MasterChef 2019: Irini Tzortzoglou wins trophy after wowing judges with ‘posh Greek taverna’ food in close all-female final

IRINI Tzortzoglou is the winner of MasterChef 2019.

The Greek grandmother, 60, beat stiff competition from copper Delia-Maria Asser and former Rugby pro Jilly McCord in the first all-female final in the BBC show‘s 29 year history.

Irini wowed the judges with her squid risotto, griddled lamb chops and fig leaf ice cream.

“It’s posh Greek taverna,” Gregg Wallace gushed.

Meanwhile John Torode described her fig dessert as “addictive” and said that overall her food was “magical”.

Irini admitted she was “thrilled” with her final three courses and was “floating on air” as she lifted the trophy.

Fans of the show rushed to Twitter to congratulate a “worthy winner”.

The amateur cook now lives in Cumbria but is originally from the Greek island of Crete and formerly worked as a banker until she was 50.

Throughout the series Irini has impressed the judges with her ambitious cooking in the kitchen including creative takes on British classics including bangers and mash and her scrumptious fish and chips.

In the run-up to the semi-final she suffered a disaster with her puddings, but quickly regained her composure to win a place in the final.

Speaking about her time so far on the show she said that the competition brought up “personal issues” for her, such as her “inability to accept praise”.

Berfore tonight’s show, the finalists revealed they are hopeful John Torode and Gregg Wallace may soon be joined or replaced by a female judge.

Delia said: “When we found out we were all in the final and we’re all women, I think we were a bit taken aback because the chef industry is still so male-dominated.

“We feel proud to say women can do it. It would be good to have a female judge to mix it up a little, it would be quite a nice change.”

And Irini added: “My personal belief is that women should be in more senior positions in all corporations and countries, we have a lot to bring to the table in every aspect in life.

“You know unfortunately this is the reality of the world we live in, everything is very dominated by men — but I think we are breaking ground in all areas.”

The trio have gained a host of supporters over the course of the series, with Jilly even seeing Susan Calman slide into her DM’s.

She said: “I got a very kind message from Judy Murray and Susan Calman who was on Strictly, she contacted me and wished me luck, I’m just glad to be cooking not dancing to be honest.”

Last night John Torode was left in tears as Geoff was sent home.

The judge’s voice cracked as he had to announce the difficult decision, declaring that: “It’s been absolutely joyous and I hate this part of the competition.”

His sidekick Gregg Wallace stepped in to announce that Geoff was the one who didn’t make the final.

Poor Geoff told the camera that he was “gutted” by the decision but that the experience had pushed him out of his comfort zone in so many ways.

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