THERE is now a 75% chance a current or former Coast cook will be crowned Australia’s next MasterChef.

Three of the reality cooking show’s four finalists are flying the flag for our region.

Noosa coffee roaster Matt Sinclair, who has been a frontrunner throughout the entire season, said any of them could take out the eighth annual title.

“When I heard them label it quarter finals it was like okay this is very, very serious,” he told the Daily.

“Harry, Elena and Elise are pretty serious competition. It’s rapid fire at this stage.”

Mr Sinclair followed his parents to Noosa after growing up in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and has since settled in the area with his wife Jess, whom he met while working at popular beachfront eatery Bistro C.

Noosa will always be home for high school arts teacher Elena Duggan, who grew up on the Noosa River thanks to her father’s scuba diving business.

Rockhampton-born bartender Harry Foster graduated from Mountain Creek State High School and his mother still lives in Maroochydore.

Online bookmaker SportsBet has the three cooks in a tight race for the MasterChef crown, with Cairns pharmacy technician Elise Franciskovic tipped as the next to exit the kitchen.

Sinclair is working hard to improve his one major culinary shortfall, desserts, in the hopes of making it to Tuesday’s grand final.

“I knew it was going to get to this point in the competition where I couldn’t avoid it, so I’ve definitely been putting in the hard yards behind the scenes,” he said.