Masterton's Lucy Cruikshank sang for her supper on national television on Tuesday night, as part of her debut in the MasterChef series.
Miss Cruikshank sang a few lines of the national anthem in Maori at the judge's request, before presenting the Wairarapa Spring Medley dish which won her a place in the top 25.
The dish was based around butterfish caught off the Wairarapa coast, and was accompanied with other local ingredients such as cheese, olive oil and tomatoes.
She said a large part of entering the competition was to promote Wairarapa products because she owns Pure Wairarapa, a company which promotes artisan foods to high class restaurants.
"I thought I'd give it a go," she said.