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Johnathan Chew, an undergrad in Singapore, took home the MasterChef Season 3 trophy on July 3, 2022.

The 23-year-old dental student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) edged out two other contestants in the finals to win the title, as well as a number of prizes worth more than S$100,000.

These are:

• S$17,000 cash (including S$7,000 from DBS Bank)
• A book publishing deal with Marshall Cavendish
• Over S$4,000 worth of Nespresso machines, capsules and accessories
• Household and kitchen appliances from KitchenAid and Global Knives, and an exclusive black edition Thermomix
• An internship opportunity with Chef Gaggan Anand’s culinary team
• A Fullerton Hotel staycation and spa package

A narrow win

Instead of competing with only one other contestant in the finals, Chew had to battle it out with two other home cooks— a first for show's history.

They are visual arts instructor Azwandi “Andi” Robani, and car sales advisor S “Nares” Nareskanna.

The three contestants had to prepare a three-course meal of appetiser, main, and dessert for the three judges, chefs Audra Morrice, Bjorn Shen and Damian D’Silva.

Each dish was given a score out of 30 by the judges.

After the second course, Andi exited the competition for having the lowest combined score, leaving Chew and Nares to fight it out over dessert.

Chew came up with a lemongrass meringue tart, while Nares made a deconstructed mango tart.

At the end of the night, Chew won with a total of 76.5 points out of 90, beating Nares by just 1.5 points.

The champion's two other dishes were:

• Savoury tang yuan (Chinese glutinous rice balls) with mushroom bacon duxelles (finely chopped filling) and mushroom dashi broth, and
• Seared grouper with lemongrass beurre blanc (French butter-based sauce), charred kailan, picked kumquat and lemongrass crisps

Chew, who had taken a leave of absence (LOA) from school to take part in the show, said in a media statement that he was "so proud" to be Singapore's next MasterChef.

He added:

"This moment has always been a dream of mine, and clinching the trophy will motivate me to chase after all my other food dreams—like opening a bakery with my mum, which I feel is now within reach.”

Top screenshot via MeWATCH