MasterChef star Julie Goodwin praises the show for its ‘richness and diversity’

She won the very first season of MasterChef Australia back in 2009.

And on Wednesday night, Julie Goodwin was in tears as she watched the contestants open boxes to discover old family photos during series 12 of the cooking show.

The 49-year-old chef praised the producers for sharing contestants Khanh Ong and Reynold Poernomo’s emotional family backstories.

‘Bravo #MasterChefAU for allowing these stories on air,’ she tweeted. 

‘The richness and diversity and pain so many of us come from. What a crap time to not be able to hug each other.’

During Wednesday night’s episode, viewers were in tears minutes into the show, as contestants opened boxes to discover old family photos.

And the emotional rollercoaster continued as Khanh Ong and Reynold Poernomo revealed the emotional backstories behind their childhood photos.

After each being presented with a family photo sent in by their loved ones, both Khanh and Reynold, 26, struggled to contain their emotions as they discussed their experiences as immigrants.

Khanh revealed his photo was of him and his parents when he was two years old, and it had been taken on the day they arrived in Australia.

‘I was born in a refugee camp. And that’s… after we got approved to migrate,’ he sobbed, calling it ‘a massive change in our lifestyle’.

Reynold’s photo showed him as a little boy sitting in between cardboard boxes, and he revealed he was often left alone as a child because his parents would be hard at work in their restaurant.

‘I remember immigration getting my parents taken away for a little bit. The restaurant closed down, of course. My brother was getting food for me when I was hungry,’ he said in between tears.

His moving story caused judge Melissa Leong and many of his fellow contestants to break down.

MasterChef continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten