Colin Cooks - Colin Mathura-Jeffree | Now to Love

What a sensational final episode! The baking was delicious, it was a nailbiter and I was highly entertained.

By making our two finalists Esme and Emily recreate a high tea to the standard of one of New Zealand’s top hotels, The Langham, we really put them under pressure. It took five hours to create the 14 different mini-treats but it only felt like 20 minutes. It was an incredibly hard challenge and we made it even harder when I had to hand them out mystery tasks during the challenge.

I was the bearer of additional pressure in the challenge – every time I appeared I could see the contestants’ shoulders slump. They were probably thinking, “No, not Colin again.” They must have had nightmares about me that night! At one stage I brought them both a cup of tea just so they could take a break. I was like the guy at half time in the sports match handing out the oranges, but then I was also the cheerleading squad and the parent coach who doesn’t even know anything about the sport but is helping out anyway!

Emily was the winner on the day, she had her head down at the beginning of the episode and was beating and whisking up a storm. She’s got a great prize and the trip of a lifetime ahead visiting Dean’s eatery in Singapore. The final could have easily gone Esme’s way though; she’s a top baker and had the skills to win – reality TV is about what happens in the moment though.