Julie Goodwin: MasterChef stays true to self

Julie Goodwin was catapulted into the national spotlight when she won the first series of MasterChef in 2009 and, while the experience exposed her to new techniques, she remained true to her personal style of cooking and remains so today.

For Julie, who is part of a star-studded line-up at this year’s Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival (August 22-24), cooking is about creating food that’s full of flavour and easy to share.

She has taken this philosophy onto MasterChef twice more since 2009 - MasterChef Australia All-Stars in 2012 and the Fans & Favourites season in 2022.

“I think each time I’ve gone onto MasterChef it’s kind of confirmed that my style has developed from cooking for my family,” she explains.

“I love food that can be shared in the middle of the table. Especially this last time (on MasterChef), it was a real celebration of each of our individual styles and what we bring, literally, to the table.

“I felt I had permission to cook the way I love to cook, which is big, sharing food.”

During the past 15 years, she has become a bestselling cookbook author, media personality and mental health advocate.

Julie is in the process of writing another cookbook and is a columnist for the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine. She is also developing a pilot cooking program inside juvenile detention centres.

“I go into the detention centre and do a six-week program with a handful of boys and I teach them how to cook. It’s more than just the cooking that we do together. We sit down around a table, share the meal. It’s a community-building exercise,” Julie explains.

“My goal is teach them not just those cooking skills but also what it looks like to create that family environment and share the responsibility of cooking and cleaning and to share the food that’s on the table.”

Julie is hoping the program will broaden participants’ perception of food in a similar way MasterChef did for her.

“I’ve been exposed to a lot more in the food world since MasterChef. Prior to that, I was cooking for my little family and friends. Since then, it’s opened up a whole new world of food for me,” she says.

“I’ve developed a lot of skills that I never had before but in terms of my style, that hasn’t changed.”

She has instead used those skills, ideas and new ingredients to enhance her style.

So, what does she enjoy cooking at the moment?

“The weather has started to cool down so I’m doing those beautiful slow braises,” Julie says.

When she spoke to Moreton Daily, she had recently cooked old-school, braised chops for her parents.

“My mum teared up. She said it reminded her of being a kid,” Julie says.

“When it’s cold, I like the hearty stuff. It’s always got to be big flavours. It’s got to be tasty. It can’t be dull. We’re not on the planet long enough to eat boring food.”

See Julie in action

Julie is hoping her cooking demonstrations at Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival will inspire audiences to try cooking a new dish.

“Hopefully they’ll walk away with some little tips and tricks that make their cooking easier. Hopefully they’ll also walk away with some fun memories and having had a bit of laugh and just a really good time,” she says.

“I actually love getting face to face with people. It’s completely different to putting out a cookbook or doing something on the telly. I love to chat with people. I love to answer questions. I love to ask questions … I love to find out what people want to know.

“The energy at these events is always so up and so wonderful and people are happy to be there. I draw so much joy from these things.”

Speaking with Julie, it’s evident cooking has brought much more to her life than tasty cuisine.

“It’s my love language. That sounds cringy, but it’s the truth. What it’s brought to my life is not just a way to bring my family together or my friends together. It also gives me the ability to say things I don’t have words for,” she explains.

“If somebody’s grieving, I don’t know how to say anything that’s helpful to that person, but I can drop in a dish and relieve them of the pressure of worrying about what’s for dinner.

“Anyone can do that. In those moments, it doesn’t matter if it’s a gourmet MasterChef meal or if it’s just a hot barbecue chicken and some boxed salad.

“It’s given me tools to reach out to people that I wouldn’t otherwise have.”

To find out more about Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival, visit the website