MasterChef Australia’s Emelia Jackson reveals why she almost turned down doing the show’s returnee season – before placing first and winning a $250,000 cash prize
She became a fan favourite after finishing third on MasterChef Australia in 2014.
And when pastry chef Emelia Jackson returned to the reality hit for 2020’s Back to Win Season, she went home with $250,000 after triumphing over her rivals.
But now the 34-year-old mother of two has revealed to Yahoo that at first, she actually knocked back the offer to appear on the show again.
In the new interview, published on Friday, Emelia explained that she told the MasterChef producers ‘no’ initially, because she had her pastry business to look after.
It was only when another contestant pulled out that the producers managed to convince Emelia to return to MasterChef for the Back to Win season.
MasterChef winner Emelia Jackson initially knocked back producers of the hit series after they asked her to return to the show for their Back to Win season
When the pastry chef returned to the reality hit for 2020’s Back to Win Season, she went home with $250,000 after triumphing over her rivals
‘It was a really, really hard call for me because they were filming from January until June, and that was my peak wedding cake season,’ Emelia said on Friday.
‘I had built my business up to this really great business and I thought, if I walk away this is potentially going to end my business for me,’ she continued.
‘I’m gonna have to start from scratch and I’m gonna have to get new clients and work out all of that again.’
A skilled entrepreneur, Emelia is planning to launch packet mixes into the market while completing her second cookbook
Elsewhere in the chat, Emelia revealed the arduous schedule she undertook while filming her season.
She said that each night after filming she would run home to bake orders at night for her business.
A skilled entrepreneur, Emelia is planning to launch packet mixes into the market while she is completing her second cookbook.
In 2021, she welcomed her first child with partner Craig Gersbach.
Sharing a photo of herself cradling her newborn, the Melbourne-based pastry chef wrote in the caption: ‘In love in a way I never knew was possible.’
