The moment Lydia Kamperos was eliminated from MasterChef Australia, it was clear she was devastated. But according to the beloved home cook, the hardest part came after she walked out of the kitchen.
“I was so heartbroken walking out the MasterChef doors,” Lydia, 58, tells TV WEEK. “I had been so hyper-focused on this experience that all I could think was, ‘I’ll never cook in the MasterChef kitchen again.’ I desperately wanted to turn back time.”
Lydia’s competition came to an end after her onion tart fell apart in front of the judges during a tense elimination cook, with the pastry crumbling at the worst possible moment.
Returning home afterwards proved far more difficult than she expected.
“Coming back to normal life felt strange at first,” she recalls. “You’re completely immersed in food every day and surrounded by people who understand exactly what you’re going through. It was definitely an adjustment.”
Watching her elimination air months later brought all those emotions rushing back.
“Watching it back was emotional,” Lydia admits. “It made me snot cry all over again because I genuinely wasn’t ready for the experience to end when it did. I hadn’t run out of ideas yet. I felt like I was finding my stride in the kitchen and living a dream.”
Thankfully, she had plenty of support waiting for her at home, with husband of 38 years Sam and two adult children.
“My family are my biggest supporters and they knew how much the experience meant to me,” she says. “They reminded me that making it onto MasterChef was a huge achievement and that they couldn’t have been prouder.
“Typically, after the tears came food, hugs and constant reminders of what I had just achieved.”
While Lydia describes the competition as one of the greatest experiences of her life, she says the biggest challenge wasn’t always the cooking.
“Managing the mental side of the competition and the need to believe in myself was difficult,” she explains. “The cooking is hard, but it’s the constant pressure, the uncertainty and the need to back yourself every day that really tests you.”
As for what’s next, Lydia is embracing a brand-new challenge.
“I’m on a mission to master social media and videography at my age,” she laughs. “I’d love to continue creating recipes, connecting with home cooks and showing that impressive food doesn’t have to be complicated.
“If I can inspire someone to feel more confident in the kitchen, that’s a win for me.”
MasterChef Australia airs Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7pm on Network 10 and 10.
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