From Julie Goodwin to Andy Allen: Where are the past winners of Masterchef now?

The airing of Australian MasterChef Season 15 tonight comes with bittersweet excitement. The nation is mourning the sudden death of judge Jock Zonfrillo, who passed away last week, aged just 46. After gaining permission from his family, Channel 10 has decided to air the season as a celebration of Zonfrillo’s work and life. 

Watch the trailer for the upcoming season here. Post continues below.

As we open our hearts to a new batch of hopeful chef super stars, we also want to look back and check up on how our old winners are doing.

Billie McKay, Season 14, Season 7

Season 14 was a little different, dubbed Fans & Favourites, the show brought back 12 former contestants to compete against 12 new contestants. That’s how Australia got to see their Season 7 fave and winner, Billie McKay on their screens again - and she ended up taking the title in 2022 as well. Her double win made history as McKay became the first and only two-time winner on Masterchef Australia. 

Speaking to TV Week, McKay opened up about her dreams.  

“It’ll definitely go towards opening up a little venue of my own. I’ve definitely realised after doing MasterChef again.That’s what I want to do, or at least try anyway, so it’ll be a huge help,” Billie revealed, after putting her passion on the back burner whilst she focussed on being a mother. 

“I’d love to do a little restaurant, the town where I live is quite small and regional but it’s where I grew up and where I’m living now, so I’d love to do something there.”

There’s no news yet of if her plans are in motion but we look forward to hearing more.

Image: Instagram @billy_mckay15

Justin Narayan, Season 13

2021 winner Justin Narayan has since got married to the women he often gushed about during the show.

The WA youth pastor has launched his own online cooking school called House of Hospitality, as well as running a YouTube channel sharing his awesome recipes.

Narayan has also racked up millions of views on TikTok sharing his creative ways with food.

@justin.narayan I’m always down for a challenge. #ad So when @redrockdeliau sent me their culinary creation box I couldn’t wait to get into it and share it with you guys. So here is my spicy, herb and Murray river pink salt and black pepper crusted salmon with a grilled peach salad using some of epic #redrockdeli ♬ Reggae with the image of a tropical beach(1007793) - Mitchie

Emelia Jackson, Season 12

Season 12 was the first season to kick off the new judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo after 11 seasons with Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston at the helm. They also decided to bring back high achieving past contestants for a second chance to win which saw Emelia Jackson bring home the bacon.

After her season, Emelia had a baby girl, ran pastry classes and released a range of baking kits. 

But she wasn’t done yet. The high achiever is now a columnist for Good Food Magazine and has released her first baking cookbook.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emelia Jackson (@emelia_jackson)

Larissa Takchi, Season 11

Larissa Takchi made history in her season as the youngest winner of MasterChef Australia, ever. Larissa’s now-husband Luke popped the question jusdt a week after her epic win.

She’s now got a beautiful baby girl, Liliana ,and helps create incredible food for her family’s Sydney cafe Wildpear.

Image: Instagram @larissatakchi

Sashi Cheliah, Season 10

Sashi Cheliah came out of his 2018 win, guns-a-blazing. He is now the owner of two South Australian restaurants; GAJA by Sashi and GAYA Express. 

But wait, there’s more. He’s also opened a restaurant called Pandan Club in Chennai, India, and has a series of his own home-cooking kits, Sashi’s Secret, that you can snag at Woolies. 

Sashi also released a book called Kampong Boy that dives into his childhood growing up in Singapore and shares some flavour packed recipes using native ingredients. 

Image: Instagram @sashisecret

Diana Chan, Season 9

Diana Chan carved a space for herself in the Australian media landscape after her Season 9 win. She hosted Asian Unplated on SBS and even dabbled in podcasts, hosting on Turning Point. 

Diana opened a pop-up restaurant Chanteen in Melbourne after her season win, which was hugely successful. 

Her recipes frequently appear in Gourmet Traveller and most exciting of all, she’s constantly working on delicious pre-made dumplings and dim sums in collaboration with Golden Wok for all of us to enjoy from Coles and Woolies. 

Image: Instagram @diana.chan.au

Elena Duggan, Season 8

From school teacher to MasterChef winner, Elena Duggan won all our hearts in season 8 of the show. While she nurtured her love of food and cooking, Elena’s passion for teaching never went away and she’s constantly finding ways to combine both. 

Elena co-hosted a podcast called Appetite for Change, she had a chef residency and Masterclass in Dubai, and took over hosting TV show My Market Kitchen, all while raising two boys.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elena Duggan (@elena_jo_duggan)

Brent Owens, Season 6

In 2014, Brent Owens won his season of the show but in a turn of events, he decided to give $50,000 of his $250, 000 winnings to fellow contestant Emelia Jackson (who went on to win Season 12 Back to Win!) after the pair had made a pact to do so earlier in the season. 

After his win, Brent’s passion for food continued as he released his own cookbook called Dig In! 

However, it has been almost a decade since then and it seems like Brent’s interests have changed. 

Leaving cooking behind,Owens studied Life Science at Harvard University and founded his own company in biotechnology called Vitrafy Life Sciences. 

Image: Channel 10

Emma Dean, Season 5

Emma Dean is another regular on the Australian foodie scene after her season 5 win.

For some time Emma co-hosted My Market Kitchen, a national show broadcasting straight out of Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market, before handing over the reins to Elena Duggan and Khanh Ong

The chef also released her own cookbook called A Homegrown Table featuring farm-to-table recipes. 

She also writes regularly for Eatwell Magazine. 

Image: Instagram @emmadeancooks

Andy Allen, Season 4

Fan favourite Andy Allen went full circle, making it back to the Masterchef studio four years ago, this time as one of the show's judges.

Now a national icon, Allen also co-owns and is a chef at the restaurant, Three Blue Ducks.

He also started his own beer company with actor Travis Fimmel (Vikings, Black Snow) called Travla. 

Image: Instagram @travla_

Kate Bracks, Season 3

In 2011, Kate Bracks became Australia’s favourite baker and won her season of MasterChef using those skills. She also released her own cookbook, The Sweet Life: Basics and Beyond, after her win. 

Despite being rather quiet on social media, Kate used her influence at the time to become an ambassador for the Cancer Council's Eat It To Beat It program. 

She also runs workshops and demos in her regional town in NSW, teaching her community how to rescue and reduce food waste. This must have spark a love of teaching as according to Woman’s Day, Kate now works full time as a teacher. 

Image: Channel 10

Adam Liaw, Season 2

Adam Liaw knew what he was doing when he won Season 2 of MasterChef in 2010. 

In the last 12 years Adam has published over seven cookbooks, and has hosted a wide variety of food and travel shows.

He’s a contributor to Sunday Life and Good Food Magazine, has a YouTube channel with over 600, 000 subscribers where he shares his recipes, and has designed the menu for the launch of Japanese airlines, ANA Air. 

He has a podcast out called How Taste Changed the World.  

All whilst raising three kids with his wife Asami.

Image: Instagram @adamliaw

Julie Goodwin, Season 1

Last but not least, MasterChef Australia's original and first winner Julie Goodwin. A name that’s imprinted in the minds of a whole generation who first tuned into the show all those years ago. 

Julie has enjoyed a fulfilling career since her 2009 win. Her home-style cooking resonated with mums and dads across the nation and she’s written several cookbooks, as well as making regular television and radio appearances. 

Julie has also launched her own cooking school.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julie Goodwin (@_juliegoodwin)

Feature Image: Channel 10