All eyes were on Wellington Point amateur chef Georgia Barnes who battled it out in the kitchen for the finale of MasterChef on Monday night.
The 27-year-old nutritionist, who has called Wellington Point home, was pipped at the post, losing 80-82 to long-time rival and friend 23-year-old winner Billie McKay.
Monday night's two-and-a-half-hour cooking extravaganza, criticised for being drawn out, featured three challenges - two of which were won by McKay.
For her winning efforts, Ballina restaurant manager McKay scored a job working with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, took home $250,000, an Alpha Romeo and a monthly column with Delicious magazine.
Blumenthal was the mastermind behind the challenge, making the two finalists recreate a 55-stage grape-inspired dish using botrytis cinerea (fungus that affects plants).
Commentators claimed the final result closely resembled a spaceship.
Barnes cried a few times but McKay remained calm except for one emotional run-in with a sugar ball.
Part of the challenge for the two was assembling a 17-piece dessert in five hours.
Monday's finale has been touted as the most tense since the show started in 2009.
McKay and Barnes only made it into the competition when judge George Calombaris threw them a lifeline in the second round of auditions.
But Barnes managed to win over viewers with her personality, charm and modesty - despite bouts of tears.
She scraped through to MasterChef Grand Final on Sunday night after serving a main of cured trout followed by mango sorbet, vanilla yoghurt parfait and macadamia chilli praline, with chilli salt and coriander.
For her efforts, she took home $20,000 and the possibility of a TV show. It is also expected she will be a guest at the inaugural Raby Bay food and wine festival due to kick off in October.
She decided to audition for Masterchef to sate her love of cooking and passion for food. She vied for top position beating seven contestants in the lead up to tonight’s final.
The finale capped off a season that surpassed expectations after the new series debuted in May to an audience of 1.2 million viewers.
On Sunday, for the first instalment of the grand finale, 1.389 million viewers switched on, putting the show third in popularity behind Nine’s nightly news and hit reality series The Voice.
Barnes, who has a Bachelor of Health Science specialising in Nutritional Medicine, has been an ambassador for Wellington Point claiming one of her favourite restaurants is Refuelled Cafe.
She also said she loves to grab a picnic rug, get comfy and take in all the beauty of Moreton Bay from Wellington Point.
As runner-up Barnes was sweet in defeat, sending out messages of congratulations to McKay via Facebook and Twitter.
"An enormous congratulations to the beautiful @billie_mckay15. I couldn't have asked for a better person to be in the finale with and I'm so proud of you," she wrote.
"Seeing this through to the end with you has made it even more special and I'm in awe of your work. An amazing friend, a fierce, yet humble competitor and an incredibly talented woman who is about to move mountains in this industry! I know we'll be friends for life!"
