After three months of invention tests, mystery boxes and service challenges and thousands of ad breaks, the winner of MasterChef Australia has been named.

Perth youth pastor Justin Narayan has triumphed in the grand finale, beating out Pete Campbell by a single point, with Kishwar Chowdhury coming in third place.

The three contestants competed in a marathon five-hour pressure test created by renowned Sydney chef, Peter Gilmore. Jock gave his worry beads a serious workout in the two and a half-hour episode, which saw contestants and viewers stressed out to the max.

Is anybody else having heart palpitations watching #MasterChefAU ?

— Maia Mitchell (@MaiaMitchell) July 13, 2021

Justin, Pete and Kishwar were required to cook two dishes simultaneously, a savoury squid noodles with shiitake custard and koji butter sauce dish from Peter’s restaurant Quay and a golden crackle dessert from his restaurant Bennelong. Inspired by the birthday party favourite, the gold crackle ditched the Coco Pops for rice crispies coated in four different kinds of chocolate.

Justin finished the challenge on a final score of 125, followed by Pete on 124 and Kishwar on 114. For their efforts, the judges announced that Pete would be awarded $30,000 as runner up, while Kishwar would take home $20,000.

Justin Narayan said: “I am just as surprised as you are right now! This has
been the experience of a lifetime.

“I feel very honoured and humbled to hold this trophy, and I’m the first to admit that I didn’t get here on my own. I owe a lot to God, the crew, the judges, my fellow contestants, my friends, my family and my fiancé. I’m not going to lie, I feel pretty blessed! I am keen to keep working hard and cooking up some good times, but for now, I’m going to enjoy this moment.”

Some viewers criticised the episode, saying that an intense pressure test of this kind doesn’t determine who is the best cook.

Next season, could you end with the final 2 serving up a 3-course menu instead of a pressure test? Let us be wowed by them coming into their own as cooks.

This show is about learning, growth and creativity – not whatever stress-induced fever dream this is. #MasterchefAU

— J Kaul (@j_kaul) July 13, 2021

While others had suggestions for new grand finale dishes.

Recreating this cursed pinnacle of Australian dessert should be the final elimination challenge on #MasterChefAU. pic.twitter.com/7ydG92TEDc

— Kate Fox (@KateFoxy) July 6, 2021

All we want to know now is, when will Pete open his restaurant and when is Kishwar’s cookbook coming out?

Relive your favourite MasterChef moments in our recap collection.