On July 13, Indian-origin youth pastor Justin Narayan won the 13th season of MasterChef Australia, beating out three other finalists to take home the show's coveted trophy. “It is a very humbling experience and I am absolutely honoured to be a part of it. I’m going to be a sponge and try to enjoy as much of it as I can," the 27-year-old said.
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In an Instagram post celebrating his victory, the young chef also shared an inspiring message for his followers: "Find people that believe in you. Back yourself. Go hard and hopefully you’ll surprise yourself! Whoever’s reading this I love you.”
As part of the final challenge on the cooking show, the contestants had to recreate two of Australian chef Peter Gilmore's dishes—shaved southern squid with koji butter and shiitake custard and a golden crackle. Narayan bagged a perfect score of 40/40 for the first dish, beating the other candidates to win the finale and taking home a sum of $250,000 as prize money.
What's really influenced Narayan's cooking is his multi-cultural background. The Masterchef winner hails from Perth, Western Australia, and comes with Fijian and Indian ancestry. Throughout his time on the show, he continually won the hearts of judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo with Indian dishes like chicken curry, pickle salad, Indian chicken tacos, and more. Loyal Masterchef Australia fans may also already know that Narayan isn't the first Indian-origin person to win the reality show. In 2018, prison guard Sashi Cheliah won the tenth season of the series too.