Taking place through July and August, MasterChef All Stars returns your favourite contestants from the first three series to the place where their food dreams came true: the MasterChef Kitchen.

Cooking for their favourite charities, as well as the inaugural All-Stars trophy, 12 of MasterChef’s most beloved alumni will be putting their passion on a plate over a series of iconic challenges that promise to delight and entice viewers like never before.

Australia’s first MasterChef Julie Goodwin heads the series one team of Poh-Ling Yeow, Chris Badenoch and Justine Schofield. Callum Hann captains series two competitors Marion Grasby, Jonathan Daddia and Aaron Harvie. And last but certainly not least, dessert queen and series three winner Kate Bracks will lead Dani Venn, Hayden Quinn and Kumar Pereira.

“I am really excited to be back in the kitchen in a less stressful situation. It should be a lot of fun; being a bit more relaxed might make for better cooking, too!” enthuses Julie Goodwin, delighted to be creating more magical MasterChef memories while cooking for a wonderful cause.

“My charity is Oxfam Australia. I am involved in their GROW campaign, which is addressing issues of hunger and poverty,” she explains. “The world does produce enough food for everyone, but one billion people go hungry every day. Oxfam is working to change that and I am proud to be a part of their efforts.”

It’s been a whirlwind three years for Julie since her famous MasterChef victory, but time has done nothing to dull that special feeling of lifting the title. “My very favourite moment was when my family walked through the doors at the end of the finale,” she reflects. “I didn’t know they were coming and I hadn’t seen them for so long. My heart nearly burst with happiness.”

Preparing to reunite with her series one peers, and share the kitchen with some of their successors, is there a particular All Star Julie’s looking forward to comparing notes with? “Everyone! I feel like I know them all from watching the series and I am excited to meet a whole group of people who have been through the same experience.”

Of course before the culinary games begin, MasterChef 2012 has a champion to crown. Fans have a thrilling week of challenges in Italy, the return of the legendary Heston Blumenthal and the dramatic finale to look forward to. After which it’ll be the All Stars’ turn to shine.

“MasterChef All Stars is a fantastic example of ‘event TV.’ It is set to be fun, compelling and an excellent [London 2012] alternative for viewers,” said Network Ten Chief Programming Officer, David Mott. “The MasterChef alumni continue to hold a special interest and affection with our audience and seeing them take on a new challenge will be an absolute joy to watch.”