MasterChef Australia 2025: Back To Win came to a nail-biting conclusion on Tuesday night, with Laura Sharrad being crowned the winner, scoring seven more points than runner-up Callum Hann to take out the title.
The finale episode pushed the remaining two contestants to their limits, with the scores being dead even after round one. However, it was the round two pressure test set by Filipino pastry chef Miko Aspiras that saw Laura gain an advantage of Callum as they both tried to recreate a complex Botanical Garden cake dish.
The time limit was a struggle for the grand finalists, and both had issues with their chocolate pebbles; Laura’s were too small, and Callum’s were rushed. Because of the time crunch, Callum went rogue, rather than following the Pressure Test instructions.
While both contestants presented a complete dessert to the judges, Callum was clearly overwhelmed by the end of the Pressure Test and burst into tears when the time ran out.
This resulted in Laura earning 80 out of 90 points in total, with Callum earning 73.
MasterChef fans ‘heartbroken’ for Callum after tense second challenge
With things being so close in the competition, the Pressure Test was Callum’s downfall and fans felt bitterly disappointed for him.
“The ending of the second cook, it broke me seeing him cry. [It was] like he could feel the trophy slipping away, with his family up in the gantry cheering him on,” one person said in a Reddit thread. “That aching realisation, it’s not that easy. I was crying right along with him, it just hit so hard.”
“Good for Laura finally winning but I’m extremely sad about Callum. In my opinion, Callum, alongside Sarah, are the cooks that elevated this season,” someone else commented. “I’m just absolutely gutted that either of them didn’t win.”
MasterChef fans call out editing of finale: ‘It was so obvious’
While there is no disputing Laura was a worthy winner, some fans called out the editing of the episode (and the season), saying the “winning edit” was obvious.
“Coming here 10 minutes into the episode, it’s already obvious with the edit Laura is going to win,” one person remarked on Reddit.
“Laura deserved the win, but I wish the editing didn’t have us already knowing she was going to win from day one,” someone else said.
Other MasterChef fans felt annoyed about the flack Laura copped all season from viewers, with armchair critics accusing the show and judges of favouritism when it came to the talented chef.
“The series editing was bad in how it stacked the deck for months — but I still think if she [Laura] had been a man with that kind of editing and time showed to her (COUGH, CALLUM), that the perspective would be completely different,” one person theorised. “Laura also constantly praised her competitors’ talent and constantly spoke of how hard she would have to strive to beat them. She’s humble and hardworking, just like Callum. I’m just tired of the obvious misogyny.”
Stream the MasterChef Australia grand finale on 10Play.
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