Sashi Cheliah took out the title of Australian MasterChef during the 2018 grand finale, which aired on Network Ten on Tuesday night.
Sashi achieved the highest-ever score in an Australian MasterChef finale with 93 out of 100, beating out runner-up Ben Borsht, who had scored 77.
“It’s a very weird feeling,” the winner tells TV WEEK of the moment he realised he had won the competition. “I never thought this would happen!
“I was literally jumping up and down screaming and cheering. It’s very hard to explain but it was a very beautiful feeling.”
Sashi celebrates his victory.
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The ecstatic prison guard was awarded $250,000 after taking out the top spot, so how does he plan to spend his MasterChef money?
While most regular folk may be tempted to blow their winnings on a few impulse purchases, Sashi, 39, has a solid plan to spend his coins wisely.
Sashi intends to open his own business, but says he needs to learn more about the food industry before putting his plan in to action.
“The prize money is going in to my business, that I’m working on starting… I don’t know when!” he says.
“I definitely have an idea of starting a restaurant, so that money is going in to my business.”
Sashi is planning to open his own business.
Sashi admits he is hoping to secure more training before opening his own restaurant.
“[I want] to learn more about the food industry. I know I can cook good food, but cooking alone is not everything in the food industry.
“I want to have some training. I want to learn about how to run a proper business, run a restaurant and how to employ people. There are a lot of things for me to learn.”
We can’t wait to see what Sashi does next!
One thing’s for sure, his wife, Rebecca, and sons, Marcus and Ryan, were thrilled by the win.
Sashi with his family.
“My wife was speechless,” he says. “So happy she couldn’t even speak, she was fighting for words! After I finished Heston’s dish my youngest son came running down crying, so it was all very emotional and at the same time very happy.
“We will be celebrating tonight,” Sashi said after the grand finale.
