Surprise – MasterChef favourite eliminated from competition: ‘I’ve done what I came here to do’

Once considered a frontrunner to take home a second MasterChef title, Julie Goodwin has been eliminated from the competition. She tells Confidential it felt like the “right time” to go.

MasterChef favourite Julie Goodwin says she feels like a winner after being eliminated from the reality cooking competition.

Goodwin was considered a frontrunner to take home the crown a second time after returning to the format that made her a household name when she won the first ever MasterChef in 2009.

Her departure leaves four contestants still vying for the series title.

“First or fifth or even 10th, I feel like the whole experience I am so glad I did it. I feel like it was a win for me regardless of where I came,” Goodwin told Confidential.

“I think it is kind of good to hand the baton on to be honest. I like the idea that MasterChef is all about growth and new people and it feels to me just like the right time for me to go.”

Julie Goodwin on MasterChef Australia.

“I’ve proven to myself what I came here to prove and done what I came here to do and so I am very comfortable in being eliminated in fifth position.”

Online betting agency Sportsbet has Billie Mckay favourite to win the series with odds of $1.22 ahead of Sarah Todd, Daniel Lamble and Keyma Vasquez Montero.

MasterChef top five Julie Goodwin, Daniel Lamble, Billie Mckay, Sarah Todd and Keyma Vasquez Montero.

Goodwin, 52, meanwhile signed up to the season of MasterChef Fans & Favourites at a time where she has been vocal about her mental health struggles.

It was in January 2020 that the grandmother was first hospitalised in a psychiatric unit. At the time, she pulled back from business and public life with her breakfast radio career shelved.

“I lost my drive for cooking but I lost my drive for everything and it was scary,” she said.

MasterChef Australia season one winner Julie Goodwin with runner-up Poh Ling Yeow

“I didn’t know what was going to happen. I guess I wanted to see if I still had what it takes mentally to compete in MasterChef but also if my heart was still in the kitchen.

“I’d spent a couple of years in the wilderness on that one so it was really about throwing this against the wall and seeing if it sticks. It (MasterChef) has given me the confidence I needed. I had enough joy in the competition that I know it is still where I want to be.

As for the future, Goodwin has regained her love for cooking and the kitchen but is yet to make any major plans.

“I just haven’t decided,” she said. “I think that I will decompress a bit from this experience and spend some time with my family. The big gift here is that I get to choose now what happens next.”