With the prospect of leaving behind her husband and three young children for up to eight months of filming, the decision to enter series three of Australian MasterChef was a hard one for Kate Bracks. But it's one that paid off, as on Sunday night she walked away from the competition with AU$100,000 towards her culinary career, as well as a cookbook deal and the promise of work experience in some of the country's best restaurants.

Since winning the competition, Bracks's life has been somewhat turned upside down. "I feel like I'm walking on a cloud somewhere," the 36-year-old from Orange in NSW tells MiNDFOOD. "I'm sure I'll come back to earth with a bump soon."

One of the reasons Bracks says she eventually decided to follow through with her MasterChef application and take part in the auditions was because she never thought she would make it as far as she did. "I thought I'd last a few weeks and then come home," admits Bracks, who was so convinced of this she had booked a family holiday for partway through the filming schedule. Making the final five, however, proved to be her turning point. "We had discussions in the house about who would be in the top five," she says. "It was the magic number. I never put myself in the top five. But I made it, and then I thought maybe I could keep going."

Both the judges and fellow contestants have paid tribute to the strength that Bracks displayed in spending so much time apart from her family. "I think because I never knew it would be so long, I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted," she explains. And when it got tough? "I kept myself busy cooking, reading and talking to people."

But it is the support and encouragement from her husband Luke that she credits for her success. "I think I realised I'm stronger than I thought I was; that I can deal with more pressure than I ever thought possible," Bracks says, "but also that my family can cope with that pressure too."

Indeed, the finale was nothing if not stressful. "There was a lot of pressure – a weight of expectation. You'd made it so far in the competition, and now it's time to show everyone you're worthy of your place," she says. Despite buckling somewhat to that pressure in the first of the final three challenges, Bracks came back fighting in rounds two and three. "I decided not to worry about the outcome and enjoy the experience," she says.

With a long-term goal of opening a bed and breakfast that will provide guests with quality home-cooked meals, Bracks is effusive when it comes to selling the virtues of local produce and plans to develop a largely local menu. "The produce is such high quality, readily available and on our doorstep and it tastes good," she says.

However, any plans for a bed and breakfast are on hold for the short term, as Bracks works on her cookbook. "I'm going to make it all desserts," she says. "That's me in a book, really." But before the cookbook can even take shape, there's another top priority for Bracks: "I'm going to enjoy some family time!"