Former world-record holder & Olympic medalist Eamon Sullivan won the series, taking home $50,000 for charity Swim Survive Stay Alive.
Contestants
Celebrity MasterChef Australia series 1 featured 18 celebrities as contestants. Network Ten officially revealed the first batch on the 3 September 2009 episode of The 7pm Project.[3] However, several contestants were revealed before Ten's official announcement of their participation.
Ten initially announced that actor Steve Bisley would also be a participant, but he later withdrew from the show. The network cited a scheduling conflict for his departure, though the ABC claimed that Ten used it as an excuse; the announcement of his participation on the show was the same day the actor was charged with assaulting his ex-wife Sally Burleigh during an argument between the former couple.[5] Rachael Finch previously auditioned for the first series of MasterChef Australia, but did not make past the initial rounds.[6]
Heat 1 - Indira Naidoo, Kirk Pengilly and Josh Thomas. Pengilly moved on to the semi-finals.
1,363,000
#2
#12
2
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Heat 2 - Michelle Bridges, Kathleen de Leon and Peter FitzSimons. Bridges moved on to the semi-finals.
1,090,000
#10
#31
3
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Heat 3 - Eamon Sullivan, Anna Bligh and Simon Westaway. Sullivan moved on to the semi-finals.
1,187,000
#7
#20
4
Wednesday 21 October 2009
Heat 4 - Alex Perry, Wendy Harmer and Simon Katich. Katich moved on to the semi-finals.
1,279,000
#3
#13
5
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Heat 5 - Rachael Finch, George Negus and Ryan O'Keefe. Finch moved on to the semi-finals.
1,150,000
#8
#26
6
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Heat 6 - Fuzzy Agolley, Alex Lloyd and Peter Rowsthorn. Lloyd moved on to semi-finals.
1,224,000
#6
#21
Finals
7
Wednesday 11 November 2009
Semi Final 1 - The first semi-final consisted of the six semi-finalists competing in an individual Mystery Box challenge, and a Christmas lunch-themed Invention Test where they competed in pairs, with one member of the worst performing pair to be eliminated. Paired with Alex Lloyd, Simon Katich was the contestant eliminated.
1,124,000
#6
#23
8
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Semi Final 2 - The five remaining contestants were required to staff the kitchen at Altitude Restaurant in Sydney. Contestants were allocated a course, and following service they must present the dish they have prepared for service to the judges for tasting, with the contestant with the worst dish to be eliminated. Michelle Bridges was the contestant eliminated.
1,076,000
#8
#29
9
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Semi Final 3 - The four remaining contestants competed in a Pressure Test involving recreating a croquembouche, with the contestant with the least accomplished dessert to be eliminated. Alex Lloyd was the contestant eliminated.
1,083,000
#7
#27
10
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Final - The final involved three rounds, a Taste Test, a dessert-only Invention Test and a Pressure Test, with points being won as the contestants progressed. Based on accumulated points, Rachael Finch and Kirk Pengilly came third and second respectively, with Eamon Sullivan declared the winner of Celebrity MasterChef Australia.