I notice families of Billie and Sarah were brought in to the MC kitchen before the start of round 1 of grand final tonight. A little change from last year when families of the grand finalists came into the kitchen between round 1 and round 2.
MasterChef Australia Crowns Its First Double Winner.
Billie McKay Wins MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites.
Already a member of the illustrious winnerâs circle, Billie McKay was thrilled to have re-written history as the first cook ever to win MasterChef Australia twice.
It was the final day for MasterChef Australia 2022, and Sarah and Billie were greeted by the judges, and warm applause from their fellow contestants on the gantry.
The grand finale challenge took place over two rounds. In the first round, Sarah and Billie had a choice between three classic MasterChef challenges; they were presented with a mystery box containing nine random ingredients, a brief which allowed an open pantry, an open garden, and a feature ingredient which sat underneath a cloche. Sarah and Billie both had the opportunity to remove one of the three challenges from contention, leaving them with the âbrief challengeâ which Melissa revealed was to cook a dish that was both sweet and savoury in 75 minutes.
Sarah was first up for tasting, and Jock said it was a brave move for her to make chicken wings, but what she had done made them luxury. The judges said you could taste clean, white, fresh chicken wing, and Sarahâs gravy was incredibly well balanced with beautiful pops of sweet and savoury. Andy said it was clear that Sarah had hit the brief, and Melissa agreed that there was refinement and consideration in every element.
After the judges scored Sarahâs dish, Billie brought her sweet and savoury dessert to the table. As Jock served the panna cotta, he could see it was not fully set and Billie was devastated. Melissa said she was disappointed that the panna cotta didnât set, but praised Billie for her sound flavours, the honeycomb was the last element on the palate, and it was beautifully crunchy and perfectly balanced with cumin.
When the judges revealed the round one scores, Sarah received 9/10 from both Jock and Andy, and an 8/10 from Melissa, giving her a total score of 26/30. Billie was awarded 7/10 from each of the judges, giving her a total score of 21/30.
In the second round there were 40 points up for grabs, and it was a MasterChef Australia classic, the pressure test. The guest chef who set the challenge was a megastar and someone who thinks about food unlike anybody else. The top two and gantry were left in no surprise as Heston Blumenthal was welcomed to the MasterChef kitchen, having already set three MasterChef Australia grand finale pressure tests, the room knew his challenge would be epic.
Jock announced that as Billie had worked at The Fat Duck, the dish Heston had chosen was not from that restaurant, but instead one of his historical dishes from Dinner By Heston. Heston revealed his Taffety Tart and Sarah and Billie were amazed as they took a closer look, marvelling at the complex layers of apple compote, puff pastry, crumbs, fennel, fluid gel and crystalised flowers. Andy explained that they had five hours and 15 minutes to replicate Hestonâs dish in flavour, texture and presentation.
It was time for the final tasting of the season, and first to present their Taffety Tart was Sarah. On appearance the judges said it was very impressive, but the ice cream was soft and melting as they served. The pastry was a little tougher than the original, but the texture and flavour of her fluid gel was as good as the original, and the crystalised rose petals were beautiful. Heston said Sarah had done a pretty impressive job, but the judges admitted that the dish wasnât perfect.
Billie was next to the tasting room and she was hopeful that her efforts to redo both the pastry and crumble had been worth it. Heston was impressed by Billieâs dish, and Andy agreed there was another level of precision. As they sliced through, Melissa said it was like a hot knife through butter, and when they tasted, the judgesâ praise was universal. Heston said there was a real finesse to what Billie had achieved, the ice cream texture was wonderful and he admired the distinct layers.
Sarah was first to receive her final scores, 7/10 from Andy and Heston, and 8/10 from Jock and Melissa, giving her a total of 30/40 for round two, and a grand total of 56/70. It meant Billie needed a near-perfect score in round two to win, and she was awarded 9/10 from Heston, Andy and Jock, and a staggering perfect score of 10/10 from Melissa, giving her a total of 37/40 and a grand total of 58/70.
Billie was crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia 2022, securing her name on the coveted trophy for a second time and pocketing $250,000. The judges also revealed that Sarah would be awarded $30,000 to help her with her culinary ambitions, and Daniel would walk away with $20,000 for reaching third place.
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News Corp reports many Twitter users were concerned about Heston Blumenthalâs entrance to the MasterChef kitchen before the pressure test, and questioned whether he was ill after he appeared to limp. 10 said Heston was recovering from a foot injury on the day of filming.
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Good to see the right person win. The runner up was the biggest âI amâ. She used I, I, I, so many times. Does everyone know she has restaurants in Mumbai. 
She is a good cook but how big is that ego. Congratulations Billie.
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Congratulations to Billie 
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MasterChef Australia: A Fan Favourite.
MasterChef Australia Cooks Up Biggest Live Stream Audiences Ever And Biggest TV Shares Since 2020.
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The Winner Announced: 1.22 million national viewers. Peaked at 1.23 million.
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The Winner Announced: 204% bigger than its competition.
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Grand Finale Part 2: 1.04 million national viewers. Peaked at 1.23 million.
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Grand Finale Part 2: 90% bigger than its competition.
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The Winner Announced and Grand Finale Part 2 #1 and #2 shows of the night in under 50s and all key demos.
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840,000 total national audience across the season.
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Highest shares since 2020.
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#1 in its timeslot in 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s across the season.
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Biggest live stream audience for the series.
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Live stream up 22% year-on-year.
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62% growth with 7-day TV and BVOD audiences.
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Viewers taste winning MasterChef dish thanks to Deliveroo and Mediabrands Content Studio.
In its 14th season, MasterChef Australiaâs new twist on a traditional recipe saw the show bring back past contestants to battle against everyday home cooks in MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites.
1.22 million Australians, watched favourite, Billie McKay, take the title of MasterChef Australia 2022 in The Winner Announced.
It was the most watched entertainment show of the night and achieved the biggest ever MasterChef Australia live stream audience. The Winner Announced and Grand Finale Part 2 were the #1 and #2 shows of the night in under 50s and all key demos.
Returning for their third main season, judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, were joined by some of the best chefs from Australia and overseas including Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White, Maggie Beer, Rick Stein, Adriano Zumbo, Curtis Stone, Kirsten Tibballs and Matt Stone.
MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites was watched by a national total average audience of 840,000 across the season and achieved its biggest television shares since 2021.
With the addition of 7-day television time shift and BVOD, MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites saw an increase of 62% on its overnight television average audience. The season achieved its biggest ever live stream audience on 10 Play averaging 22,000 viewers, up 22% on 2021.
Social engagement with MasterChef Australia saw impressions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter exceed 426 million.
MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites season in review:
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National total average audience (including 7-day TV and BVOD): 840,000 viewers.
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Capital city total average audience : 660,000.
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Live stream audience on 10 Play: 22,000 biggest ever live stream audience, up 22%.
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Minutes viewed: Over 416 million minutes viewed.
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Facebook: Over 340 million impressions, reached 153 million.
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Facebook: Top post âWorld Chocolate Dayâ video reaching 8.4 million.
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Instagram: 77 million impressions.
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Instagram: Top post âAldo/Jock Italianâ reel reaching 542,000.
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Twitter: Over 9 million impressions.
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Twitter: Top post âGrand Finalistsâ image reaching 40,000.
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TikTok: 30 million video views.
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TikTok: Top post âJulie de-moulding chocolateâ image reaching 5.4 million.
Paramount ANZâs SVP Content & Programming, Daniel Monaghan, said: âCongratulations to MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites winner, Billie McKay. This yearsâ season proves that MasterChef Australia holds a special place in viewerâs hearts.
âIn 2009, MasterChef Australia paved the way for prime-time cooking shows and made Julie Goodwin a household name. In 2022, it continues to transform, inspire the nation, and impress the worldâs best chefs â and made Julie Goodwinâs name a trending hashtag on Twitter.
âThank you to Melissa, Jock and Andy â it was wonderful to see them back on our screens, as well as our favourite contestants and new batch of hopefuls. With the mix of nostalgia from returning contestants and the excitement from our new hopefuls, this season added a layer of emotion to the MasterChef rollercoaster, which was perfectly portrayed by Marty Benson and the Endemol Shine Australia team. And thank you to the Network 10 teams who continue to deliver premium support and results to the MasterChef franchise, Network 10 viewers and our commercial partners.â
Judges, chefs, contestants, and fans werenât the only ones to return to the kitchen, favourite sponsors returned with new ideas and big results.
Paramount ANZâs National Sales Director, Lisa Squillace, said: âIn its 14th season, MasterChef Australia remains unlike any other format, where premium integration translates into immediate sales uplift for sponsors.
âOur Effect and Imagine teams continue to deliver our sponsors unique, creative integrations in ways that benefit brands, complement the MasterChef format, and adds value for the viewer.
âA prime example of this is MasterChef Australiaâs âBacon Me Go Nutsâ Choc-Tops partnership with Deliveroo and Mediabrands Content Studio. In an Australian first, viewers could experience a dish inspired by what they have seen in the show immediately after the winner was announced. Deliveroo saw immediate results with an increase in traffic for the night.
âMasterChef Australiaâs total national audience, measured by VOZ, delivers sponsors incremental reach of up to 62% beyond metro overnight audiences.
âMasterChef Australiaâs legacy and new sponsors have been brave and trusted the team at Network 10 to produce quality integrations for their brands. Thank you to Coles, Harvey Norman, a2 Milk, Deliveroo, Bulla, Cobram Estate, LâOR Espresso, Somat, MG Motors, Lite nâ Easy, Ultimate by Danone, Leggoâs and all our other partners for your continued and valued support.â
MasterChef Australia is produced for Network 10 by Endemol Shine Australia and will be back for its 15th season in 2023.
Source: OzTAM, 5 City Metro, Regional TAM, Combined Aggregate Markets, OzTAM National VPM, Virtual Australia, Consolidated 7. Increase for total audience based on National total audience vs. Metro Overnight. Series commercial shares based on Consolidated 7. % Bigger than competition based on overnight audience average of Nine/Seven audience in timeslot.
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I find it so strange knowing they shoot two endings - with each contestant winning. Do the constants not find out until broadcast? Do they film the real ending first to make sure the emotions are as real as possible? Imagine having to fake pretend you won - even more so the families of the contestants having to âactâ.
Yes, the contestants donât find out the actual result until it is broadcast. Thatâs why many finalists have held viewing parties with their relatives and friends.
Unless if Iâve missed something, how would they not know considering the scores are revealed in front of them?
The judges would have revealed two different sets of scores during filming of alternate endings.
Using last nightâs pressure test as an example, one set of scores (there were broadcast) had Billie getting 9+9+9+10 = 37 points and Sarah receiving 7+7+8+8 = 30 points, so Billie finished two points ahead of Sarah in the grand total (58-56). I think in the other ending, Billie would still have received a higher score than Sarah in the pressure test, but not enough to make up the five point gap from round 1, and therefore Sarah would have won the title.
^ That is completely ridiculous.
It sort of takes away from the moment once you know they do that.
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Sarah flew out of Melbourne yesterday to India to film a new TV show and visit her restaurant Antares in Goa, but not before posting on social media about her time in this season of MasterChef.
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So many âIâsâ. 
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Season 14 premiered on W channel in Britain last night (Tuesday morning Australian time), and will air from Monday to Friday nights at 7pm.
