Jennifer Evans

It’s been a huge couple of days for Leigh Sexton and Jennifer Evans, the winners of My Kitchen Rules 2012. The friends from South Australia, known to viewers as the florist and ‘princess,’ are $250,000 richer after beating childhood friends Nic Mazzone and Rocco La Bella in an exciting grand finale showdown that saw more than 2 million Aussies tune in last night. We spoke to Leigh and Jennifer to get their thoughts on the audience’s reaction and what surprised them about doing the show.

Congratulations on winning My Kitchen Rules! How did you celebrate?
Leigh: We actually just celebrated over lunch because we were so exhausted from a big day yesterday, and it’s been a big day today. We finally sat down and had a gorgeous lunch and a glass of champagne. My family and Jenny’s family were altogether so that was nice.

Did you watch the grand finale episode last night with friends and family?
Leigh: I did. I watched it with my mum, my brother, his girlfriend and my partner.
Jennifer: I watched just the last eight minutes of it, and then I watched it again around midnight.

More from Leigh and Jennifer when you keep reading.

The grand final of My Kitchen Rules attracted 2.81 million viewers for the winners announcement, and averaged around 2.19 million for the whole episode, so it’s no surprise so many people have been vocal about the result. Florist Leigh Sexton and Jennifer “Princess” Evans defeated South Australian childhood friends Nic Mazzone and Rocco La Bella for the title — and $250,000 prize — and viewers jumped on Twitter and lots of other online mediums to express how they felt about the judges’ decision.

Read more after the break.

It's been the most-talked about season of My Kitchen Rules yet, and whether you agree with the winners or not — florist Leigh Sexton and "Princess" Jennifer Evans took out the title last night in a mammoth 5-course cook off against South Australians Nic Mazzone and Rocco La Bella — there's one thing you can't deny: braids have been the biggest hairstyle trend for the girls. When we spoke to semi-finalist Emily Cheung, she said: "There are hairstylists there and they do your hair for you. Having the braids really keeps [hair] off your face, and it’s more hygienic to not have to worry about that stuff too. It was great, I loved it because it meant I didn’t have to be worried about hair falling in the food, and we didn’t wear hair nets and in a real kitchen you would wear hair nets. It was a good way to combat that one." If the show's inspired you to get cooking, here are some of our favourite braids for inspiration before you head to the kitchen!

From top left: Leigh, Jennifer, Carly, Emily and Meg.

Leigh Sexton and Jennifer Evans have won the 2012 series of My Kitchen Rules! The friends, known as the florist and “Princess,” defeated fellow South Australians Nic Mazzone and Rocco La Bella in the nail-biting grand final that saw both teams cooking impressive five-course menus. Each team had to serve up 100 plates to a full restaurant that included hosts Pete Evans and Manu Feildel, the guest judges, past contestants, and their family and friends. Leigh and Jennifer’s five-course menu consisted of crab congee, scallops in XO sauce, quail with barbery and quinoa, wagyu beef ribs, and chocolate hazelnut cake.

More about the MKR grand final when you keep reading.

The first week of My Kitchen Rules for 2012 has wrapped up, with viewers getting a chance to (sort of) experience the instant restaurants from the NSW, WA, SA and NZ teams. It also means we’ve spent a little more time with the purported “villain” of the show, Jennifer Evans from SA, best known for criticising meals in promos and saying with a sigh, “Yeah.”

Last night Jennifer spoke to Today Tonight about how she’s been portrayed on TV, and doesn’t seem bothered by the way she’s been shown: “I don’t think it’s 100 percent real me. You’re in TV business. You know editors cut and paste things together. What about all the good things that I said? They didn’t show it.”

More from Jennifer when you keep reading.