“It’s So Much More Intense Than I Imagined”: MasterChef’s Wynona Davies on Feeling the Heat

The sixth aspiring cook to leave the MasterChef Australia kitchen was marketing whiz Wynona Davies, after her cucumber wasn’t quite cool enough.

The contestants were tasked with creating dishes inspired by famous food sayings and while Davies began by feeling confident about her confit salmon with pickled cucumber, she soon lost faith when she realised her last-minute cucumber granita didn’t really fit on the plate.

Still, Davies said that it was a dream come true to be on the reality cooking show, having auditioned previously.

“I auditioned two years ago, it was something I really wanted to do,” Davies told POPSUGAR Australia during her elimination chat. “And I had to go out and learn a bit more and upskill a little bit and then somehow managed to get on this season.”

When asked how one prepares before heading into a competition like MasterChef, Davies explains, “The thing with that kitchen is that you need to be able to think on the spot so you never really know what you’re gonna get.

“But I think if you have a good idea of the staple ingredients and what you can make out of those, you’ve always got a backup option.”

Thinking on the spot is, of course, one element to succeeding on the show, dealing with the intense time limits is another thing all together, but Davies assures us that the tasks are not impossible.

“It’s so much more intense than I ever imagined,” she said. “But you get it done and even though the time limit sometimes seems outrageous, you just do what you have to do and get that dish up and hope for the best.”

Speaking about the times when she was “off-duty” from cooking and cheering the other contestants on from the gantry, Davies said it was definitely bittersweet.

“I think that every opportunity to cook is an experience and you become a better cook every time you cook in the kitchen,” she said. “So you want to be down there with everyone, but it is nice to have those days off where you can just chill for a minute and take it all in.”

Reflecting on what she learned about herself during her time on MasterChef Australia, Davies revealed that she has taken away a valuable lesson.

“I definitely realised that I can handle more pressure than I initially thought I could and I’m more capable than I thought I was,” the 33-year-old said. “I feel like, after being on MasterChef, I have so much more confidence about following my dream. I feel like if I can get on MasterChef, I can make other dreams come true as well.”

Those dreams, for the record, involve gaining experience in a restaurant and further developing her food blog which you can find here.

As for who she hopes will win the $250,000 cash prize and the coveted title of MasterChef Australia 2021, Davies has two aspiring cooks in mind.

“Brent and Pete are my two top picks,” she revealed. “I want them to win and I think they can win, so yeah, definitely those two.”

Watch MasterChef Australia on Network Ten from 7.30 pm, Sunday to Thursday nights.