MasterChef Australia crowns a 2023 winner

With only returning contestant Brent and newbie Rhiannon left, there could only be one winner in Sunday’s MasterChef finale.

WARNING: MasterChef spoilers below.

MasterChef Australia has crowned a 2023 winner, with returning contestant Brent Draper emerging victorious – and $250,000 richer – against Townsville mum-of-five Rhiannon Anderson.

Returning contestant Brent had previously dropped out of the 2021 season of MasterChef, revealing at the time that the pressures of the competition and being away from loved ones was having an adverse effect on his mental health.

Last ones standing: Rhiannon Anderson and Brent Draper. Picture: Ten

Brent’s family appeared on Sunday’s finale, and his father confessed that he had been nervous about his son returning to the competition. “After last time, I thought, you’ve got to be careful, mate. Think about what it’s going to do to you. But he’s done really well … I’m so proud.”

For their first round of cooking, the pair had to work to a challenge set by judge Melissa Leong: To create “a dish that tells a story.”

Draper presented a dish of pork chop with tamarind ketchup glaze, roast cabbage and salsa. The judges called it “perfectly executed,” with Andy Allen offering no notes – just a round of applause. Brent scored a near-perfect 29 out of 30 for round one.

Brent's first dish for the judges.

Rhiannon went next, dishing up crispy pork belly with citrus caramel, fennel and orange salad and crispy shallots.

She earned hearty praise from the judges – Andy called it “the best-looking plate” she’d presented all season – but also some critiques, as they noted she’d been a little stingy with the sauce. She scored a total of 25 out of 30 for round one.

Rhiannon's first dish for the judges.

Then came the main event: Round two, a pressure test set by one of the world’s most influential pastry chefs, Amaury Guichon, famed for his incredibly detailed pastry creations.

His task for the top two: To recreate his “pocket watch,” an incredibly detailed – and entirely edible – dessert in the form of a watch. Carefully cut open, the watch is made up of layers of coffee, cream and cake.

Guichon’s task for the top two: Recreate this.

Brent was immediately nervous: “I’m not a sweet person, so it’s not in my wheelhouse.” But as they both got stuck into recreating the watch, it was Rhiannon who faltered first, failing on two attempts to make the clear “glass” sugar dome that sits on top of the cake before she got it right.

Brent also couldn’t quite nail his attempt at the dome, but ran out of time, so had to present a final dish he was worried he’d “stuffed up.”

Brent's pocket watch …

… and Rhiannon's.

And his sugar dome was certainly less than perfect – but the judges were able to move past that once they cut open the clock and tasted what was inside. Guichon noted he’d done a “very good job” at recreating the textures and flavours of his dish.

Rhiannon’s, too, didn’t look as exact as Guichon’s original creation – Mel Leong quipping that she’d presented the “antique, vintage” version of the clock.

Unfortunately, breaking the dish open, the judges were less impressed by what they found inside. Guichon said the “textures are all over the place,” while Leong noted that while the flavours stayed true to the original dish, texture problems meant “we lose the joy of the dish.”

It was clear the judges preferred Brent’s attempt at the “pocket watch” over Rhiannon’s, giving him an insurmountable lead on the scoreboard.

Brent came first …

… with Rhiannon placing second.

In the end, Brent scored 34 points in round two to Rhiannon’s 27, giving him a grand total of 63 points to her 52. It was a full redemption for a player who’d previously withdrawn from the competition midway through season 13.

It’s been an emotional season of MasterChef for viewers, with the sudden death of judge Jock Zonfrillo just one day before the season was due to start airing. The whole season had been filmed prior to his death, making Sunday’s finale his final MasterChef episode.

In a post to Jock’s Instagram on Sunday evening, his widow Lauren encouraged fans to tune in – while admitting that she and the couple’s children had not been able to watch this season as they process his death at the age of just 46. But she said they would “try” to tune in for the finale, as a celebration of his life.

“We haven’t been able to watch this season just yet, something we will do, but we felt that tonight was an important one to watch. Like most families there’s moments across the year that are special, and we used to really enjoy watching the finale together. It was something Jock was really proud of, it was a job he really loved doing, so we’ve decided we’re going to honour that and keep doing what we would normally do and watch the finale together,” she said.

Sunday’s finale finished with an extended tribute to Zonfrillo, showing some of his highlights from his time as a MasterChef judge and closing with the simple message: “Give it up for Jock Zonfrillo.”

Originally published as MasterChef Australia crowns a 2023 winner