Pancake treat for Sunrise viewers

CHARISSA Chetcuti will make the leap from humble home cook to television chef tomorrow.Last week the Mt Helen resident won a competition to cook her favourite recipe on Channel 7 morning program Sunrise.She will follow in the footsteps of her MasterChef idols and whip up her delectable strawberry delight pancakes on live television."I'm excited, but nervous," she admitted."I just love cooking for people, I love food."It's my ultimate dream to have a cook book and my own show."The three-tiered pancakes are layered with fresh strawberries and served with a strawberry and schnapps sauce, ice-cream and fresh mint."I've been making them for a while," she said yesterday."The secret is I add ricotta to the pancakes."Ms Chetcuti's kitchen is packed with various cook books from Thai to Jamie Oliver and she has even tried her hand at Maltese food."My husband is from Malta and when we went there I got his aunty to teach me how to prepare Maltese food," she said."I do everything _ cakes, savouries, finger food _ I cook pretty much every night, so we rarely get take away."The Home Cook Heroes competition on Sunrise encourages budding chefs to send in their recipes, which are then put to the viewer vote."I saw it one morning on the telly and decided to send in my recipe," the mum-of-one said."I guess they get heaps sent in, but mine was one of three put to the vote and I won by just two per cent."Ms Chetcuti will fly to Sydney this afternoon and get up bright and early to be at the studio by 5.30am."Everyone has been really supportive," she said.