📊 The Numbers First
- 16 seasons = ≈ 300 contestants (18–25 per year)
- General-public 3-year restaurant survival (Australia): ≈ 40 % ⚖️
- MasterChef alumni 3-year survival: ≈ 33 % (5 out of 15 known ventures passed the 3-year mark) 📉
In short: fame opens doors, but most still don’t last beyond three years.
🏆 Hall-of-Fame: Still Thriving
These ventures have passed the 3-year mark or are clearly cash-flow positive:
- Sashi Cheliah – Gaja (Adelaide) & Pandan Club (Singapore) 🌏
- Andy Allen – Three Blue Ducks (Chef’s Hat, Sydney) 🦆
- Laura Sharrad – Nido & Fugazzi (Adelaide) 🍝
- Callum Hann – Lou’s Place, Olive, Roma (three venues, SA) 🍷
- Sarah Todd – Antares (Goa) – The Wine Rack (Mumbai) closed 2022, but Goa flagship survives 🌴
| Name | Collapse | Fallout |
|---|---|---|
| George Calombaris (Judge, not contestant) | Feb 2020 – Made Establishment empire (8 venues) enters voluntary administration after $7.8 m underpayment scandal 💸 | Only Gazi & Hellenic Republic (Kew) reopen under new owners |
| Reynold Poernomo (S7 & S12) | 2024 – KOI Melbourne (administration) & Monkey’s Corner (liquidation) 💥 | $2 m+ in combined debts |
💀 The Closure Parade (post-COVID)
A non-exhaustive list of pandemic-era casualties:
- Ben Ungermann – Ben & Jerry’s franchises, closed 2023 🍦
- Amina Elshafei – Nourish & Spice (Sydney), closed 2022 🌶️
- Emma Dean – Emma Dean’s Kitchen, closed 2019 🍳
- Brent Owens – Beastmode Burgers food-truck & pop-up Brent’s, closed 2019 🍔
- Khanh Ong – Cô Thành, closed 2023 🥢
- Billie McKay – The Cellar pop-up, closed 2024 🍷
- Tessa Boersma – Tessa’s (Perth), closed 2024 🥗
- Simon Toohey – Vegan On The Go, closed 2022 🌱
💡 Masterchef Alumni = the Slight Edge?
- Built-in marketing – 1–2 million viewers per episode 📺
- Cash & connections – prize money, investor offers, judge mentorship 💰
- Diversified income – cookbooks 📚, classes 🍳, brand deals 🛍️ cushion losses
Yet rent, labour shortages, and supply shocks hit them just the same ⚡.
