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

The Age

30-04-2025

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.
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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
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
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.