'MasterChef' winner kept lid on victory

Nadia Lim rises higher than her best souffle as she celebrates her success on top of One Tree Hill last night. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Nadia Lim's friends and flatmates tried everything to find out in advance who had won MasterChef - but in the end they had to wait like everyone else and watch it on television.

Last night, many of them were among a large group of 100 who gathered in Auckland to watch the gripping two-hour grand final on large screens with Ms Lim and her family.

The final was filmed in December and only Ms Lim's parents, siblings and fiance have been in on the secret since then. "I thought it would be really hard [keeping the secret] but, surprisingly, it wasn't too bad," the 25-year-old told the Herald.

"As soon as the show finished filming I went straight back to work a day later and settled into normal life ... I actually enjoyed the time just keeping it a secret and being anonymous."

For those who didn't know the result, it was a nerve-racking final with competitor Jax Hamilton's chances of winning crashing down, alongside her macaroon tower which had taken 3 hours to complete.

Ms Lim said she knew based on points that she'd won before finishing her tower, which was made with hundreds of macaroons. But to watch her competitor finish on such a low was "awful" and made for a bittersweet win.

"I was really exhausted because it was over two days so it was really epic. It was kinda bittersweet because I'd won, and that was what I had entered for so I was absolutely amazed and quite dumbfounded really. I didn't really believe it.

"On the other hand, me and Jax had done so well throughout the whole final, everything was fantastic and we were so happy to finish the macaroon towers but then Jax's just fell to pieces. It was just an absolute nightmare - a nightmare in slow motion - and it was such an awful way to end."

Ms Hamilton took the cruel blow like a professional simply saying: "I'm feeling exhausted, I'm feeling emotional, to come so close, I'm so disappointed, I can't really take it in."

Ms Lim, who wins $100,000 worth of prizes, an exclusive cookbook deal and a car, hopes the win will help her gain work experience.

She can also now pull back her dietician job to part time and begin working on the cookbook she's had in her head for over a decade.

Meanwhile, runner up Ms Hamilton is remaining positive. "I don't say I've lost because I haven't."