MasterChef Australia series 1

The first series of the Australian reality television series MasterChef Australia began on 27 April 2009 and aired on Network Ten, concluding on 19 July 2009 when Julie Goodwin was crowned the winner. The series was hosted by Sarah Wilson.

Contestants

Subsequent appearances

• Julie Goodwin appeared on Series 2 as a guest judge for an invention test and for Masterclass.
• Poh Ling Yeow appeared on 1st Junior Series for a Masterclass.
• Andre Ursini appeared on Series 3 to give a lesson for Masterclass
• Julie again appeared on Series 4 to be a guest judge for a Mystery box Challenge.
• In a Special All Star Series for Charity, Julie and Poh took part along with Justine Schofield and Chris Badenoch. Poh came 7th, Julie came 5th, Justine came 4th & Chris came Runner Up.
• Joshua "Josh" Catalano appeared in the team challenge during "Wild West Week" of Series 5.
• Julie appeared at the first Mystery box challenge & Invention test of Series 6.
• In a Superstar themed week in Series 7 Poh appeared as a guest for a mystery box challenge and masterclass, while Justine appeared as a guest judge for an elimination challenge.
• In Series 10 Julie appeared to support the top 50 during auditions, Poh meanwhile appeared during South Australia week for a masterclass.
• Poh was a mentor during the immunity challenge in Series 11.
• Poh and Chris appeared in Series 12. Chris was eliminated on 10 May 2020, finishing in 18th and Poh was eliminated on 5 July 2020, finishing in 6th.
• Poh also appeared in Series 13 as guest judge for an elimination challenge.
• In Series 14 Julie appeared for a chance to win the title for the 2nd time. Julie was eliminated on 5 July 2022, finishing in 5th.
• In Series 15 Poh appeared as a guest judge for a Mystery Box Challenge. Julie later appeared as a guest judge for an elimination challenge.
• In Series 16 Poh will appear as a judge. Julie & Andre later appeared as a guest for the first service challenge.

Judges

• George Calombaris
• Gary Mehigan
• Matt Preston

Special guests

• Manu Feildel – Celebrity Chef Challenge 1
• Martin Boetz – Celebrity Chef Challenge 2
• Pete Evans – Celebrity Chef Challenge 3
• Frank Shek – Masterclass 3
• Alex Herbert – Celebrity Chef Challenge 4
• John Torode – Guest judge, Invention Test 4
• Guy Grossi – Celebrity Chef Challenge 5
• Ben O'Donoghue – Celebrity Chef Challenge 6
• Donovan Cooke/Tam Kin Pak – Celebrity Chef Challenge 8
• Emmanuel Stroobant – Celebrity Chef Challenge 9
• Adrian Richardson – Celebrity Chef Challenge 10
• Adriano Zumbo – Elimination Challenge 7
• Armando Percuoco – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge
• Margaret Fulton – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge
• Jacques Reymond – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge
• Cheong Liew – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge
• Luke Mangan – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 1
• Matt Moran – Celebrity Chef Challenge 7 & Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 2
• Bill Granger – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 3
• Donna Hay – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 4
• Peter Kuruvita – Guest judge, Fresh Seafood Team Challenge
• Curtis Stone – Guest judge, Seafood Team Challenge, Grand Finale

Many of the guest chefs returned for the announcement of the winner, while Moran also presented a dish for the Pressure Test during the finale.

Elimination Chart

Episodes and ratings

Colour key:

  – Highest rating during the series

  – Lowest rating during the series

Allegations of vote rigging

Large numbers of viewers have raised allegations that the voting on the series one finale of MasterChef was fraudulent after Julie Goodwin won the crown. After the show talkback radio had been inundated with calls, both for and against the verdict, and the finale also became a top trending topic on social networking site Twitter, where many users said they felt "deflated" and "ripped off" by the final episode of the hit show. Similar allegations were raised when contestants were eliminated throughout the series. Judge Matt Preston has denied that eliminations were rigged or the result of a popularity contest, and asserted that Julie had won the title because she was the better cook on the night. Goodwin herself has also asserted that her victory was not the result of rigging, insisting that the professional integrity of the three judges would be damaged if it was.

References