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Emelia Jackson describes her personality as "a slow burn", the kind that takes a while to reveal itself.
In a genre of TV so often stacked with big, screen-time baiting personalities, the MasterChef: Back to Win star was certainly among the quiet achievers of this season.
And achieve she did.
Watch: Just 30 seconds of pure joy as Emelia is crowned the winner. (Post continues below.)
After 15 weeks and 61 episodes, the Victorian was last night crowned the winner of the stalwart cooking competition, which rested on a final three-course tussle with her close friend, Laura Sharrad.
As she hugged her competitor after the announcement, microphones captured her repeating one word: "sorry".
"It was really bittersweet," Emelia told Mamamia. "There was a range of emotions to navigate. I was so excited and just felt over the moon to have won, as you would expect. But then that was matched with instant heartbreak for Loz, because the competition meant so much to her. She put her heart and soul into it."
Emelia's win came on the back of a flawless pistachio financier dessert, and what appeared to be a recent surge in confidence.
Over the past few weeks viewers saw the true depth of her self-assuredness and wit.
As Emelia felled giants of the show, she too earned the odd comment from keyboard warriors questioning whether she was "deserving" of her position. As did Poh Ling Yeow.
"I get that we're on TV, but we're definitely just humans trying our best. And the thing is, 99.9 per cent of those [critics] wouldn't have the balls to say it to your face," she said.
"I just wish people would be more considerate."
Still, she's had plenty of people in her corner: fans, friends, her partner, with whom she bought a house in December, right before filming started.
And now she's focused on putting her $250,000 prize money into boosting her cake business with a range of luxe packet mixes. (You can already buy her finale-winning financier mix via the Emelia Jackson website. She insists it's a simple "just add butter and water" situation, so culinary muppets like this writer don't have to miss out.)
To those struggling to back themselves in their own ventures, she offers this advice:
"Women need to drop the preconceived notion that we have to fit a mould. We can be whoever we want to be. I'm not big on affirmations, but if you're finding yourself stuck in this mindset where you think you're not good enough, actively work on that, actively tell yourself that you're good at something, tell someone else that you're good at something. Everyone is amazing at their own passions, and I really think that we should own that more - we should celebrate it and own it."
Read more:
- Mamamia recaps the MasterChef 2020 finale: A scorched hand and an ominous freezer door alarm.
- MasterChef fans have picked their villains. It's no coincidence they're all women.
- "I considered walking away." Everything we know about MasterChef's frontrunner Emelia Jackson.
Feature image: Channel 10.