MasterChef winner Emelia Jackson snagged the coveted trophy after a gruelling three-course service challenge in the grand finale, beating runner-up Laura Sharrad with her incredible dessert.
WATCH: Emelia Jackson’s reaction to winning MasterChef 2020
The cake queen spoke to New Idea about her redemption win after coming third in Season six and reveals she’d love to return to the cooking show a third time as a judge!
“I was truly blown away. I was standing there expecting them to call out Laura’s name,” Emelia says.
“I definitely think having experienced it and just missing out … the drive to win this year was just so much more. I was doubting myself every step of the way. The competition I was up against was so strong and everyone was so highly skilled and had so much experience, so there was never a point I thought, ‘I’ve got this in the bag’.”
Having such a strong bond with her competition bestie Laura, Emelia says it was strange going head-to-head with her once again after Laura came second six years ago.
“I knew that that was going to be a tough hurdle for me because we are so close. We were living together in the same apartment at the time!” Emelia says.
“I have so much respect for Laura and what she does and how talented she is. I always thought she was going to be the toughest for me to beat.’’
Thanks to the coronavirus, Emelia couldn’t celebrate her big win with all her loved ones – instead having a Zoom call with family during the Melbourne lockdown.
“Once lockdown is lifted, I’ll be able to have a bit of a party with all my friends,” she laughs.
And as for the possibility of returning to our screens as a judge, Emelia says she’d love to.
‘‘Absolutely. It would be so strange to get that insight … I’ve been a contestant now twice and it would be really interesting to see what it’s like on the other side.’’
Emelia isn’t the only former contestant eyeing a plum judging gig. According to sources, fan favourite Callum Hann has signed on to host Junior MasterChef.
The Adelaide chef – who is a devoted family man and father of baby daughter Elle – is a perfect choice to mentor the young contestants.
“He is a natural choice as he has an online cooking school with a section devoted to kids’ cooking,” an insider tells New Idea. “He ticks every box big time. After his elimination, social media was a Callum lovefest.’’
For more, pick up a copy of New Idea. On sale now!
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
