masterchef all stars callum hann won

Why Is No One Talking About The Fact Callum Already Won ‘MasterChef: All-Stars’?

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Having watched MasterChef from season one, I couldn’t have been any more excited to hear that the reality TV cooking show was doing an All-Stars season this year.

But my first reaction upon hearing the list of returning contestants was confusion over Callum Hann’s inclusion. Callum had already won MasterChef: All Stars back in 2012. I was even more mystified as this year’s series was titled Back To Win. Errr, Callum already won.

I actually thought I might have hallucinated the entire season, until former winner Adam Liaw finally acknowledged it last month. At last, I felt vindicated.

When people started replying to Adam’s tweet, I realised I wasn’t the only one frustrated that the existence of the original All-Stars season was going completely unacknowledged by the show.

DID WE ALL COLLECTIVELY IMAGINE THIS OR IS THEIR EVIDENCE IT HAPPENED??

It turns out, there’s plenty of evidence of the first MasterChef: All-Stars.

Here is Callum holding the winner’s trophy, in a post he shared on Facebook in 2012:

Woooh! I had so much fun cooking with everyone on All Stars. Thanks for all your kind words.

Posted by Callum Hann on Sunday, 19 August 2012

The below image shows the All-Stars cast and you’ll notice some familiar faces in Poh Ling Yeow, Chris Badenoch (who placed second), Dani Venn and Hayden Quinn, who also starred alongside Callum, then went on to feature in the second All-Stars season this year.

The trailer was truly err…something.

OK, now that we’ve accepted that the season did happen and that Callum did win it, the promos for the 2020 season of MasterChef are even weirder.

One of the teasers leading up to the series’ premiere this year included Callum saying that he’s back for unfinished business, after placing second in his season.

I’m just so confused.

Throughout the series, the lies have continued. The show’s Twitter account posted that Callum was back to get his name on a trophy “after 10 years!” Umm.

What is this then, huh?!?

Via @callumskitchen

OK, his name might not be on the trophy but the point still stands. I just don’t understand why his previous win is being totally dismissed. This cover-up is so bizarre, it’s not hard to quickly Google and see that Callum was cooking in the MasterChef kitchen eight years ago.

I just don’t get it.

There’s been a lot of talk this season about preferential treatment. Laura copped heat as she previously worked for judge Jock Zonfrillo, and has been getting called out by viewers for having an advantage in the competition as she knows how to cook the food that Jock will like. Yet, nothing has been said about the contestants who have already competed in an All-Stars season, or Callum who won it.

There is no denying that Callum is a talented chef and deserves his place on the show. This year’s competition is much tougher, with the series evolving and the stakes increasing in the last decade. Callum could very likely win another season of All-Stars, so it actually does him a disservice to omit his previous accomplishments.

Let’s just be honest about the contestants and their histories because it’s doing my head in.

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Header via Facebook.