WORDS Tim Kroenert

Family, faith and community are part of this MasterChef’s winning recipe.

Julie Goodwin never expected MasterChef Australia to change her life. And in fact, despite winning the three-month televised cooking contest, after which she stepped back into the world to find she’d become a minor celebrity, she confesses to Australian Catholics that things haven’t really changed that much at all.

‘The fundamentals, the really important stuff, hasn’t changed’, Julie says. ‘My priority is still my family. I’ve got everything I had before: a beautiful strong marriage, great kids and great friends. We still do the kinds of things we did socially and in the community.’

That said, Julie’s schedule does look quite different. Prior to MasterChef, she worked with her husband, Mick, on their IT business. They fitted this around their three sons’ school and social lives. ‘It was a  very happy, blessed sort of life’, Julie says.

It still is, although these days Julie has had to step away from the IT business in order to free up time for writing and cooking engagements, and the other responsibilities that go along with being Australia’s first MasterChef.

‘I’ve got a whole lot of projects that I didn’t anticipate’, she says. ‘I’ve got to meet a heap of new people.’ She’s also written a cookbook, Our Family Table, built around her own family recipes and based on an idea that she first pitched to food stylist, author and magazine editor Donna Hay as part of the MasterChef competition.

‘To write a book is a dream come true for me’, says Julie. ‘Now I am earning a living cooking and writing, which are two of my favourite things to do.’

Julie can be outspoken at times. During a speech at last year’s Australasian Catholic Press Association Awards presentation, Julie had some tough words to say about the treatment of some of  her MasterChef co-contestants by  parts of the media. Asked now about life in the public eye, her response is more pragmatic.

‘I don’t really understand celebrity’, she says. ‘I guess when I used to see people off TV I would get excited. But I’m just me, I haven’t changed. It’s a bit strange to be recognised when I don’t feel any different in myself than I did a year ago. But the people who approach me are positive, excited and happy, so it’s not a difficult adjustment to make.’

Julie is a Catholic, and says that her faith has always played a significant role in her life. She was particularly grateful for her faith during her time on MasterChef.

‘We had to deal with some other stuff outside of the competition. My nan and Mick’s mother both became very sick, so we knew we were going to lose them. Mick and I being apart for that period is the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do in our marriage. So having that faith to draw on was critical to our ability to make it through that time.

‘My faith isn’t just about the prayer side of it’, she adds. ‘It’s about people. Our parish community and our family group all rallied around Mick and brought meals and took the kids to their after-school stuff. So not just in a prayerful way but in a very practical way our faith and our community helped to get us through that time.’

Julie seems content. There’s no sense that victory and celebrity have gone to her head. If winning MasterChef has made a happy life happier, it’s thanks to the generosity, determination and skill with which she conducted herself throughout the competition.

‘You need to keep your eyes open for opportunities’, she says. ‘Sometimes when you take opportunities you weren’t expecting, amazing things happen. I’d encourage people to sometimes do things that scare you, because it’s incredible what can come out of that.’

Our Family Table will be published by Random House Australia on 1 April. RRP: $49.95.

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