Masterchef Australia 2021 live updates: 'Underdog' crowned winner

Who saw that coming? MasterChef's self-proclaimed underdog just snuck in with a surprise victory in the grand final - see how it all unfolded.

After a mammoth season, it all came down to three - before Masterchef's self-proclaimed underdog scored a surprise win.

Justin Narayan was the self-proclaimed underdog heading into  Tuesday night's MasterChef grand finale, with 51 points to favourite Pete's 53.

But in the end, Justin romped to victory with a total score of 125 points to Pete's 124 and 114 from Kishwar.

He's picked up a cool $250,000 for his efforts - but it was an admirable showing for all of the top three, who had to do battle with two intense dishes from star chef Peter Gilmore, one of which was a decadent "golden crackle" dessert rightly described as "terrifying" to make.

Justin, MasterChef 2021 winner.

See how it all unfolded in our live blog below...

Updates

6:37 am August 1, 2021

"I'm genuinely going to take a week to process this and let it sink in, and then I'll, like, write you an email, let you know how I feel," Justin tells the judges. He commends Kishwar and Pete, saying they were "incredible people to cook with" and telling Pete he was "like my big brother."

Justin celebrates with his dad.

And luckily, those two don't go home empty handed – while Justin walks away with $250,000, second-place getter Pete is awarded $30k and Kishwar scores $20k.

And with that good news, that's it for our MasterChef live blog. Thanks for reading!

11:16 pm July 31, 2021

Kishwar's dessert scores three 8s and a 7, leaving her with a final score of 114 – she finishes in third place.

Peter's dessert is awarded three 9s and an 8, giving him a final score of 124.

Finally, Justin's dessert scores an 8 and three 9s. He's done it! The underdog's won it!

Mel Leong teases it out with her final reveal.

"Justin. You need a nine or more from me to win the title. It wasn't perfect," she tells him.

"But it was bloody close! I scored your dish a nine out of ten!"

7:35 pm July 31, 2021

The three get to taste test the dishes they’ll be making – and take a look inside the golden crackle. “The golden ball is hiding a lot of pain inside there,” says Kishwar, and I half expected a weepy to-camera confessional from the golden crackle saying that nobody had ever truly understood it like Kishwar. So what is inside?

There's a lot going on.

Umm.. lentils! Dirty jellybeans! Eels eggs? OK, help me out. It’s rice crispies, which have to be “hand-coated individually in four different chocolate and also a caramel.” Oh yeah, and there are also an additional six layers of chocolate cake, mousse, jam, cream and ganache inside it.

*Homer Simpson drooling*

All need to be made in separate recipes and then layered together. A McFlurry this ain’t. The trio have five hours to cook, 25 minutes to plate up, and 80 points in total up for grabs.

4:31 pm July 31, 2021 Highlight

AFL's wacky solution to Covid chaos

Appearing on The Project ahead of tonight's finale, the judges spoke about Pete's infamous raw quail gaffe last night.

"If your poultry is raw, there's the door," said Kate Langbroek, asking Mel Leong how on earth she scored the dish a 6 out of 10.

"I thought the conception of the dish was fantastic, the execution bar that one particular piece of quail was fantastic, I think that needed to be acknowledged. That is why I scored the way I did," said Leong.

Huh. Six still seems generous for raw quail meat!

2:15 pm July 31, 2021 Highlight

'Dodgy decision' causes controversy in Hockeyroos clash

Justin is a 27-year-old Youth Pastor from Western Australia.

He is a first generation born in Australia, with his family reigning from Fiji and India.

Justin admits that his mother is his absolute biggest inspiration, and the best cook he knows.

Justin has been the most-improved in the MasterChef kitchen

As the eldest of three siblings, Justin has always been close to his parti (grandmother) and tata (grandfather) and used to always watch cooking shows with them.

Justin began cooking when he was 13-years-old. He is inspired by produce at hand, and loves how cooking food can make people feel loved. He enjoys cooking for his fiancee Esther.

Travelling to India in 2017, Justin fell in love with the culture, history, people and of course, the food.

Having worked as a youth pastor to help create a safe and fun community for teenagers, Justin has gone out on a limb to follow his culinary dreams, resigning from his job to commit. He also put his Master's study on hold to try his luck in the MasterChef kitchen.

1:34 pm July 31, 2021

Kishwar is a 38-year-old Printing business owner from Victoria.

With dreams of sharing Bengali cuisine in Australia, Kishwar Chowdhury admits food is at the heart of her large Bangladeshi-Indian family.

Kishwar wants to publish her own cookbook.

Kishwar has often spoken highly of her parents, Laila and Kamrul Chowdhury. They are proud pillars and founders of the Bangladeshi community in Victoria. Often they open up their home to family, friends and community members to enjoy their cooking.

Kishwar completed year 12 at Presbyterian Ladies College, going on to achieve a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University before completing a post-graduate degree in Graphic Design from the University of the Arts in London.

She then moved to Germany for a short period of time, before establishing her business in Bangladesh. She returned to Melbourne in 2015.

Living in three different continents gained Kishwar the knowledge of mixing spices and understanding ingredients from across the globe.

Kishwar is supported by her high-school sweetheart husband Ehtesham, son Mikayle, 11 and daughter Seraphina, 4.

1:20 pm July 31, 2021

Pete Campbell is a 36-year-old tattoo artist from NSW.

He grew up on the NSW Central Coast and would only eat meat and potatoes. He now dreams of opening a wine bar on Sydney’s northern beaches, serving beautiful share plates and providing a welcoming space for locals and visitors alike.

While Pete only started cooking six years ago, he was a quick learner.

In 2015, he quit his corporate job of 10 years and moved to Los Angeles with his wife Alana, two-year-old daughter and another baby on the way.

Hanging up his suit and tie, Pete opened up a coffee shop and retrained as a tattoo artist. Pete said he tattooed his hands to ensure he would never go back to a desk job.

Pete is a tattoo artist hoping to open a wine bar.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Pete and his family moved back to Australia. With no job to return to, Pete applied for MasterChef.

The most important thing to Pete are his children, Scout, 7, and Lux, 4.

Pete constantly tells his daughters to do scary things because it will lead to a life of doing what you love.