Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Miko Aspiras

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17550624120292-Composite 19.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Miko Aspiras presents his Botanic Garden dessert in &quot;MasterChef Australia&quot; as a guest judge. MasterChef Australia/Instagram"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Miko Aspiras presents his Botanic Garden dessert in &quot;MasterChef Australia&quot; as a guest judge. <em>MasterChef Australia/Instagram</em></span></span></span></div><p>Sydney-based Filipino chef Miko Aspiras had the rare opportunity to sit as a guest judge in the season 17 finale of the cooking reality show &quot;MasterChef Australia.&quot; </p><p>He challenged the two finalists, Laura Sharrad and Callum Hann, to recreate one of his signature confections: a beautiful and fully edible potted plant he called the &quot;Botanic Garden.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So this dish is composed of my petit fours,&quot; Aspiras began. &quot;The lollipop flowers are raspberry and strawberry gum truffles... The lollipop flowers are filled with strawberry and raspberry ganache, and dipped into chocolate.&quot;</p><p>&quot;And then we have the pebbles, those are profiteroles,&quot; he went on. &quot;The pebble, there&#x27;s a lot of things going on in there -- so the very middle is an earl grey tea mousse, and then the profiterole. It&#x27;s dipped into a dark chocolate coating, and then there&#x27;s a mandarin dark chocolate ganache. Then finally, the dark grey chocolate layer, and sprinkled with lemon myrtle crumble.&quot;</p><p>Everyone in the studio was already in awe of Aspiras&#x27; masterpiece, but the Filipino chef was not yet done. He went on to talk about the rest of his &quot;Botanic Garden,&quot; which also included calamansi, a Philippine lime.</p><p>&quot;These are chocolate twigs with wattleseed tuiles. We have aloe vera spikes -- for me, probably the most technical one in terms of tempering chocolate. So on the inside it&#x27;s a gel foam filling made out of calamansi. It&#x27;s a Filipino ingredient, and it&#x27;s mixed with aloe vera juice,&quot; he said. </p><p>Watch Aspiras talk about his dessert for &quot;MasterChef Australia&quot; in the video below:</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNQGBFaTzQa/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A15370868.299999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Sharrad and Hann delivered an impressive performance as they did their best to replicate Aspiras&#x27; dessert, which showcased the Filipino chef&#x27;s creativity and skill.</p><p>In the end, Sharrad emerged as the winner of the 17th season of &quot;MasterChef Australia,&quot; bringing home the $250,000 prize. </p><p>Watch the two finalists in action in the video below:</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNQJ1Q8z0Ap/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A15415082.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/ancx/food-drink/features/02/08/20/miko-aspiras-was-the-phs-most-sought-after-pastry-chefwhat-on-earth-is-he-doing-in-sydney">Considered one of the Philippines&#x27; most acclaimed pastry chefs</a>, Aspiras is known for launching concepts such as Scout&#x27;s Honor and Le Petit Soufflé.</p><p>He has been making his mark in the culinary scene in Sydney, Australia, where he moved in 2019.</p>

<p>Sydney-based Filipino chef Miko Aspiras had the rare opportunity to sit as a guest judge in the season 17 finale of the cooking reality show "MasterChef Australia."</p>

Sydney-based Filipino chef Miko Aspiras had the rare opportunity to sit as a guest judge in the season 17 finale of the cooking reality show "MasterChef Australia."

WATCH: Filipino chef Miko Aspiras challenges 'MasterChef Australia' contestants in show finale

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Lifestyle

WATCH: Filipino chef Miko Aspiras challenges 'MasterChef Australia' contestants in show finale

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 13, 2025 01:38 PM PHT

Read More:

food

Miko Aspiras

chefs

MasterChef

ABSnews

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.