The finale consisted of three rounds, with points given at every round. The contestant with the highest amount of points at the end would win MasterChef. The first round was a taste test and Poh tasted Gary's bourguignon while Julie was out of the kitchen. If Poh named an ingredient that wasn't in the dish, it would be Julie's turn.
Poh received one point for every ingredient she named correctly. She named 11 correct ingredients until she said port, which wasn't in the dish. Julie named 12 ingredients correctly until she also said port and the round was over with Julie one point ahead.
The next round was an invention test, with chef and author Curtis Stone as guest judge. The core ingredient was the same as the contestants' first ever invention test - a whole chicken.
Julie was roasting her chicken on the crown and cooking rolled thighs. Poh was cooking a traditional Chinese chicken dish with a twist, as well as a little dessert cake on the side. They had an hour and a half to finish their dishes.
Julie forgot about her pointed potato galettes in the oven and burnt them, so she decided to make mini chips instead. When they had plated up, Poh and Julie hugged each other.
Gary thought Poh's Hainanese chicken rice with pandan chiffon cakes was a strange dish to choose - he thought she'd so something more complex. Matt, on the other hand, was excited. Upon tasting it, Gary said the flavour was good and the chicken was tender and soft. Curtis enjoyed the three different condiments Poh served on the side.
Julie served sage and garlic chicken with celeriac purée and a spinach ball. Curtis thought both the chicken breast and leg were cooked perfectly and the celeriac purée was creamy and comforting. Gary said the only thing that didn't work were the mini chips. Matt said the dish was a perfect example of a modern Australian restaurant dish.
Gary and George gave Poh's dish 9 out of 10. Matt gave it 8 points and Curtis rated it 7 out of 10. Gary, George and Matt each scored Julie's dish 9 out of 10 and Curtis rated it 7. After the second round, Poh was on 44 points and Julie was on 46 points.
Round three was a pressure test and Matt Moran carried in a chocolate tasting plate, one of his signature ARIA dishes. The highly technical dish involved about nine different processes, all of which involved chocolate. Julie and Poh had two and half hours to reproduce the dish.
Gary was taken aback when Poh said the tempered chocolate for the chocolate pipe was "just melted chocolate." He told her it was a technique that can take years to perfect. Poh decided not to put the chocolate in the oven for five seconds as per the recipe and completed this step on the stove instead. Poh also put the pipe of tempered chocolate in the fridge, even though she said she had been told not to.
Curtis tasted Julie's sorbet and said it was grainy so she made another batch. Poh baked several batches of macarons because she wasn't happy with how they were turning out.
Looking at her finished chocolate pipe, Poh said it didn't look as sexy as it should have and she should have followed the recipe. Both Julie and Poh plated up in time and hugged each other again.
Curtis was impressed Poh had made her dish look just as beautiful as Matt Moran's. George said Poh's chocolate tart was smashing but her sorbet was a let down. Gary declared the tempered chocolate pipe didn't have the snap and lovely smooth shine it should have.
Gary thought Julie's chocolate pipe had a beautiful snap. Curtis said Julie's dish looked beautiful but not as good as Poh's. He thought there was too much pastry in the tart. George said the chocolate tart was beautiful, the macarons chewy and delicious, and Julie's sorbet was beautiful. Matt also thought Julie's sorbet was a stand-out.
The other top 20 contestants and the chefs that have appeared on MasterChef watched as the judges delivered their verdict. Gary, Matt and Curtis gave Poh's dish 8 out of 10. George gave it 7 points. Poh finished with 75 points in total.
All four judges gave Julie 9 out of 10, making her Australia's first MasterChef. The contestants gathered around Julie to congratulate her.
George told Poh she has an amazing future of her and she's a "legend." Curtis told Poh she has "a real art" with putting food on a plate and offered to pay for her flight to join his team for a week's shoot in LA.
Julie thanked the other contestants, the guest chefs, and Sarah and the judges. Julie was overjoyed to see her husband and sons walk into the MasterChef kitchen and Poh's family also joined her for the last moments of MasterChef Australia 2009.
