From MasterChef runner-up to life inspiration: Candice Meth's transformative journey

Candice Meth reflects on balancing motherhood, marriage and her career, and how her journey on the show encouraged her to move beyond simply surviving and start pursuing her dreams.

MasterChef 2026 runner-up Candice Meth says her journey on the cooking competition has changed the way she views life, success and her own ambitions.

Balancing her career, marriage, motherhood and the demands of MasterChef was challenging, but Meth said she was supported by her family and workplace throughout the experience.

She said Colossians 2:23 helped her through one of the most difficult seasons of her life, reminding her to approach everything she does with dedication and the right intentions.

“Some days I felt like I was absolutely smashing it, and other days I was just trying to remember where I put my car keys!” she said.

The experience also forced Meth to confront how long she had been operating in “survival mode”.

“MasterChef forced me to stop and ask myself, What do I actually want? What makes me happy? What makes me come alive?”

Now that the journey has ended, Meth said she does not want to return to simply getting through each day.

“I want to live. I want to thrive. I want to experience life fully, dream loudly and give myself permission to enjoy the woman I have fought so hard to become.”

Competing on MasterChef while managing her career and family tested Meth's limits, but also showed her what she was capable of.

She credited her employer, Momentum, for supporting her dream and allowing her to take part in the competition.

The MasterChef kitchen itself provided plenty of challenges, with the Vis Kop Sop challenge standing out as a particular highlight.

“Producing a fine-dining dish at that level as home cooks was truly extraordinary,” she said.

The experience taught her that the size of a challenge matters less than how a person chooses to face it.