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UWA Law/Arts student Kate Rodrigues had the time of her life participating in MasterChef Australia , one of the TV hits of 2009.

The show, in which a string of amateur cooks battle each other and some of Australia's best-known chefs, has been airing on Channel 10 for about the past three months, and concludes this Sunday, 19 June. In its last full week on screens, it has been drawing more than two million viewers each night.

Kate deferred her fourth-year studies for six months to join the show and made it into the final 20 contestants, but eliminated herself from the competition when she realised, she said, she wouldn't be able to cook the kind of food she loved to cook.

But she has no regrets about heer time on the telly.

"It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would encourage any amateur cook to take part in if that is where their passion lies," she said.

"The friends I have made and the lessons I have learned I will keep with me for a very long time.

"The competition aside, I am returning to law school this semester and I will be completing my law degree in the years coming. A law degree is something that I value and I know will be a valuable degree to have under my belt whether I go into practising law or the cooking industry.

'My current plan is to take six months off next year to complete my patisserie diploma in Sydney. It was not an easy decision to put my life on hold to pursue my cooking dreams but a decision that I am very glad I made."