafe which made up his earliest, and fondest, of memories. So why did we love this huggable, season-10-winning barrel of smiles so much?
Maybe it was his uncanny ability to survive any elimination challenge or how he blends the Indian, Malaysian and Chinese cooking styles of his youth? Maybe it’s the memory of him and fellow wholesome king Ben recreating a fricken’ floating dessert (again, thanks Heston) in the final Pressure Test?
We can’t say for sure why we love Sashi, just that we are incredibly grateful to see him back on the telly again!
Mindy Woods – Season 4
It was over ten years ago, but sometimes when we listen quietly we can still hear the nation gasping in shock as former physio Mindy Woods was eliminated from Season 4 of MasterChef at the final four.
Since that infamous day, Mindy has gone on to be Head of Culinary Development for the Lotus Group, open her own venue Karkalla in Byron Bay and represent Australia as a guest chef at the World Expo in Dubai.
A proud Bundjalung woman of the Widjabul Wia-bul clan, Mindy uses some of the world’s oldest living ingredients to connect Indigenous and non-indigenous Aussies to Aboriginal culture. Honestly, if you don’t want to see Mindy bring her culture and lessons from her off-screen wins, you don’t deserve to own a TV.
Michael Weldon – Season 3
When we think of wholesome MasterChef moments it’s very hard to go past Season 3 runner-up Michael Weldon presenting Heston Blumenthal with a tall lime milkshake inspired by milkbar visits with his late father. The judges were moved and onions were chopped in kitchens all around Australia.
Michael has since chalked up experience in kitchens such as the Crab Shack and Little Miss Mexico as well as becoming Senior Development Chef at Coles. Perhaps his most OP achievement is his co-hosting gig on cooking show Farm to Fork.
Hope you fans are ready because a host of his own cooking show is just one returning contestant you are up against.
And that’s just the appetiser! There are seven more returning contestants we can’t wait to see face off against 12 fans which include a firefighter, a PhD student and a TikTok influencer (seriously). Keep that fire extinguisher handy because it is about to get hot in this kitchen!
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MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites premieres on Easter Monday at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play on demand.
Images supplied by Network 10.