Excited to see who will be next 'MasterChef Australia' judges: Larissa Takchi

It is the end of an era, says MasterChef Australia season 11 winner Larissa Takchi on the exit of George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan as the judges, but at the same time, she is excited to see their replacements. Calombaris, Preston, and Mehigan, who have been associated with "MasterChef Australia" since the beginning, will not be returning on the show from next season onwards. "They have been with the show for such a long time. It feels like an end of an era. But at the same time, I believe it will be exciting to see who all will be judging the show next season.

"It will be wonderful to see what the new judges bring to the show. It will be a challenge. If you see the whole nature and format of the show, I believe it is possible that it could even get better next season. So yeah I'm sad but also excited," Larrisa told PTI in a telephonic interview from Sydney. In the season finale, Larissa prevailed over fellow contestants -- Tessa Boersma and Simon Toohey -- by scoring 85/90, including a perfect score of 30/30 for her dessert, a Szechuan Pavlova with Beetroot and Blackberry. She is the youngest "Masterchef Australia" winner.

"It's amazing. I'm really happy with the outcome obviously. It was a good one. I have put in so much hard work and ultimately being an award for it is the most satisfying feeling. It also feels great to be the youngest 'Masterchef' winner in history," she says, reflecting back on her win. Many of the previous winners have expressed their desire to become a judge on the show one day but Larissa says the thought has not yet crossed her mind because she has still so much to learn.

"I don't have much experience today. There were rumors going around (about her becoming a judge) but they are just rumors. There is no substance to that." Before "MasterChef", Larissa worked as a manager in her mother's restaurant and she says this experience definitely came in handy during the competition.

"I have been working at my mom's restaurant for about eight years. I started with some basic stuff and then worked as a waitress. Gradually, I became the restaurant manager and got better at the job. I have also done some internships in desserts. "This experience has definitely helped me in the competition. It came handy in moments of pressure and problem-solving."

As for the future, Larissa aims to open her own restaurant in her hometown Dural, a suburb of Sydney. "I wish to open my restaurant in Dural, my hometown. I would probably buy a huge piece of land where I can set up a farm and establish a restaurant there. So it will be a mix of the farm-to-table dining experience. I also plan to open a popup restaurant.

"But there are so many things I need to do before I get there. I need to work at a kitchen or at the pop-up restaurant at my mom's place," she says. The eleventh season of "MasterChef Australia" will air in India on Star World from September 16.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)