November 25th, 2009 9:55 pm

Eamon Sullivan wins ‘Celebrity MasterChef Australia’

Eamon Sullivan has beaten Miss Australia Rachel Finch and musician Kirk Pengilly in the finale of ‘Celebrity MasterChef Australia’.

Eamon Sullivan has out-cooked fellow finalists Rachel Finch and Kirk Pengilly to become Australia’s first ‘Celebrity MasterChef’.

After 10 weeks of  challenges and 15 eliminations, the ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ finale came down to the three iconic challenges, the taste test, the invention test and the final pressure test.

In round one, the taste test, the contestants had to identify as many ingredients as they could in guest chef Sean Cononolly’s Paella.

Sullivan bowed out after only 2 ingredients, after mistakenly naming thyme instead of rosemary. Finch went on to name 8 ingredients, behind Pengilly with a maximum 10.

In the second round, the dessert-only invention test, the contestants were were given the option to choose either chocolate or strawberries as their core ingredient.

Pengilly’s rich dark chocolate cake with whipped cream and chocolate-dipped raspberries was a big hit with the judges, but the presentation left something to be desired. He scored 22 out of a possible 30 points, placing him in the lead with 32 out of 40.

After several failed attempts at a strawberry bavarois, Finch turned to plan B to serve up a strawberry semifreddo, which the judges likened to a children’s popsicle — giving her a score of 14 out of 30, brining her total to 22 out of 40.

In an attempt to recoup some significantly needed points, Sullivan challenged himself by creating a mutli-layered chocolate delice. In the end his gamble paid off, with the judges praising his chocolate dessert giving him a perfect score of 30 out of 30 — tying him with Pengilly with 32 out of 40.

In the final round, the pressure test, the contestants were pushed to the edge as they attempted to recreate a baked chicken in salt crust with hay, a dish created by ‘2010 The Age Good Food Guide, Chef of the Year’ Andrew McConnell.

As the clock ticked down, the contestants struggled to plate up all the components of the dish. It came right down to the wire for Pengilly, who finished in the final seconds.

Finch received 24 out of 30 for the final challenge, giving her a grand total of 46 points; followed by Pengilly with 23 out of 30, totalling 55 points; but in the end Sullivan came out on top with 27 out of 30, making him the winner with 59 points.

Sullivan wins the title of Australia’s first ‘Celebrity MasterChef’, plus $50,000 for his charity Swim, Survive, Stay Alive.

‘Celebrity MasterChef’ returns next year on Network Ten, along with the original and a ‘Junior MasterChef’ spin-off.