MasterChef’s best moments, from Katy Perry to white chocolate veloute

MasterChef returns to our screens this week, as do a veritable gaggle of former contestants. This is the show’s second iteration of the Back to Win format, with favourites like Callum Hann and Laura Sharrad coming back to search for redemption.

With everyone feeling nostalgic, it’s also the perfect time to look back fondly on some of our own old favourites. Here’s a reminder of some of the most memorable moments the show has delivered during its 16 years on air – from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Adriano Zumbo’s notorious croquembouche that MasterChef season one finalists Julie Goodwin and Poh Ling Yeoh (pictured) recreated.

The famous croquembouche

Thanks to MasterChef’s positive effect on the culinary awareness of the nation, nowadays if you ask the average Australian to whip up a croquembouche, they’ll say “sure, no problem, give us five minutes”. But back in the dark ages of 2009, when dessert king Adriano Zumbo walked into the kitchen with that skyscraper of profiteroles, he might as well have been asking the contestants to build a scale model of Westminster Abbey out of breadsticks.

The final four contestants were faced with a pressure test that would bring them to very brink of madness, and then shove them over it. Chris sweated. Julie melted down. Poh went full mad scientist. And Tom, sadly, stumbled and fell from the competition. This was the moment Australia realised MasterChef was much more than just a show: it was a sweet, custard-filled torture chamber.

The infamous white chocolate veloute

John Carasig achieved MasterChef infamy with this unfortunate relay challenge.Credit: Ten

As a rule, throwing out your entire plan halfway through a MasterChef challenge is a bad idea …unless you’re Poh. It’s an even worse idea when you’re in a relay, and you’re discarding the plan made before you, utterly baffling the poor sap who comes after. But season seven maverick John Carasig was seemingly determined to carve out his own niche in MasterChef history.

After being told his team was making mussels in a coconut and tomato broth, John had a brainwave: what if, instead of making a nice dish, he did the complete opposite? Guest chef Marco Pierre White looked on in horror as John got to work on a white chocolate veloute to add to his team’s seafood dish.

In the end, John didn’t even finish it, instead handing a block of white chocolate to next-in-line Amy. John’s idea crashed and burnt. But his legend lived on.

Jess and Sashi getting on like a recipe on fire

There are two ingredients that make MasterChef great: friendship and fire. We had both in one very special elimination challenge in season 10, when eventual winner Sashi Cheliah set his recipe on fire.

While this is a natural response to being asked to make “sherried marron”, in this case it was actually an accident which left Sashi in a tight spot: having to make an insanely complex dish with no instructions. Thankfully, guardian angel Jess Liemantara came to the rescue, letting Sashi look at her recipe and saving him from disaster.

“That is disgusting... disgustingly good”

Season two contestant Aaron Harvie’s stomach seemed to drop all the way into his shoes when judge Matt Preston tasted his pasta back in 2010. “Quite frankly, that is disgusting,” Preston said, before throwing the plate to the floor. After what felt like the longest ad break in the history of television, Preston continued: “… disgustingly GOOD!” Ever since, every MasterChef judge has on multiple occasions “pulled a Preston” and tried a bit of wacky misdirection – but none have ever done it as memorably, or as weirdly, as the OG.

John Hughes’ non-plate

Adelaide winemaker John Hughes, who has cerebral palsy, was a fan favourite from the moment he entered the MasterChef kitchen in season three. John brought quiet determination to everything he did, but his standout moment was one in which he made failure feel like triumph. After a pressure test in which he attempted to prepare a selection of desserts, Hughes stepped up to the judges’ table empty-handed and announced he would not be serving anything.

“When I cook for my family and friends I produce quality and I put my heart and soul into it,” he said, explaining that if he didn’t believe his dish was good enough for family and friends, it wasn’t good enough to serve here. Judges, contestants and guest chef Maggie Beer applauded John for his courage in putting himself up for elimination rather than compromise his commitment to quality, and so did viewers at home. MasterChef is a show filled with emotion, but no moment has been as raw in its honesty and, in a strange way, as inspirational as John’s non-plate.

Katy Perry makes an appearance

“You’re the tits, Reece”: Katy Perry was a guest judge in 2020.Credit: Ten

Katy Perry’s 2008 hit Hot N Cold has been inseparable from MasterChef since its very beginning, the bouncy ditty accompanying the obligatory intro shots of contestants holding cakes or throwing flour in the air in slow motion. So it was a spectacular thrill when the superstar herself showed up to be a guest judge during season 12.

The appearance was hyped to heaven in advance, so it wasn’t a surprise to see Perry. But it was surprising to see just how much fun she was. Maybe she’s just a great actor, but the singer showed such enthusiasm for the show and engaged so genuinely one-on-one with the contestants that even sceptics like me were won over. She should come back every year.

Peter Gilmore’s snow egg

Season two’s famous Snow Egg challenge was later replicated in season 10 Credit: Ten

In season one, we thought the croquembouche was as nightmarish as desserts could get. But the season two finale showed us what sweet young fools we were when Peter Gilmore presented Adam Liaw and Callum Hann with the snow egg: a breathtaking confection made of meringue and fruit and the ghosts of unicorns. After months of gruelling challenges in which they were asked to be expert chefs, Liaw and Hann were suddenly asked to become sorcerers. The results were brilliant, but perhaps the greatest spectacle was the beautiful bond between the finalists, growing from their shared ordeal at the hands of the egg.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.