10 Questions: Maketu MasterChefs reveal their best-kept secrets

Karena, left, and Kasey Bird couldn't have done it without each other.

Karena and Kasey Bird won this year's MasterChef challenge with commanding performances in the kitchen.

1 Describe yourself in three words:

Kasey: "Focused, reliable, hungry."
Karena: "Witty, competitive, passionate."

2 What in your opinion is Maketu's best-kept secret?

"We think everything in Maketu is a best-kept secret, that is why it is so special. You can always come back and, no matter how long it's been, it always feels like home."

3 You were obviously away from home during the filming of MasterChef. What was the one thing neither of you could do without during this time?

"Each other, if we weren't there together I don't think either of us would have survived."

4 What album is on your stereo or playlist right now?

"We are both loving Lorde's album, can't get enough of that girl. She is amazing."

5 Do you have a party trick, if so, what is it?

Karena: "I've got heaps but my favourite is moving my eyes at different times."
Kasey: "I don't really go to parties." :(

6 You're keen to name your future restaurant Birds in honour of family. What is your favourite bird and why?

Kasey: "Favourite bird would have to be a tui because I dressed up as one for a school play and my Aunty made the best costume ever."
Karena: "A kingfisher - my mum always told me that if you saw one it was good luck."

7 What clubs or sports teams were you involved in at school (or out of school)?

"We played the same sports at school we did tae kwon do, played netball, we did swimming and we also played volleyball and both captained the team we played for in our senior year."

8 What is your favourite way to unwind or de-stress?

"We both love to cook to relax."

9 Where is your favourite place in the Western Bay to go for dinner?

"Probably the Yum Cha on Devonport Rd and, of course, Elizabeth Cafe and Larder."

10 Most people will now know you from MasterChef, but what were you doing before?

Karena: "I was a quality co-ordinator at a Maori health trust."
Kasey: "I was a full-time student studying business and also worked part-time at Bayfair."