Brisbane mother-of-two Benita Orwell has achieved a long-held dream of being on MasterChef Australia. But the moment came during a bittersweet period in her life.
Just days before Benita auditioned for the series, her 90-year-old mum, Marjorie Baker, passed away after being hospitalised with pneumonia.
“It was a big shock,” the 57-year-old explains to TV WEEK.
But despite it being “an emotional week”, Benita decided to continue with her application for the series.
In their very last conversation, her mum urged her to “go to MasterChef”. To honour her, she has done just that.
So when she was handed the apron and told she was in the top 24, Benita instantly thought of her mum.
“It was the first thing that flashed through my mind,” she says.
“I wanted to tell Mum and I couldn’t, and that made me a bit sad.”
Yet the former customer service supervisor for Qantas smiles softly as she discusses how proud her mum would have been.
“She would have been over the moon,” Benita says. “She lived in a nursing home and was telling all the other oldies that I was going off to MasterChef.
“She would have been talking about it all the time and making sure everyone saw me.”
While she couldn’t share the happy news with her mum, Benita has had more than ample support from her husband Michael and daughters Brienne, 30, and Dominique, 28.
Benita says “they were beside themselves” when they all found out she’d made it onto the cooking series.
“My family just couldn’t believe it, because they know how long and hard I’ve been trying,” she says.
Throughout the competition, Benita has on her several momentos to remind her of her mother.
“I wore my mum’s engagement ring and a gold bracelet of hers,” she says.
Benita explains the special items were particularly comforting during the competition.
“Sometimes I’d just touch it [her mum’s ring], take a deep breath and relax,” she says.
