Celebrity Masterchef Winner: Gaurav Khanna lifts the trophy and takes home Rs 20 lakh prize money

After three months of intense cooking battle, television actor Gaurav Khanna has become the winner of the first season of Celebrity Masterchef. The actor impressed the judges with his culinary skills and creativity, ultimately walking away with the title and a cash prize of Rs 20 lakh. While Nikki Tamboli came in as the first runner-up, Tejasswi Prakash was declared the second runner-up.
Judges Farah Khan, Sanjeev Kapoor and Ranveer Brar announced him the winner in the finale episode which aired a few minutes. He was felicitated with the golden Celebrity Masterchef trophy and the coveted Coat.
For the finale round, Gaurav won the judges hearts with his soulful kathal preparation and dessert ice cream. They could not stop praising him and absolutely loved his dish.
During the finale episode, Gaurav got emotional presenting his first dish before the judges and both Sanjeev Kapoor and Ranveer Brar consoled him. Gaurav mentioned, “As an actor, I have never cried on camera, I keep my emotions away. This is my first reality show.’ Sanjeev advised him, “Ab tak shayad emotions se bhag kar yahan tak pahuche ho. Aaj se zindagi shuru karo, emotions se jud ke.” All the judges came and hugged him and encouraged him.
Gaurav Khanna’s journey on Celebrity MasterChef began on a challenging note, as his first dish — a brinjal-based recipe — was turned down by the judges. However, rather than getting discouraged, he pushed himself to do better with each round. He also shared a personal hurdle during the show, revealing that he is colour blind, which added an extra layer of difficulty to some of the tasks. Despite the setbacks, his determination and steady growth became the highlight of his journey.
Over the course of the season, Gaurav continued to wow the judges and proved himself as a strong culinary competitor. He became one of the select few to be honored with Chef Ranveer Brar’s iconic knife — a mark of deep admiration and respect. Gaurav’s creative dishes often earned him multiple spoon taps from the judging panel, highlighting his impressive execution. In one particularly moving moment, Chef Vikas Khanna gave him the highly coveted ‘spoon drop’ in response to a dessert that left everyone in the kitchen stunned. The actor also made headlines a few days ago when he was accused of plagiarism for copying a dessert created by a Switzerland-based chef. However, Vikas Khanna came out in his support and dismissed the claims.
Gaurav Khanna expresses his contentment shared, “Winning Celebrity MasterChef feels absolutely surreal. This show took me completely out of my comfort zone. Being a part of Celebrity MasterChef has been a tremendous honor, especially standing alongside legends like Chef Vikas Khanna, a Michelin-starred genius, and Chef Ranveer Brar, a true master of his craft—both guided and challenged us with so much grace. And of course, the ever-inspiring Farah Khan, whose energy and encouragement kept us going. Cooking in front of them was intense—every single day brought a new challenge that pushed me to dig deeper and give my absolute best. And today, standing here as the winner, I feel immense pride—not just for myself, but for everyone who has ever been called a misfit, for everyone who fell down but chose to rise, learn, and keep climbing until they reached the summit. It’s been an honor to compete with such wonderful and hardworking co-contestants, who inspired me daily with their passion and persistence. I’m deeply grateful to the audience and fans of the show whose love and support gave me the strength and belief that truly—nothing is impossible when you pour your heart and soul into it.”
Gaurav’s journey throughout the season was marked by determination, passion for cooking, and consistent performances that won over both the audience and the judges.