Latest news with #BacktoWin
The Age
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘I'm a sucker for pain': MasterChef winner hits the jackpot on third attempt
After three attempts, Laura Sharrad has finally won MasterChef Australia. The 29-year-old chef from Adelaide beat Callum Hann in Tuesday night's intense Back to Win grand final, which pitted former contestants against one another. Sharrad spoke to TV editor Louise Rugendyke about her win and if she was, indeed, truly crazy for putting herself through it all again and again - and again. Congratulations! How are you feeling? Honestly, amazing. It is the most surreal feeling, waking up a winner. Being able to achieve a goal that I've had for so long is a very, very special one. How long ago did you film the grand final episode? Production wrapped up a few months ago. So I've been keeping my mouth zipped shut. It was so hard. The only person that knew, other than myself, was my husband Max, and we were getting questions coming in from everywhere: our parents, siblings, friends, work colleagues, business partners, everyone wanted to know. We did film two endings, so we just kept saying: 'I'm going to find out on the day.' It's wild that you film two endings – one where you win and one where you don't. Did you have to practise your happy and sad face? I'm grateful I don't need to use that [sad] face ever again! But it is really hard. The winning and losing speech are similar in the weirdest way because you've already achieved so much just getting there. It is hard to find the right words as well, when everyone is looking at you and wanting you to say the most incredible things, and you want to make sure you thank everyone. You've been a finalist three times, does that mean you have held the MasterChef Australia trophy three times, but had to fake it twice? That feels quite cruel. The original season I did [in 2014], we had two endings. The first Back to Win [series in 2020], we didn't. So I've experienced it all. I've held a trophy twice, technically, but only won once. How hard was the final Pressure Test, where you had to recreate the floral dessert by Philippine pastry chef Miko Aspiras? I saw you swear when the curtain dropped to reveal it ... I'm pretty sure they stopped filming when I was trying to say a word that starts with F and ends with K! Even watching my reaction last night, I was like: 'What is happening? This is insane.' I was terrified because this [dessert] is going to decide my fate in this kitchen. But it was so delicious. Of the three finals you have competed in, which one has been the most difficult? The first one was hard because I was so young [Sharrad was only 18] and I didn't have the experience. And the second time around was really hard because it was COVID, so our families weren't there. [Winner] Emelia [Jackson] and I weren't meant to hug, but we did because it was like 'I haven't hugged someone for months'. But I definitely think this was probably the hardest. Going up against Callum, he's one of the best cooks MasterChef has ever had as a competitor. And the [Pressure Test] dish was truly hard. It was a 4½-hour cook - an absolute marathon. You are mad. Why would you put yourself through this level of stress three times? Loading It's really not normal. I'm a sucker for pain. I've said I'm not going back as a contestant, I'm hanging up my apron, I'm retiring. And then last night, I was like: 'Oh my god, it looks so fun. I would love to go back just for one cook.' And then I'm like: 'No, you're going to give yourself a heart attack.' I loved that you said on the final episode that being a mum to 15-month-old Florence had really changed your perspective on cooking. There are so many things that hold people back from achieving their goals. And sometimes it's not achievable. For me, I had a five-month-old baby, and I was like: 'What am I doing?' I breastfed full-time through the whole season, until two weeks before the end. But I wanted to show Floss you can do whatever you want to, if you put your mind to it. She also started her solids journey while I was filming. Those solids must be pretty good when your mum is on MasterChef Australia. She was eating all the things I was practicing with. One day, she had marron and my husband's trying to take a photo of her, and I was like: 'Don't, people are going to think that we're such snobs feeding a nine-month-old baby marron.' But it did get the shellfish allergy test out of the way. You have faced all three sets of judges on the show – Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston in season six; Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and Melissa Leong in season 12 and now Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Allen, again, in season 17 – who is the most intimidating? That is a hard one. I feel like the OG boys, back in the day, were pretty intimidating. I saw a video online the other day of Gary calling a dish disgusting. That's brutal. But I think that was a very different style of TV back then. Did any of the judges have a 'tell', like in poker, where you knew you were on a winner? Jean-Christophe always struggled to keep the emotion in. He'd always come over, mid-cook, and he'd be tasting something, and Andy would be there, trying to build the jeopardy – 'Are you going to pull this off?' – and Jean-Christophe is there smiling and tasting the sauce and saying, 'Oooh, that's delicious'. And Andy's like: 'You're not meant to say what's happening!' Loading What was the first thing you cooked once you were out of the MasterChef kitchen? Please tell me it was a cheese toastie? I consumed so many cheese toasties while I was in the green room [while filming]! It was a bowl of pork sausage ragu pasta. It was nice to have my brain switch off completely from like: 'Oh, do I have to practice this?' You think about food in the weirdest way when you're on the show, you dissect everything. So to go back to home cooking is so nice.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I'm a sucker for pain': MasterChef winner hits the jackpot on third attempt
After three attempts, Laura Sharrad has finally won MasterChef Australia. The 29-year-old chef from Adelaide beat Callum Hann in Tuesday night's intense Back to Win grand final, which pitted former contestants against one another. Sharrad spoke to TV editor Louise Rugendyke about her win and if she was, indeed, truly crazy for putting herself through it all again and again - and again. Congratulations! How are you feeling? Honestly, amazing. It is the most surreal feeling, waking up a winner. Being able to achieve a goal that I've had for so long is a very, very special one. How long ago did you film the grand final episode? Production wrapped up a few months ago. So I've been keeping my mouth zipped shut. It was so hard. The only person that knew, other than myself, was my husband Max, and we were getting questions coming in from everywhere: our parents, siblings, friends, work colleagues, business partners, everyone wanted to know. We did film two endings, so we just kept saying: 'I'm going to find out on the day.' It's wild that you film two endings – one where you win and one where you don't. Did you have to practise your happy and sad face? I'm grateful I don't need to use that [sad] face ever again! But it is really hard. The winning and losing speech are similar in the weirdest way because you've already achieved so much just getting there. It is hard to find the right words as well, when everyone is looking at you and wanting you to say the most incredible things, and you want to make sure you thank everyone. You've been a finalist three times, does that mean you have held the MasterChef Australia trophy three times, but had to fake it twice? That feels quite cruel. The original season I did [in 2014], we had two endings. The first Back to Win [series in 2020], we didn't. So I've experienced it all. I've held a trophy twice, technically, but only won once. How hard was the final Pressure Test, where you had to recreate the floral dessert by Philippine pastry chef Miko Aspiras? I saw you swear when the curtain dropped to reveal it ... I'm pretty sure they stopped filming when I was trying to say a word that starts with F and ends with K! Even watching my reaction last night, I was like: 'What is happening? This is insane.' I was terrified because this [dessert] is going to decide my fate in this kitchen. But it was so delicious. Of the three finals you have competed in, which one has been the most difficult? The first one was hard because I was so young [Sharrad was only 18] and I didn't have the experience. And the second time around was really hard because it was COVID, so our families weren't there. [Winner] Emelia [Jackson] and I weren't meant to hug, but we did because it was like 'I haven't hugged someone for months'. But I definitely think this was probably the hardest. Going up against Callum, he's one of the best cooks MasterChef has ever had as a competitor. And the [Pressure Test] dish was truly hard. It was a 4½-hour cook - an absolute marathon. You are mad. Why would you put yourself through this level of stress three times? Loading It's really not normal. I'm a sucker for pain. I've said I'm not going back as a contestant, I'm hanging up my apron, I'm retiring. And then last night, I was like: 'Oh my god, it looks so fun. I would love to go back just for one cook.' And then I'm like: 'No, you're going to give yourself a heart attack.' I loved that you said on the final episode that being a mum to 15-month-old Florence had really changed your perspective on cooking. There are so many things that hold people back from achieving their goals. And sometimes it's not achievable. For me, I had a five-month-old baby, and I was like: 'What am I doing?' I breastfed full-time through the whole season, until two weeks before the end. But I wanted to show Floss you can do whatever you want to, if you put your mind to it. She also started her solids journey while I was filming. Those solids must be pretty good when your mum is on MasterChef Australia. She was eating all the things I was practicing with. One day, she had marron and my husband's trying to take a photo of her, and I was like: 'Don't, people are going to think that we're such snobs feeding a nine-month-old baby marron.' But it did get the shellfish allergy test out of the way. You have faced all three sets of judges on the show – Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston in season six; Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and Melissa Leong in season 12 and now Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Allen, again, in season 17 – who is the most intimidating? That is a hard one. I feel like the OG boys, back in the day, were pretty intimidating. I saw a video online the other day of Gary calling a dish disgusting. That's brutal. But I think that was a very different style of TV back then. Did any of the judges have a 'tell', like in poker, where you knew you were on a winner? Jean-Christophe always struggled to keep the emotion in. He'd always come over, mid-cook, and he'd be tasting something, and Andy would be there, trying to build the jeopardy – 'Are you going to pull this off?' – and Jean-Christophe is there smiling and tasting the sauce and saying, 'Oooh, that's delicious'. And Andy's like: 'You're not meant to say what's happening!' Loading What was the first thing you cooked once you were out of the MasterChef kitchen? Please tell me it was a cheese toastie? I consumed so many cheese toasties while I was in the green room [while filming]! It was a bowl of pork sausage ragu pasta. It was nice to have my brain switch off completely from like: 'Oh, do I have to practice this?' You think about food in the weirdest way when you're on the show, you dissect everything. So to go back to home cooking is so nice.
Refinery29
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
MasterChef Australia's Poh Ling Yeow Defends Laura Sharrad: 'People Struggle Watching Confident Females'
MasterChef Australia 2025 has been a huge success, seeing 24 experienced contestants come back to compete for the title. Now, we're at the very end — with Laura Sharrad going head-to-head with Callum Hann in the grand finale. However, some murmurs online have put a bit of a dampener on the whole celebration, mainly aimed at Laura. The MasterChef Australia 2025 contestant has been accused of receiving "favouritism" from judges Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, Andy Allen and Jean-Christophe Novelli, with some labelling her as a "judges' pet". The chef has been playing to her strengths — she runs a popular pasta bar called Nido in Adelaide — but viewers have also blasted her for cooking similar dishes for each challenge. Poh Ling Yeow tells Refinery29 Australia she's "baffled" by the hate Laura has been receiving, and says any idea the judges favour the contestant is "ludicrous". On a technical level, the contestant has proven her skill in the kitchen time and time again. "The thing that shocked me the most [when I became a judge was] how stringent and fair the whole judging process is," Poh says. "I think some [part] of me was a little bit clenched going into the job, wondering if I was going to find out all these dark secrets... I arrived to find that everything is so fair and so thorough." The biggest disconnect comes from the audience not being able to taste the food, so while Laura often serves up pasta that looks similar, the taste is never the same. "I even admit that when I was a contestant competing against [Laura] in Back to Win, I used to feel this same sentiment, because the way Laura cooks, she cooks within a wheelhouse but she's very creative within it," Poh explains. "It's a very solid and clever strategy, as opposed to someone like me who was a little bit too wild. I would be experimenting on the spot, right? And when you play that game, you have to be willing to fall from high places and understand that it's a different kind of game." Poh carefully broaches another reason Laura has been targeted by the public this season, and it comes down to the way she has been portrayed on screen. "I think people really struggle with watching highly confident females state what they want unapologetically. And Laura has always been that, right from the beginning," the host says. ' I think people really struggle with watching highly confident females state what they want unapologetically. And Laura has always been that, right from the beginning. Poh Ling Yeow on Laura Sharrad ' "Laura has shown vulnerability, but I think it's interesting that people only attach to the parts where she's having success, or she's having confidence, and when she's able to achieve what she sets out to achieve. There's something about that, that doesn't resonate with people, because they want to see people struggle all the time," she adds. MasterChef Australia is often looked as an "aspirational" and wholesome reality TV show, where amateur cooks can jump into the kitchen and triumph over adversity. With most of the returning MasterChef Australia 2025 cast being professional chefs, many with their own restaurants, the game this year has changed. Poh believes there's two different strategies you can take when you enter the MasterChef Australia competition, and from both this and previous seasons, the "high risk, high reward" style of game tends to provide audiences with characters they can root for. Sarah Todd was sent home earlier this season after providing outrageous dishes, such as her savoury vanilla slice with chicken dill, cucumber gel and garlic cream, and fans lamented the loss of the cook. "Sarah Todd, right? She cooked very conceptually through the whole thing. But the thing with that I really identified was that [she was] choosing to leave legacy before competition," Poh explains. "I feel like you're playing a different game. It's like, I want to leave a mark as to what kind of cook I am, and that's more important to me than winning... Laura has always been brilliant at [being] very highly strategic, so it's no surprise that [she's] gotten to the [finale]." ' I think it's interesting that people only attach to the parts where she's having success, or she's having confidence, and when she's able to achieve what she sets out to achieve. There's something about that, that doesn't resonate with people, because they want to see people struggle all the time. Poh Ling Yeow on Laura Sharrad ' Both Laura and Callum have been front-runners throughout the entire competition this year, and Poh thinks viewers won't be surprised by the MasterChef Australia 2025 winner. "They have absolutely been through a marathon to get here, and it is not at all sort of a surprise, so I feel like they really earned their spots," she teases. "The margins are so tiny, that it's very random in a way, it's down to micro decisions. And at this point, you've already proven your worth. Especially this season, we have made them cook their buns off." Laura has missed out on the MasterChef Australia title twice before, so it seems like this year, she's playing hard to win. If she beats Callum in the MasterChef Australia 2025 final, her strategy of securing the title over creating a lasting legacy would have paid off. If not? She'll have to come back for a fourth time. The MasterChef Australia 2025 grand finale airs on Channel 10, Tuesday 12 August at 7.30pm.
Sky News AU
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'I stopped watching': MasterChef Australia fans left furious as major detail on promotional poster appears to reveal winner of 2025 Back To Win season ahead of finale
MasterChef Australia fans are furious as they are sure the winner of the 2025 Back To Win season was accidentally revealed early on a promotional poster. Back to Win features judges Andy Allen, Sofia Levin, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Poh Ling Yeow and 24 contestants from previous seasons returning for a shot at winning the Masterchef Australia title. The winner is due to be crowned later this month, but fuming fans have spotted a promotional poster that could reveal who the victor already is. The material features contestant Laura Sharrad, the only person pictured on the poster who is still competing in the competition. The others shown have already been eliminated, while the remaining top nine are nowhere to be seen on the material. Fans recently took to Facebook to claim that this means Laura will be announced as the winner imminently, but not everyone is happy about it. "It's Laura. She's the only one that's not yet eliminated," one fan wrote. "If you believe that the poster tells you the winner, Laura is the only one left from the promo poster," another wrote. "So I guess the winner has been announced." One more fan said they hoped it wasn't Laura who won, and they would love to see Callum claim victory instead, drawing battle lines among fans. Another person chimed in, claiming Laura was decided the winner "weeks ago," as all the promos are about her and she gets the most airtime. "I stopped watching because I'm sick of watching Laura cook and getting the most air time," another person wrote. One more person pointed out that when Network 10 started the program, Laura was holding up a trophy, another sign that she could be victorious. However, others have claimed the poster does not predict the winner at all, with one person betting Laura will be booted right at the end. "I think Laura will be eliminated when it comes down to the last three or four, only because the pressure becomes too much for her," they wrote. "I predict one of the boys will win, either Callum, Declan or Ben, maybe." Another person said "there are more deserving winners than her," with a fan adding "it would be great for a man to win it for a change." The last man to win the cooking competition was Brent Draper in Season 15 before Justin Narayan claimed the title two years earlier in Season 13. The winner of this season will not only redeem the glory they missed out on in their past season but also nab a $250,000 cash prize and the coveted MasterChef trophy. The grand Finale of MasterChef Australia: Back to Win 2025 will air on Sunday, July 16th at 7:30 PM.
The Spinoff
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Meet the New Zealander on his second lap of the Masterchef kitchen
Tara Ward talks to Ben Macdonald about the highs and lows of competing on Masterchef Australia: Back to Win. Anyone who watches Masterchef Australia will know about the Masterchef pantry. It's a feast for the eyes, a room filled with endless shelves of colourful produce and huge fridges stuffed full of delicious delicacies. Few of us will ever experience its culinary wonders in person – apart from New Zealander Ben Macdonald, who has experienced the delights of that luxurious larder not once, but twice, and reckons there's no other kitchen cupboard like it. 'Oh my god, the pantry is amazing,' MacDonald gasps down the phone. 'You go in and there's all these crazy things you dream of cooking with: truffles, pigeons, salt cod.' Macdonald is back among the truffles and salt cod for the new season of Masterchef Australia: Back to Win, which began this week on TVNZ. Back to Win features 24 former contestants from across the show's 16 seasons, who are returning for a second – and in some cases, third – chance to win the esteemed title of Masterchef and $250,000 in prize money. Macdonald is the season's only international competitor, having first appeared on the show in 2014, and he believes the contents of the pantry have only gotten more impressive since then. Back in 2014, Macdonald was a keen amateur chef living in Brisbane and working as a software consultant when he applied for season six of Masterchef Australia. He came sixth, cooking for guest judges like Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White, and describes his original Masterchef experience as 'an absolute rollercoaster'. 'You go from winning something and being elated, to a few episodes later doing something wrong and you're one step away from being out the door,' he says. By the time Masterchef came calling again a decade later, Macdonald had spent several years working in restaurants in Australia and Aotearoa. He was back working in software in his hometown of Auckland and showing his season of Masterchef to his two young daughters, when the offer to return to the show came through. He'd always considered his stint on the culinary series to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and says he couldn't resist from donning the famous Masterchef apron once again. While he knew going back to Masterchef wouldn't be easy, Macdonald was surprised at how challenging the series had become. 'I thought I'd just step back in, but then you can't find a peeler and you can't find the panko crumbs in the pantry, and it's like, 'oh my god'.' Those early nerves were magnified by the intense competition and a far higher standard of cooking than in 2014 (one contestant is even a judge on Masterchef Singapore). 'There are no bad chefs,' says Macdonald of his fellow competitors. 'It was super competitive, right from day one.' Macdonald prepared by memorising recipes and practicing certain techniques, but quickly realised that the knowledge he'd gained over the past decade was his most valuable asset of all. Masterchef demands quick thinking and steady focus, and he found that being creative – choosing an unusual ingredient from the pantry, for example – was the best way to stand out from the competition. 'You've got to put a lot of thought into it, because if you choose wrong from the beginning, it's very hard to change halfway through.' It's only the first week of the Back to Win season, but Macdonald has already proved he's the chef to watch. In the show's second challenge, he cooked for Gordon Ramsay and won the coveted immunity pin, impressing the hot-headed celebrity judge with his calmness under pressure and attention to detail. Ramsay called Macdonald's meal of roasted duck breast 'exceptional' (despite Macdonald mixing up his sauces), while Macdonald described cooking for Ramsay a 'money can't buy' experience. 'When things go well, it's an unbelievable feeling,' Macdonald says of the show's intense, fast-paced challenges. 'As long as you can stay cool in those situations, there's a massive opportunity to flourish.' No matter how stressful those frenetic pantry raids get, Macdonald has no regrets about returning to what he thinks is the best reality show on television. 'Masterchef Australia isn't there to make heroes and villains,' he says. 'It's there to showcase people's true personalities and the food they make.' What you see is what you get on Masterchef, he believes, and while cooking on the telly was hard work, Macdonald was determined to make his second time in the Masterchef kitchen his most enjoyable yet. 'It's really, really hard, but it's also really, really fun. Sometimes you have a disaster, but you just have to laugh about it.' As for anyone who wants to follow him into the Masterchef pantry, Macdonald reckons they should just give it a go.
