Vinnie Gibaldi was crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia 2026 after defeating Petro Papathomas in a tense two-round grand finale.
In the finale, the pair first tackled a Superstar Mystery Box featuring ingredients calling back to celebrity guests from throughout the season. Vinnie was forced into a dramatic last-minute pivot after overcooking his duck, switching to flathead with just 15 minutes remaining. The gamble paid off, giving him a 37-32 lead from the outset.
The deciding final challenge was a mammoth five-hour Pressure Test set by pastry chef Cherish Finden, with the finalists recreating her intricate Chinese Afternoon Tea. Vinnie impressed with his ability to recover from mistakes and ultimately finished with 80 points to Petro’s 67.
After being crowned as the winner of MasterChef, Vinnie was lost for words. “I don’t really have any words…that’s just insane,” Vinnie said after winning. “I’m so so grateful for absolutely everything.”
Despite clearly getting emotional, was this all an act? Like a lot of reality competitions, MasterChef Australia films two versions of the winner’s announcement to protect the ending from being spoiled.
This means that Vinnie only just found out that he won MasterChef — the TV announcement was one of two alternate endings filmed. In fact, Vinnie exclusively told Chattr he received a secret phone call from a producer on Sunday morning to learn of his victory.
“I found out in the morning. The producers, they did say ‘We’ll give you a call in the morning if you want?’ and I was very much like yes. I knew [I’d won] the morning of [the finale],” he told Chattr.
“It was pretty awesome. I remember I was in the car and I was just like doing a little dance. All this time, all that waiting and all the work that I put in that competition… it was very, very cool.”
Petro admits he had to film a fake MasterChef Australia finale
For Petro, he exclusively told Chattr that he only learned he was runner-up watching it on Sunday night with his friends and family. Petro admitted the show had filmed different winner outcomes.
“We filmed the multiple endings, but we didn’t find out the winner,” he said. “I found out whilst I was watching.”
This meant that Petro had to film himself winning MasterChef — only to find out months later that he placed runner-up. Brutal, right? “It is a bit weird,” Petro admits. “Yeah, it is a little bit weird. But we have to do it because we don’t want the result to leak.”
Despite not knowing his fate, Petro had suspicions that Vinnie was the winner. “I only really found out I was runner up when I was watching it, and I kind of suspected that I was. I think I had already processed a bit of it,” he shared.
“But obviously, there is still some disappointment about the results, and maybe I wish I’d done better or that sort of stuff. But I’m just putting that behind me and being grateful for what I was a part of and what I was able to do, and move on to the next.”
MasterChef Australia can be streamed on 10Play.
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