From grandma's kitchen to culinary master, Papamoa cook Hayley Marie Bilton is looking good after making it to the final six of MasterChef New Zealand this week.

The 31-year-old made it through the first MasterChef round with her favourite savoury dish – chilli and lemongrass risotto and baked snapper – in episode one and she's crossing her fingers as the competition gets serious.

Papamoa MasterChef top six contestant Hayley Bilton. Photo: Supplied.

'I'm hoping to be the next Rachel Ray of New Zealand and I can't do that without winning,” laughs Hayley.

'I've always wanted to have my own TV show like Rachel Ray. I want to take the Ellen DeGeneres slot, bring on Haylee Marie!”

Hayley says the competition has given her the confidence to be able to pursue her primetime spot on the telly as the next celebrity chef.

'Winning MasterChef will mean I can finally prove to myself that I have the confidence,” she says. 'It will mean the start of my cooking journey.”

She was just seven-years-old when she served her first meal to her family. 'I've been cooking since I could sit on a stool at grandma's kitchen bench, and stir and lick a spoon,” says Hayley.

'She [nana] was definitely the one who used to think out of the box and make things like avocado ice-cream and random stuff that pushes boundaries. I definitely get those risks from her.”

Although cooking relaxes her at home, Hayley admits she'd be lying if she didn't get nervous before being on television.

'I'm a bunch of nerves beforehand,” she admits. 'You just can't prepare yourself for something like that, especially when you don't know what the challenge is.

'But as soon as I start cooking, everything for some reason comes to me and I've got it sorted.”

To follow Hayley's cooking journey, she'll be sizzling up the MasterChef kitchen on TV3 on Sundays and Mondays.