After weeks of delectable dishes, emotional twists and pull-at-your-heartstrings backstories, Masterchef Australia is coming to an end for 2021. The Channel Ten cooking series aired its finale on Tuesday, July 13, crowning this year’s winner—and it was certainly a nail-biting race to the finish line.
Back on the judging panel this time around was, of course, Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, who ultimately will be the ones to decide who walks away with the $250,000 prize to make their food dreams a reality.
While fans were shocked to see Depinder sent home at the last elimination, they’ll be happy to know the former contestant is now working under the watchful helm of Allen at his Three Blue Ducks restaurant.
Come last night’s finale, Justin Narayan, Kishwar Chowdhury and Pete Campbell were in the running to take home the Masterchef crown, but as we saw only one could take home the trophy and title of Masterchef 2021.
Speaking with WHO earlier this year, Zonfrillo opened up about the incredible talent this season has offered up.
“They serve up some of the best dishes that we’ve ever seen on any season of MasterChef,” he told the publication. “The show’s tagline ‘ordinary people, extraordinary food’ couldn’t be more true this year. We look at one another sometimes and can’t believe what we’re seeing and getting to eat. It’s a privilege to share this crazy experience with these guys.”
But, who exactly won? Read on for a deep dive into all the clues behind who wins Masterchef Australia 2021.
Who Wins Masterchef Australia 2021?
After the extremely tense 90-minute episode aired on TV, it was revealed that Justin took out the top spot, winning the entire competition and prize money for his perfect recreation of Quay Restaurant executive chef Peter Gilmore’s pressure test.
As always, betting sites had already begun to reveal which contestant the public believes is the most likely to be crowned the winner.
This year, both TAB and Sportsbet had tipped Justin to take out the top spot, while Pete was tipped to follow closely behind. Which, in fact, was exactly what happened. Coming in close at second place, the near-impossible challenge almost saw Pete not plate up any dish at all, but after he managed to problem-solve in lightening speed, he put up a very impressive dish.
Despite also plating up an incredible rendition of Gilmore’s insanely difficult pressure test, Kishwar only just missed out on taking Pete’s spot in second place.
Justin, a 27-year-old relationship manager, began his cooking journey at the age of 13 and grew up influenced by the cooking he did alongside his grandmother and tata (grandfather).
The Perth native has always taken pride in his Fijian and Indian heritage and dreams of one day having a food truck or restaurant that features the incredible and widespread flavours of India, as well as using that new venture to provide funds to feed and educate children living in the slums of India.
Of course, applications for the 2022 season are now open, so if you are dreaming of getting into the kitchen and onto our screens you should definitely apply.
