The judges welcome this year's crop of amateur chefs.
The Top 50 are introduced to their first challenge held at the stunning Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.
Alla Wolf-Tasker is one of Alice's culinary heroes and Alice takes a moment to reminisce on their chance meeting a few years ago.
Jacques Reymond critiques Kath's dish and mentions that she maybe doing some wrong and teaches her the way he would do it.
As Kylie soon finds out, it's not all about the thrills in the MasterChef kitchen.
The Captains are pitted against each other to produce the best dish in 90 seconds amongst the Chinese Gardens.
Matt introduces Kath to Maggie as they find out they have lots in common including their passion for the Arts, being messy Chefs and not liking recipes.
Filled with New Jersey attitude, Buddy aka 'Cake Boss' shows the girls his cake making skills under any condition.
Tregan seduces Matt with her Strawberries and Cream dessert.
The contestants' first challenge in Tasmania is to catch their own salmon - the bigger, the better.
After all the hustle and bustle in the kicthen, the teams kick back and serve their lovely desserts to their distinugished high tea guests.
In a surprise twist by the judges, Sam and Andy celebrate as the judges reward the boys team work and decide that no one will be going home.
Dalvinder is not coping with the Pressure Test challenge and seems a little all over the place.
With only seconds to go, Jamie does his thing and literally throws on the finishing touches.
A the mammoth Shangri-la Hotel challenge, Ben and Andy use their canapes to get in with the ladies.
It's an Elimination Challnege to remember as Julia and Mario frantically grab their components from the pantry and start on their 5 minute dishes.
The contestants get the red carpet treatment as a reward for catering a 400-guest beautiful Hindu wedding.
Unfortunately Ben followed Emma's path and incorrectly named the same cake, so they find themselves in an Elimination Challenge against each other.
In a cheeky move by the MasterChef judges, Tregan is given an axe to discover the potential core ingredients for her challenge.
Heston shows the contestants how to make ice cream, the Heston way!
Amina is the first one in the spraying booth and is having a ball.
The contestants are ecstatic when told that they will be heading to Italy!
Marco's stern yet firm hand reminds Andy of what not to do.
With the clock ticking, the contestants get cracking to produce a dish that represents how they were inspired by Rome.
Gary takes a peek at Alice's dish in the oven and notices that there might be something wrong with the temperature.
The contestants go in blind as they have to recreate Gualtiero Marchesi's amazing risotto.
Alice has done a fabulous job in trying to feed the masses with her Antipasti dish.
It's a cave of wonders as the Italian experts have reserved a culatello just for the Masterclass.
Using an ingredient of their choice, Audra, Julia and Beau hang on to create a Chinese inspired dish that will impress Kylie and the judges.
Patissier of Pain Adriano Zumbo has a new sweet trick up his sleeve.
The contestants arrive at the Opera House for their first finals week challenge.
The kitchen welcomes culinary legends Jacques Reymond, Shannon Bennett, Mark Best and Peter Doyle.
It's judgement day as Andy, Julia and Audra stand before the judges to face their finale cook off
The contestants have to cater for MasterChef diners and luckily are allowed the help of the previous contestants to plate up
Andy and Julia go head to head in the ultimate Dessert Challenge set by Christine Manfield
And the winner is….
The winner is...Andy! Andy is crowned the winner of MasterChef 2012 as he beats Julia's score by 10 points
Runner Up Journey Gallery
Winner's Journey Gallery
Andy's Top 5 Recipes
Julia's Top 5 Recipes
Behind the Scenes: Italy Week
Jamie Oliver Special Gallery
Best of Recipe Collection: Matt Moran
Behind the Scenes: Tasmania
Best of Recipe Collection: Maggie Beer
You on a Plate
2012 Recipe Collection