Valter Di Cecco is Australia's newest TV celebrity chef, but chances are you have never heard of him.
"I'm a little wog boy from Leichardt in Sydney" is how he described himself on ABC Radio Sydney.
"But now I don't know what's going to happen."
The graphic designer is back in Australia after winning the popular Italian television cooking program Il Ristorante Degli Chef.
He said the program was "a combination between MasterChef and Hell's Kitchen".
"I got yelled at a lot. A lot."
Stir-fry audition clinches success
After visiting Italy on holiday a few years ago, Mr Di Cecco ended up staying and entered the cooking competition following a dare from a mate.
"He just insisted and insisted and one day I got home from the gym, felt really pumped and I thought I'll just take a video of myself cooking a stir-fry and sent that through," he said.
"The next day they called me and said 'get ready'.
"All this in Italian of course."
Spicy style scared audiences
Despite taking out top spot, Mr Di Cecco said many viewers couldn't stand him and his cooking style stirred up plenty of controversy.
"They were a bit scared," he said.
"I brought things like spices to the show, which is something Italians aren't familiar with.
"There was a challenge where they asked me to reinvent a carbonara, and so I decided to use coco, chorizo and smoked paprika in the recipe.
"[In Australia] we aren't afraid to use different spices because we've got so many different nationalities, we're so multicultural that we combine that in our food.
"But [Italians] don't like change."
Judges reward Aussie difference
While the viewing public might not always have approved, the show's judges ultimately applauded the Australian for mixing it up.
His winning menu?
"My entree was chocolate pasta filled with taleggio and mascarpone cheese on a puree of sweetcorn and truffles," he said.
"Dessert was a good ol' Aussie brandy snap."
