He reminds me of Andy. Calm, cool and collected.
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Lauren Zonfrillo made a poignant post on social media today, on what would have been Jock’s 50th birthday.
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RIP Jock
You may remember that Casper won Sanjeev Kapoor’s mystery box challenge and got to have a masterclass with the Indian chef. Here is the video of Sanjeev teaching Casper on making Tandoori Salmon.
Also I found this lurking on social media.
buongiorno
Vinnie Gibaldi Crowned MasterChef Australia
2026 Winner.
An Unforgettable Grand Finale Ends An Extraordinary Season.
After months of extraordinary cooking, remarkable moments and fierce competition, Vinnie Gibaldi has been crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia 2026, taking home the coveted trophy and $250,000 in prize money.
Vinnie triumphed over close friend Petro Papathomas in an emotional Grand Finale that showcased the creativity, resilience and technical brilliance that have defined an unforgettable season.
Facing one final mystery box challenge before the competition’s ultimate pressure test, both finalists delivered ambitious dishes that reflected just how far they had come on their MasterChef Australia journeys.
When disaster struck and his duck was overcooked in round one, Vinnie refused to let his dream slip away. Drawing on skills he had practised after Josh Niland’s visit to the MasterChef Australia kitchen, he completely reinvented his dish, producing a beautifully cooked hibachi flathead that earned widespread praise from the judges and gave him a crucial five-point lead heading into the final challenge.
Standing between the finalists and the title was one of the world’s most formidable pastry chefs, Cherish Finden, whose spectacular Chinese Afternoon Tea pressure test demanded precision, composure and perfection across more than 150 intricate steps.
Across five intense hours, both finalists battled technical setbacks, mounting pressure and raw emotion as they recreated Cherish’s extraordinary petit gâteaux.
Petro mounted a determined fightback with an outstanding black sesame cheesecake teapot, but Vinnie’s consistency and composure across the challenge proved decisive. His exceptional mandarin petit gâteau was described as every bit as good as Cherish’s own, helping him secure an outstanding final score of 80 points to Petro’s 67.
Overcome with emotion after being announced the winner, Vinnie said: “I don’t really have any words to be honest, I feel like that’s just insane! I couldn’t have imagined it from the first day, but I am so, so grateful for absolutely everything that I have experienced here, all the friends that I have made, all the people I’ve met and just how far I’ve come. I couldn’t have done it without all the support from everyone.”
Paying tribute to his fellow finalist, Vinnie added: "I’m so proud of you, man, and honestly, it was just a blast cooking alongside you this whole time, every time, every cook.”
Petro graciously congratulated his friend on the victory: “I’m really happy for Vinnie, he’s worked really hard and he deserves it. I’m very proud of what I’ve done throughout the competition, I just missed the mark today.”
Vinnie’s victory marks the culmination of a remarkable journey that saw him continually grow in confidence, embrace every challenge and evolve into one of the competition’s most exciting and accomplished cooks. Now, he joins the prestigious list of MasterChef Australia champions as he embarks on the next chapter of his culinary career, with $250,000 to help realise his future.
Petro finishes as runner-up, taking home $40,000, while Aaron receives $10,000 for finishing third, bringing an extraordinary season of MasterChef Australia to a memorable close.
MasterChef Australia is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (ESA), part of media and entertainment group, Banijay Entertainment, and is distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.
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It was a lopsided finale. Everything that could go wrong for Petro, did go wrong.
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Vinni was no doubt the outright winner based on those cooks but I feel like we were missing some points as to why some of the judges to be so much harsher on Petro. It was interesting how Jean-Christophe scored Petro a 10 for the first dish but the others much lower. It’s like they were trying to find faults.
When it came to the Pressure test, I don’t think it was completely lopsided. It looked like Vinni did 2/3 well and Petro 2/3 well. Just different ones. I get that Petro’s flaw seemed to be more overpowering and he didn’t finish all the finessing on the presentation, the score difference just seemed dramatic.
But that’s another season wrapped and it was a great season. Very likeable cast. The only let down was the lack of out of kitchen challenges, which I pray they fix next year. The show will become very one note if they keep it that way again.
BTS photos and videos from last night’s finale by this season’s contestants
Hannah
Dot
https://www.instagram.com/p/Db2gXCDEyHn/
Jeff
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbzum5vxGs4/
All eliminated contestants received a copy of Poh’s cookbook, What I Cook When Nobody’s Watching, as a parting gift.
