“I want to share family traditions and family recipes that are getting lost with the newer generation.”

After a gruelling 12 weeks of MasterChef Australia, filled with fiery challenges, nerve-wracking eliminations and mouthwatering dishes, the winner has finally been crowned!

And the winner is none other than fan favourite Laura Sharrad!

From the very first audition to the intense finale, she wowed the judges with her creativity and passion, and will now take home the $250,000 prize money.
(Credit: Ten)
During the Grand Finale, the competition saw Laura Sharrad and Callum Hann facing off in a high-stakes showdown.

Laura is no stranger to the MasterChef pressure cooker as she’s made the grand final twice before, placing second in both Season 6 and Season 12.

Callum has also been here before, making it to the finale in Season 2, where he took home second place, and then returning in Season 12 to finish fourth.

In the showdown, Laura and Callum were tested on everything they’ve learned throughout the competition.

Round one saw the pair having to use two key ingredients: potato and rosemary.

Both completed the round in flying colours, with both Laura and Callum scoring 38 out of 40.

Round two – a ‘botanical garden’ dessert challenge – was set by Miko Aspiras.

We saw Laura tackle the dessert during an intense four and a half hours, at the end of which, Laura took home the prize thanks to a score of 42 out of 50; Callum finished with a score of 35 out of 50.

Laura’s ganache was “textbook” according to Andy Allen. Her pebbles were gorgeously glazed, and aloe vera leaves were flavoursome. Overall, Miko compared her dish to that of a sous chef.
The semi-finals saw Jamie sadly eliminated, leaving Laura and Callum in the grand final. (Credit Ten)
After taking out the well-deserved win, Laura sat down with WHO and shared her thoughts on Miko’s challenge.

“Seeing Miko’s last piece, I mean, you could hang it in the Louvre,” she said.

“Inside, I was thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’ But tasting it really helped.”

She went on to say how proud she was to finally earn the MasterChef title.

“I came back because I did think I could genuinely win it,” she gushed.

“Coming back was definitely about proving to myself, but also just making Miko proud, and the judges, and my family; it was a very cool feeling.”

Speaking of family, not only was Laura vying to win MasterChef for the past few months, she was also juggling motherhood.

“I was a bit naive when I was saying it’s going to be fine, but it definitely caught up to me. I was exhausted most days, making sure that she [daughter Florence] was okay.

“There was definitely a lot of ‘mum guilt’ and making sure I was looking after myself, but it definitely taught me a lot of resilience. I hope it has for her too.”
Laura and Callum battled it out. (Credit: Ten)
So, what’s next for Laura Sharrad?

Well, she doesn’t want to compete on MasterChef again any time soon.

However, she did joke she’d be open to returning decades from now with fellow contestant Sarah Todd, when they’re both old grandmothers.

But in all seriousness, Laura’s hoping to soon release a new cookbook.

“I want to share family traditions and family recipes that are getting lost with the newer generation,” the MasterChef winner said.

“I want it written down so I can pass that down to Florence one day, and she can maybe pass that down to her children or her nieces and nephews and her friends.”

Congratulations again to Laura, we can’t wait to see what’s next for her in the kitchen!