“I made the decision a couple of weeks ago,” she said, 

“I entered my first competition when I was seven. I am just losing interest in it.”

After her appearance on MasterChef in 2011, Mrs Parrish’s life took a sudden, and enjoyable, turn.

Over 1.7 million people tuned in for that episode, a record at the time. 

From that single appearance Mrs Parrish was able to finally release the book her family had been urging her to write for decades.

“It really gave me the go ahead,” she said.

“It’s now in its second edition and has been sold in South Africa, America, New Zealand, New Guinea and even at Harrods in England.”

With 50,000 copies of the book now sold, letters from fans regularly arrive in her letterbox.

“I’ve had over 400 letters and I’ve replied to all of them,” she said.

Invitations to judge in competitions around the country also continue to appear and Mrs Parrish recently judged at the Stanthorpe Show in Queensland, one of the biggest rural shows in Australia.

At 83 years of age and still with a sharp mind and a spring in her step, Mrs Parrish puts her health down not to a heavy consumption of cakes, but to more healthy options.

“You just have to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and keep your mind active.”

Mrs Parrish will continue to live in Cudal and will still be active within the community.

“I’ll miss a lot of the people that I’ve met and it’s given me a lot of pleasure,” she said,

“But you have to retire sometime.”

Although retired, Mrs Parrish will still be baking the cake that made her famous on MasterChef.

“The peach blossom cake is definitely my favourite cake.”