The creative and performing arts teacher from Noosa beat her friendly rival Matt Sinclair in a high-pressure final, which was aired on Tuesday night.
The pair battled it out, cooking three courses including the devious 91 step, five-and-a-half-hour-long dessert designed by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal – with Elena ultimately taking out the win by just two points 86–84.
Watch the victorious moment in the video player below! Post continues…
“Well I think since the last three cooks were such mammoth tasks – it really was all a blur,” the art teacher told Woman’s Day Online about watching it again last night.
“You often just focus on one moment at a time and your often unaware of everything happening around you. So it was really nice watching it back and reflect upon it.”
One of the things fans adored about the final two was there strong friendship, which shone through when Elena stepped in to help Matt complete his final dessert challenge.
Elena beat Matt in a very close call, with the end results being 86-84.
The two are still firm friends despite having to compete against each other/
“You see a mate in trouble or struggling and you just want to help them out. You don’t really think twice about it. And he would have done the same for me,” she told us.
The duo will no doubt remain friends, with Elena explaining, “We’ve got such a mutual respect and admiration for each other which is awesome and we’ll definitely catch up regularly. My parents don’t live too far from where he lives so I get visit him whenever I see them!”
Speaking of huge $250k win, it seems the teacher side of Elena will come into play.
Watch Elena help out Matt in the video below. Post continues…
Laughing, she quipped that there would be no splurging; rather, “I’m most excited about having financial freedom. I can now set myself up and travel and do work experience at a variety of places that I admire and respect.”
And her loved ones couldn’t be happier that she is realising her foodie dreams… but that doesn’t mean she can get out of cooking family dinners!
“I guess they’ll all want me to cook more,” she laughed.
With her celebrations just beginning, we expect there’ll be quite a lot of eating… and cooking on Elena’s part!
“I’m happy to do so because I love it! I imagine there’ll be quite a few evenings filled with delicious food among friends and family.”
Now that she’s the new queen of the kitchen, Elena can focus on her dream – to open a farm cafe. In fact she’s already got the next 12 months mapped out.
Elena adores cooking any type of seafood especially crayfish!
“Hopefully I’ll have made steps closer to opening up my farm cafe,” she revealed.
“Being on my own property and growing my own produce and taking the right steps to realise that! I know I need a lot more work experience and I can see success in the farm cafe.”
Adding, “I still have so much to learn. I’m pretty hungry for the knowledge.”
With her name now sitting proudly among former MasterChef greats like Julie Goodwin and Poh Ling Yeow – we asked her who her favourite past contestant is.
Elena would love to head back to America and do some work experience for Curtis!
“Lots of them actually!”
“I love what Callum Hann has done with his sprout cooking school and Marion Grasby with her line of gluten free range.”
“I adore that Julie Goodwin still produces really good family meals that are so accessible to families. So many!”
“I’ve been a longtime fan of the show, and that pushed me to apply – and then my sister pushed me over the edge to actually apply!”
Elena loves Callum’s food philosophy combined with teaching.
No doubt Elena will inspire the next batch of cooks entering the MasterChef kitchen and the 32-year-old has one piece of advice for them.
“You really need to practice, practice, practice! Especially on the things that scare you and are out of your comfort zone.”
“If you don’t know it or don’t experience with that cooking technique or ingredient, undoubtedly those are the things you’ll come across in a challenge!”
Click the gallery below to check out our favourite MasterChef contestants of all time!
