After securing a spot in the top 24 on last year’s season of MasterChef Australia, Minoli De Silva is back to claim the top prize for this year’s season 14, and is reportedly planning to open her first restaurant in Darwin in the coming months.

Minoli, the fourth contender removed in last year’s MasterChef Australia (Season 13), won her apron back in the second chance cook, landing in 10th place.

Now based in Darwin, Ms De Silva completed her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from RMIT University and works as an engineering portfolio manager in the Northern Territory (NT) delivering projects across all the NT Defence estates.

She told an entertainment website this week that her first restaurant will pay tribute to her Sri Lankan heritage with inspiration form her reality TV experiences.

“It’s modern Sri Lankan, or I like to say cosmopolitan Sri Lankan,” she told Refinery 29.

“In the restaurant I’m even having this little room called the green room because that’s where all the magic happens on the show.

“Everyone gets along so well [on MasterChef] and I never want to forget last season’s experience. And whatever happens in this season, I’m going to try and incorporate all my learnings into the restaurant.”

Born in Sri Lanka, Ms De Silva and her family moved to Melbourne when she was six, but the culinary delights of her homeland infused her childhood. She said her mother taught her to trust her palate and always focus on flavour—as evidenced by the big, bold and punchy flavours in her cooking.

Before her joining MasterChef, Ms De Silva was diagnosed with Stage3 breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she went through six months of chemotherapy treatment, surgery and radiotherapy for five weeks.

The 35-year old Minoli is now cancer-free, but she gets a monthly check-up and takes a hormone suppressant.

Ms De Silva’s approach to food and flavour changed after cancer.

“When my sense of taste returned to normal, I started to reintroduce foods that made me feel good, both physically and taste-wise. By going through that process, I think I was able to recognise the nuances of flavour in different foods and cuisines. I started to cook based on flavour rather than just cuisine,” she said.

It was Ms De SIlva’s experience with cancer that pushed her to join MasterChef.

She said one of the most important things throughout the MasterChef experience was for her to be able to highlight Sri Lankan cuisine, which she says is underrepresented in Australia.

Ms De Silva is also a volunteer at the Melaleuca Centre in Darwin on a program helping refugees gain culinary training to help them secure jobs as chefs.

Her new restaurant will be called Ella and will open in Darwin in either May or June, she said.

MasterChef Australia’s 14th season premiered on April 18 on Channel 10 and features 12 new contestants and 12 former participants with the format “Fans & Favourites”.