MasterChef fans voice major complaint about Callum Hann's return
We're only a few episodes into this year's season of MasterChef Australia, but Callum Hann has already emerged as a clear frontrunner. The South Australian chef, who finished second on season 2 and fourth on season 12, is one of 24 contestants who have returned for another shot at the title.
While it's been promoted on the show that this is Callum's third time competing in the MasterChef kitchen, many fans have pointed out that this isn't exactly the case. He actually competed on and won MasterChef Australia All-Stars in 2012, raising $20,000 for his chosen charity, Cancer Council Australia.
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The short-lived series aired for three weeks during the Olympics and featured several returning contestants from the first three seasons of the show, including winners Julie Goodwin and Kate Bracks. The first half of the competition saw the cast divided into teams to raise money, while they competed separately in the second half to crown 'the best of the best'.
Interestingly, Callum also competed against season one runner-up Poh Ling Yeow, who is now tasting his food as a judge on MasterChef.
Many fans have taken to social media following this week's premiere to question why the show has chosen to 'purposely ignore' the fact that Callum won MasterChef Australia All-Stars.
'They really seem to pretend that season doesn't exist as far as accolades go,' one person wrote, while another added, 'When they said none of them had ever won, I'd wondered if I'd dreamt the thing up'.
Callum recently told Yahoo Lifestyle that even though he didn't win any prize money on the charity season, he believes his win should still be counted in the show's legacy.
'I'd like to consider it a real stint because I spent three months of my life filming it, so it certainly felt very real to me,' he remarked. 'Whilst the money you were winning for that was for charity, we were a competitive bunch. So I don't think any of the contestants there were doing a half job because they were like, 'Oh, I'm not winning any money'. I think we were all trying our hardest still.'
Callum added that it felt 'pretty special' to win that season of the show because he was competing against people he loved watching on TV.
'I really admired Poh and Julie and Justine Schofield when I watched them on season one, so then to be cooking with and against those guys, it was a hell of a lot of fun,' he shared. 'And to sort of come out on top there, I think it sort of gave me the confidence to go on and keep expanding my businesses and have that 'world is my oyster' kind of attitude.'
Although Callum's win on MasterChef Australia All-Stars is undisputed, some viewers have argued that it shouldn't be considered an official season of the reality show.
'While he won it, it was also for charity,' one fan commented, followed by someone else who said, 'This is the correct answer. It was not a competition, it was a fundraiser'.
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'It wasn't really a 'season' at the same scale as what they're competing in, and thus doesn't add anything noteworthy to the narrative,' a different user replied, with another adding, 'It is treated like a spin-off, the same as Professionals and Celebrity'.
MasterChef Australia has produced five spin-off series since launching in 2009: Celebrity MasterChef Australia, Junior MasterChef Australia, MasterChef Australia All-Stars, MasterChef Australia: The Professionals, and Desserts Masters.
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