MasterChef Competitions

Olivia Cruse

Food Coordinator

The Food Studies kitchen was buzzing with excitement as students took part in this year’s Middle School (Term 2, Week 10) and Senior School MasterChef  (Term 3, Week 4) competitions.

Both events were a fantastic celebration of creativity, teamwork and culinary skill, with students producing an outstanding range of dishes under pressure. Each competition challenged students to create a dish that championed a particular ingredient, with a different featured ingredient assigned to each student team of 2 students. 

Competitors were also presented with a mystery box of ingredients and were required to select three ingredients to incorporate into their dish. Middle School students were given the mystery box ingredients in advance, allowing them time to plan and practise, while Senior School students discovered their ingredients on the day and had to think on their feet.

The standard of cooking was exceptional across both competitions, and our judges had the difficult task of selecting the winning dishes.

The Middle School MasterChef competition was judged by Sally Goss, Shane Gemmola and Shalini Akhil, who were incredibly impressed by the students’ creativity, organisation and presentation skills.

The Senior School MasterChef competition was judged by Tayler Roberts, Paul Bolitho and myself. Tayler Roberts embraced the spirit of the occasion (see photos below) and was undoubtedly our best-dressed judge, bringing great energy and enthusiasm to the event.

A huge congratulations to all students who participated. The quality of the dishes was exceptional, and it was wonderful to see students demonstrating confidence, resilience and teamwork in the kitchen. You can see some of the student comments below.

We also thank our judges, student photographers and the staff who helped make both competitions such memorable and successful events. We are incredibly proud of everyone involved and look forward to another exciting MasterChef competition next year!

Maddie Steendam 

Year 8

MasterChef was such an amazing opportunity to showcase our cooking skills, connect with peers, and most importantly have fun! I had a great time and really enjoyed the friendly competition. 

Zoe Cohen & Sienna Mulcahy - Year 12

Being in MasterChef 2026 was a fun opportunity. 

It really tested our creativity and teamwork in the kitchen, and it was very interesting to work in the competitive environment unlike our normal food classes. The teachers run it incredibly well, and whilst stressful it was so amazing to take part in.

Daniel Dodd - Year 10

I really enjoyed this experience because l got to have fun cooking with my friend while rushing around trying to finish our dish under time pressure. In the end l though we made a really nice cake, so we can be very proud.

 Sophie Pearce & Lily Swearer - Year 12

We went into this planning to make a fine dinning experience with burnt butter honey panna cotta, honey raspberry coulis, sage honey tuile, honey glass, and goats cheese honey mouse. Out pannacotta did not set in true master chef fashion, so with 5 minutes left we had to make a deconstructed panna cotta. Even though there was some crying with 30 seconds to go (!), we had the most fun we have had all year. Thankyou Ms Ganci and Ms Cruse and judges! 

Havish Bajaj - Year 11

Doing MasterChef was the perfect mix of intense pressure and creative excitement! Ava and l had so much fun brainstorming ideas after the random mystery box ingredients were revealed.

Maeve Darwin Holthuyzen & and Owen Hughes - Year 10

From MasterChef we learned how to cook under pressure and with limited ingredients. We really enjoyed cooking as partners, and we found we could adapt when things didn't go to plan.

James Barwick & George Murnane  - Year 12

Senior MasterChef was a pleasant and welcome experience, we both enjoyed ourselves and were motivated by friendly competition between peers. The challenge of incorporating chosen ingredients provided spontaneity to the event and forced chefs to adapt to new and exciting options. We would both highly recommend participation for all students in the future. 

Eva Eleftherakis & Avery Hutchinson - Year 10

We really enjoyed Senior MasterChef! It was such a fun experience to collaborate with each other and cook something creative in a short period of time. It was such a great atmosphere, and we will definitely be doing it again in the future. 

Amelie Gourley & Emily Lynch - Year 12

Doing MasterChef 2026 was so much fun, despite the challenges we had to overcome. Using the mystery ingredients was hard, but it was fun  to come up with a recipe on the spot.

Claire Rubinic & Eliza Hancock – Year 12

We has so much fun competing in the Senior MasterChef for the last time in Year 12!  We enjoyed working together to use our skills to make a creative dish. This is a fun experience l would recommend to everyone to try!