It was her favourite dish – a Thai lamb rack that incorporated a little bit of herself and her family into it.

But it also proved the undoing of Papamoa MasterChef New Zealand contestant Hayley Bilton after she was eliminated on Monday before the grand finale last night.

Hayley Bilton was a top contender to win the MasterChef prize, but a small mistake proved costly.

'I can't say I have cooked lamb again since I have been back home!” she tells SunLive.

The Bay of Plenty resident, who wrapped filming of the show around six weeks ago, says it was hard to watch the elimination and finale on TV because the feelings were still very fresh.

'All of those feeling came back,” admits Hayley. 'I was really gutted. Why did I put it on a cold pan? I never do that! Normally I fry the lamb on a frying pan and put the pan in the oven.”

It was a mistake that saw her lamb rack come up a little undercooked, and narrowly edged her out of a place in the top two, allowing pig farmer Leo Fernandez and physiotherapist Tim Read to advance.

Tim then took out the title in a dramatic cook-off on Tuesday night.

It was clearly a difficult decision to take, and Hayley choked back the tears as the judges (celebrity chefs Josh Emett, Al Brown, Mark Wallbank and guest judge Nadia Lim) found themselves 'splitting hairs” to eliminate her from the show.

'I'm not usually a crier, but it turns out I am!” she says with a laugh.

'Everyone who knows me was like ‘what was up with you?' It was an emotional time. I guess when you want something so much and you can see that dream fading away it hurts.”

There's no hard feelings though, and Tim and Hayley have kept in touch since filming finished. In fact, she gave him a call before it went on air to congratulate him once more.

'We also had a chat at 10pm last night after the show,” she says. 'He's pretty stoked, but very tired. He's got a big day today with interviews, but hopefully we'll catch up when I pop up to Auckland.”

Despite being pipped for a top spot, you get the feeling this isn't the last time we'll be seeing Hayley.

She's already booked to cook at the Kaikoura Seafood Festival with fellow contestant Glenda Clarke, where they'll be serving Glenda's Cloudy Bay clams and a pulled pork slider.

She's also heading to the Christchurch Wine and Food Festival in December.

'It's going to be nice not having the pressure of cameras in your face and just enjoying food, which is what we do and love,” she says.