MasterChef winner Vinnie Gibaldi reveals the huge secret he kept from everyone

Vinnie Gibaldi spent an entire day pretending he had no idea he’d just won MasterChef Australia.

After producers offered the 25-year-old registered nurse the chance to learn the result ahead of the grand finale, Vinnie couldn’t resist taking the call. What followed was one of the biggest moments of his life, and the hardest secret he’d ever had to keep.

“The producers call us on the day if we want to know the result, and I said, ‘Yes, call me please,'” Vinnie tells TV WEEK. “It was probably one of the best phone calls I’ve ever had.”

There was just one catch.

“I didn’t tell my girlfriend, my family, nobody,” he laughs. “They kept asking, ‘Did you get the call?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, they called… but I decided at the last minute I wanted to find out with everyone else.'”

Later that night, surrounded by girlfriend Bridget, family, friends and fellow contestants at a packed pub, Vinnie finally got to celebrate publicly as he was crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia 2026.

“It was very loud,” he laughs. “I remember watching MasterChef and seeing Nat [Thaipun] and Laura [Sharrad] and thinking, ‘These people are incredible.’ Now that’s also me. I had a bit of imposter syndrome, but it’s pretty bloody awesome.”

One of the finales most emotional moments came when Vinnie’s dad, a chef himself, rushed down from the gantry to hug his son after his standout first-round cook.

“Having a background in food, I feel like he probably feels a bit closer to me now,” Vinnie says. “But he probably still thinks he’s better than me!”

Now $250,000 richer, Vinnie is deciding whether to return to work as a registered nurse or dive headfirst into his dream career in the kitchen.

“I’m very green,” he says. “I just want to get out there, learn absolutely everything and take every opportunity I can. And I really want to move out with Bridge and this money would help with that so much. I’m very, very grateful.”