At 20, the Barossa man has managed to beat off 22 contenders from around the nation, making him runner-up in this season’s television series MasterChef.

On Sunday night he was narrowly defeated by Adam Liaw, also from SA, who was announced winner in the final show.

Callum, who was studying engineering in Adelaide, will take up chef and television judge George Colombaris’ offer of a three-month scholarship and $10,000 cash.

The time will allow Callum to perfect his skills in George’s restaurants while the money will help with his living expenses.

On Monday Callum told the Herald he was looking forward to coming home for a week or two to sort out his life and catch up with family and friends.

“From what I’ve heard the Barossa has been overwhelming with support,” he said.

“To know that a whole area was behind me was really positive.”

Callum said his greatest encouragement to enter the show came from his girlfriend Chloe and his sister’s boyfriend Daniel Murphy.

“He (Daniel) was one of the chefs I worked with at 1918 and spent a lot of time with me in the restaurant and was very keen to help me out.”

“Chloe was the one who told me to have a red hot go at it,” he added.

While Callum only appeared on the small screen for three months, his role with MasterChef meant being away from home for the past eight months.

Callum explained in that time he didn’t necessarily prefer a certain dish against another but did say he and Adam started a record for eating steak and chips after they acquired a deep fryer.

“We managed to perfect the chips and we just couldn’t stop eating them, ” Callum said.

“I think we could have put a bit of weight on.” Callum added he would one day like to open a restaurant in the Barossa.

He said he would first need to find his food style and learn more about operating a business, “because cooking is only part of it”.

Meanwhile, Callum’s supporters are keen as mustard to celebrate his success.