Masterchef Australia 2021 Live Updates: ‘Underdog’ Crowned Winner

After a long season of Australian MasterChef, the competition came down to three finalists to battle it out for the price. Surprise surprise! The underdog carried the day with his exemplary performance. Who? Justin Narayan. 

 

I agree—No one expected Justin to win, but he went into the Tuesday night MasterChef grand finale as a self-proclaimed winner through his hard work and resilience. Justin started well in the finale by scoring 51 points which were close to Pete’s 53 points. 

 

Even though Pete started the finale higher than Justin, Narayan carried the day with a total score of 125 points. Yes, it was a close race as Pete came second with 124 points while Kishwar only scored 114 to secure third place. 

 

Justin was awarded a deserved $250,000 for his hard work, and let’s not forget that he was up against two of the best competitors and, to emerge victorious, showed so much about his resilience. Defeating Peter Gilmore to take the prize isn’t something easy as he was the most feared contestant who was very creative with his cuisine dishes. 

 

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[12:31 pm, July 13, 2021] It’s Time For The Golden Crackle

With a few minutes left, all the three contestants are worried over the outer dome of their golden crackles. It’s extremely thin and delicate, and there’s no room for error. They try their best, and at last, they all nail it. 

 

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All three of them have to chocolate coat their amazing rice Krispies with so little time to go. 

[12:34 pm, July 13, 2021] Ouch! That’s Gotta Hurt

There were only 15 minutes left, but Pete couldn’t take it any more. He wished for the time to move faster so that he could overcome his anxiety. While he’s anxiously racing around the kitchen, he stumbles and falls. 

 

Pete picks himself back up and goes directly to inspect his food in the oven for some minutes. At this point, the medical attention he needs can wait!

[12:43 pm, July 13, 2021] A Tense Finish

And that’s it! It was now the judges time to reveal the main cook. All three contestants were nervous and anxious. Pete was the most disturbed after going through a tough third round. He was seen sobbing and crouched behind the bench. It was a situation no one would wish to be in. 

 

Pete is clearly in a lot of emotional pain inside his golden cradle after the incident, and Justin goes to him to give him moral support and encouragement.

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[12:57 pm, July 13, 2021] It’s Kishwar Time To Face The Judges

Kishwar used 25 minutes to plate up as her squid noodles faltered. She presented great dishes in front of the judges for evaluation. Her golden crackle looked golden. Kishwars eyes were filled with tears as she left the room to let the judges make a decision. 

 

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Judge Peter Gilmore and all the other judges were super impressed with Kishwars squid noodles. Regarding Kishwars golden crackle, judge Andy Allen said it was a solid effort. Jock commented that even though Kishwar was to point behind the frontrunner, she still had an excellent chance to win it.

[1:00 pm, July 13, 2021] Pete’s up – and He Falters

Pete faced a considerable risk of being under-scored because, unlike the others, he did not make any backup moulds to go with his golden crackle. This means he only has one shot at assembling it correctly, or otherwise, his chances of winning Australian MasterChef becomes even lower. 

 

Pete is nervous and mistakenly drops the super-delicate golden layer as he’s trying to lift it to the dish. The judges are shocked by what’s happening with Pete. 

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Out of all the judges, Peter Gilmore’s facial expression admitted that the final was not an easy ride, and it comes with some anxiety. 

[1:16 pm, July 13, 2021] Crisis Shifted Onto Judging

Surprisingly, the paper-thin golden layer doesn’t crack, and Pete gets his chance to plate up successfully. Jock opened up and said the noodles are 95% the way they should be while Mel and Andy agreed that the noodles were a little bit overcooked. 

 

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The judges cracked open the Golden Crackle to see the outer layer, which they noted was filled with quail meat which impressed the Judges immensely. 

[1:30 pm, July 13, 2021] Justin Vs The Judges

It was Justin’s golden chance to show the judges what he had prepared that would determine his position in the competition.  In his mind, Justin knew the odds were against him and that he had to pull up a master class to defeat Kishwar and Pete. 

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When the Judges tasted Justin’s noodles, they loved them. Peter said that they were perfect and that every element was right. Judge Mel explained that if she were blindfolded and asked to pick between Peter’s noodles and his, he wouldn’t know which one to choose. 

 

Even though the golden crackle is a tasty dish, Peter and Jock noticed an undercooked layer. So could Justin still pull off a crisis victory?

[1:40 pm, July 13, 2021] The Scores Are Trickling In

All judges from the squid noodles gave Kishwar, who came in third, an 8 out of 10, which took her to 83 points. 

 

On the other hand, Pete was given 9 out of ten by the squid noodles judges, who took him to 89 points.

 

Justin, however, got 10s across the board to boost his lead to 90 points to be crowned the winner of the 2021 Australian MasterChef. 

[1:44 pm, July 13, 2021] Masterchef’s 2021 Winner Announced

As the results were being revealed, the three finalists were shocked. Kishwar was first as her dessert scored three 8s and a 7, which gave her a final score of 114. Even though she came in third, she poured out her heart and her soul in this competition. 

 

The next contestant was Pete, who scored three 9s and an 8, which led him to a final score of 124 that secured her second place in Australian MasterChef. 

 

Finally, we got to the winner, Justin, whose dessert scored three 9s and an 8 to make him the Australian MasterChef. Considering he was an underdog, Justin deserves some credit for his work. 

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Judge Mel Leong acknowledged that it was a close call but that he deservedly scored Justin’s dish a 9 out of ten to put him ahead of Pete. 

[ 1:53 pm, July 13, 2021] Justin’s Gives A Victory Speech

During Justin’s victory speech, he didn’t hold back as he poured his heart out by explaining that he had not yet processed the victory and that he’ll need a week to get into terms with the fact that he was the champion of Australian MasterChef.

 

He said that when he was done processing the victory, he’ll shoot the judges an email to explain how he feels. Justin went on to commend Pete and Kishwar, saying that it was a dream to be part of champions like them and explain that Pete was like his big brother. 

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The bright side for Justin’s competitors is that they would not walk home empty-handed. Whereas Justin received $250,000, Pete secured $30k while Kishwar, who came in third, got $20k. It was a fantastic experience that some would pay to relive again.