The first series of the Australian reality television series MasterChef Australia began on 27 April 2009 and aired on Network Ten, concluding on 19 July 2009 when Julie Goodwin was crowned the winner. The series was hosted by Sarah Wilson.
The inaugural season runner-up, Poh Ling Yeow is now one of the judges alongside Jean-Christophe Novelli, Sofia Levin, and season 4 winner and season 12 judge, Andy Allen
Contestants
ContestantAgeStateOccupationStatus Julie Goodwin 38 NSW Office ManagerWinner 19 July Poh Ling Yeow 35 SA ArtistRunner-up 19 JulyReturned 1 JulyEliminated 18 June Chris Badenoch 41 VIC Beer MerchantEliminated 16 July Justine Schofield 23 NSW Sales ExecutiveEliminated 15 JulyReturned 1 JulyEliminated 25 June Julia Jenkins 23 VIC Marketing SpecialistEliminated 14 July Lucas Parsons 39 NSW Coffee Shop OwnerEliminated 13 July Andre Ursini 28 SA Project ManagerEliminated 9 JulySam Ciaravolo 24 VIC Call Centre ManagerEliminated 6 July Tom Mosby 39 QLD SolicitorEliminated 2 JulyReturned 1 JulyEliminated 8 JuneEugenia "Geni" Papacostas 58 QLD Teaching AssistantEliminated 15 JuneSandra Moreno 36 QLD Stay-At-Home MumEliminated 11 JuneTrevor Forster 37 WA Navy SubmarinerEliminated 4 JuneAaron Thomas 21 VIC StudentEliminated 1 JuneKate Rodrigues 20 WA Law StudentEliminated 28 MayJosh Catalano 25 WA FishmongerEliminated 21 MayMichelle Darlington 46 NSW PhotographerEliminated 18 MayBrent Parker-Jones 40 VIC Food PhotographerEliminated 14 MayLinda Kowalski 21 VIC StudentEliminated 11 MayPasquale "Nic" Ciampa 38 VIC Wine Shop OwnerQuit 10 MayMelissa Lutton 38 QLD Graphic DesignerEliminated 7 May
Subsequent appearances
Julie Goodwin appeared on Series 2 as a guest judge for an invention test and for Masterclass. Poh Ling Yeow appeared on 1st Junior Series for a Masterclass. Andre Ursini appeared on Series 3 to give a lesson for Masterclass Julie again appeared on Series 4 to be a guest judge for a Mystery box Challenge. In a Special All Star Series for Charity, Julie and Poh took part along with Justine Schofield and Chris Badenoch. Poh came 7th, Julie came 5th, Justine came 4th & Chris came Runner Up. Joshua "Josh" Catalano appeared in the team challenge during "Wild West Week" of Series 5. Chris latter appeared when his restaurant appeared for a team challenge during "Dream Week". Julie appeared at the first Mystery box challenge & Invention test of Series 6. In a Superstar themed week in Series 7 Poh appeared as a guest for a mystery box challenge and masterclass, while Justine appeared as a guest judge for an elimination challenge. In Series 10 Julie appeared to support the top 50 during auditions, Poh meanwhile appeared during South Australia week for a masterclass. Julie later appeared along with Andre at the Semi Finals as a guest during dinner service. Poh was a mentor during the immunity challenge in Series 11. Poh and Chris appeared in Series 12. Chris was eliminated on 10 May 2020, finishing in 18th and Poh was eliminated on 5 July 2020, finishing in 6th. Poh also appeared in Series 13 as guest judge for an elimination challenge. In Series 14 Julie appeared for a chance to win the title for the 2nd time. Julie was eliminated on 5 July 2022, finishing in 5th. In Series 15 Poh appeared as a guest judge for a Mystery Box Challenge. Julie later appeared as a guest judge for an elimination challenge. In Series 16 Poh will appear as a judge. Julie & Andre later appeared as a guest for the first service challenge. Andre appeared on Series 17 and was eliminated on 1 July 2025, finishing 10th. Julie later appeared as a guest judge for an elimination challenge.
Judges George Calombaris Gary Mehigan Matt Preston
Special guests Manu Feildel – Celebrity Chef Challenge 1 Martin Boetz – Celebrity Chef Challenge 2 Pete Evans – Celebrity Chef Challenge 3 Frank Shek – Masterclass 3 Alex Herbert – Celebrity Chef Challenge 4 John Torode – Guest judge, Invention Test 4 Guy Grossi – Celebrity Chef Challenge 5 Ben O'Donoghue – Celebrity Chef Challenge 6 Donovan Cooke/Tam Kin Pak – Celebrity Chef Challenge 8 Emmanuel Stroobant – Celebrity Chef Challenge 9 Adrian Richardson – Celebrity Chef Challenge 10 Adriano Zumbo – Elimination Challenge 7 Armando Percuoco – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge Margaret Fulton – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge Jacques Reymond – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge Cheong Liew – Guest judge, Formal Dinner Challenge Luke Mangan – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 1 Matt Moran – Celebrity Chef Challenge 7 & Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 2 Bill Granger – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 3 Donna Hay – Guest judge, Finals Week Elimination Challenge 4 Peter Kuruvita – Guest judge, Fresh Seafood Team Challenge Curtis Stone – Guest judge, Seafood Team Challenge, Grand Finale Many of the guest chefs returned for the announcement of the winner, while Moran also presented a dish for the Pressure Test during the finale.
Elimination Chart No. Week 1234567891011Finals Week Mystery Box Challenge WinnerNoneNoneChrisPohTomJulieChrisPohNoneAndrePohJuliaNone Invention Test WinnerNoneSamBrentJuliaChrisJustineLucasJustineJustineNoneAndreJustineJulieChrisPohPohChrisPohJulie1JulieIN Btm 3 INGeniIN Btm 3 Btm 4 IN Win 2. 2. WINNER2PohINMelissaIN Top 3Josh Top 3 INTrevor Btm 4Sandra Btm 3 Elim 3. Btm 4 3. Win Win Win3ChrisIN IN INJosh Top 3 Btm 4 IN Win Immune 5. 5. Win Win Elim 4JustineIN IN IN IN Win Elim 1. 1. Elim 5JuliaINMelissaINBrent Elim 6LucasINMelissaINBrent Top 3 INKateIN Pass to Finale (Ep 38) Elim 7AndreIN Team WinIN Team WinINJoshIN Team WinINTrevorINSandra Btm 3 Win Win 4. Btm 4 4./Elim Eliminated (Ep 64)8Sam MelissaINBrent Btm 3 Team Win Btm 3SandraINTrevorIN Team WinIN Btm 2 Win Btm 2 7. Elim Eliminated (Ep 61)9TomIN Team Win Top 3 Team WinIN Team Win Btm 3Kate Top 3 Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 37) 6./Elim Re-Eliminated (Ep 58)10GeniIN Team Win Top 3 Team WinINJoshIN Team WinINTrevorINSandra Elim Eliminated (Ep 43)11SandraIN Team WinIN Team WinIN Team Win Top 3Kate Btm 3 Team WinIN Andre Evicted (Ep 40)12TrevorIN Team WinINBrentIN Team Win Btm 3SandraIN Sam Evicted (Ep 34)13Aaron Btm 2 Team Win Btm 3BrentINJoshIN Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 31)14Kate Top 3MichelleINBrent Btm 3 Team WinIN Sandra/Kate Evicted (Ep 28)15Josh Top 3MelissaINBrentIN Aaron Evicted (Ep 22)16MichelleINKateINBrent Elim Eliminated (Ep 19)17BrentINMelissa Aaron Evicted (Ep 16)18LindaIN Team Win Elim Eliminated (Ep 13)19NicINMelissa Quit20Melissa Btm 2 Nic Notes NoneNoneNoneNoneEvicted/EliminatedNoneNoneMelissa 7 of 10 votesto evictLinda Nic(Left)Brent 8 of 9 votesto evictMichelleJosh 5 of 7 votesto evictNoneKate 4 of 7 votesto evictAaronTrevor 4 of 5 votesto evictTomSandra 3 of 4 votesto evictGeniPohJustineNoneTom Re-EliminatedSamAndreNoneLucasJuliaJustine Re-EliminatedChrisPoh75 pointsto winJulie82 pointsto win
In Week 1, nobody from the top 20 was eliminated. During this week the judges selected the twenty finalists from the top 50. In Week 2, nobody was eliminated after the Invention Test. Instead, the bottom 2 chefs had to clean up all the dishes from the challenge. In Week 4, Julia won the Celebrity Chef Challenge and a free pass till Finals Week In Week 5, nobody was eliminated after the pressure test challenge as judges chose to spare Sam and Trevor as the differences between the dishes were too trivial. In Week 5, the vote was tied 3 to 3 for Sandra and Kate. As Team Captain, the tiebreaking vote went to Kate. She voted to send herself home. In Week 7, Justine and Lucas won the Invention Test as a pair. However, only one of them was allowed to compete in the Celebrity Chef Challenge. Justine volunteered Lucas to go. Lucas won, and got a free pass till finals week In Week 8, there was not a team challenge. Instead, the contestants competed in a wedding challenge. The top 4 performers advanced, whereas the bottom 2 performers went into a taste test elimination. In Week 9, the remaining chefs went to Hong Kong. In the Dim Sum Challenge, Sam won and elected to take Justine on his reward with him. In the High Tea/Rainbow Fish Challenge, contestants divided into groups of Justine/Julie/Andre and Chris/Sam. Julie won by outcooking finalist Lucas. In a pre-elimination challenge, Chris won immunity and won the power to select teams for elimination. He selected Justine/Julie and Sam/Andre. In Week 10, Sam and Julie were the bottom 2 performers in the Invention Test, but were spared going into elimination. In a special Dream Restaurant Challenge, Chris won and received a reward. Former contestants Justine, Poh, and Tom returned to get a second chance. In a Navy canteen, everyone prepared a meal for 200 people, the 2 meals voted for the least, went into elimination. As the elimination challenge, Tom and Sam went into a taste test elimination. In Week 11, Justine and Julie won the Invention Test as a pair. However, only one of them was allowed to compete in the Celebrity Chef Challenge. Julie won a coin flip and won the right to compete against a Celebrity Chef. Poh and Julie competed against each other in three rounds consisting of a Taste Test, an Invention Test and a Pressure Test. Points would be earned for each test, with the winner decided based on the final tally after the three tests.
Episodes and ratings Colour key: – Highest rating during the series – Lowest rating during the series