Warners Bay home cook and mother of four Stephanie de Sousa has made it through to the top 24 of MasterChef Australia 2019.
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The 45-year-old made her television debut at the season premiere on Monday night, won an apron and will now cook for this year's MasterChef crown.
Each contestant had one hour to produce their signature dish. If all three judges liked the dish, the contestant received an apron and went straight into the MasterChef competition. If all three judges said no, they headed home. If one of the judges saw enough promise, they were asked to cook again the following night.
Stephanie's dish - Pani Puri with chickpea marsala, tamarind paste and cucumber sauce - was given the tick of approval by Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston.
Even last year's MasterChef winner, Sashi Cheliah, was impressed. When told she was cooking the dish from scratch, he responded with one word: "Wow".
A human resources specialist by trade, Stephanie's life revolves around cooking.
"When I was very young I would help - or hinder, not sure which - my Grandma to bake. She would make bread, fruit buns, cakes and biscuits," Stephanie said.
"After I left home and started a family, I had to cook every day. It has never been a chore for me and I find it a great way to de-stress after a big day or to relax on the weekend.
"My husband Neville grew up in Goa in India and he exposed me to the world of Indian food and I have been learning about spices ever since."
Her strengths and weaknesses as a cook?
"I think my strength is I have a wide variety of different dishes I can cook well, both sweet and savoury. I think that may also be my weakness," Stephanie said.
"Maybe I should try and stick to one cuisine or sweet or savoury, but I just love cooking and learning everything. My plating is also pretty awful."
Not only has she applied to appear on MasterChef on three previous occasions, Stephanie has resigned from her job of 15 years to focus on the competition.
"I don't want to have a safety net when this adventure is over. I want to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way, or that I make for myself," she explained.
"Winning MasterChef will seriously flip my life on its head. I have put my career aspirations aside while I raised my family. While Noah is still only 10, he is also growing up, and doesn't need me as much as he did. I am determined to make a career for myself from this experience."
It's been a big week for Newcastle and cooking talent. On Monday night Matt Gawthrop and Luke Stewart won the My Kitchen Rules grand final and $250,000 in prize money.
MasterChef Australia screens on Network 10.
