Come Dine With Me Cavan contestants on TV3 (L-R) Colette, Tonya, Pauline, Patrick & Tony

The Monaghan-born self-confessed foodie laid on a sophisticated fine dining menu for her guests, and despite the odd grumble, Taine came out on top with a score of 32/40.

"I'm surprised that I won it," Taine told the Celt, admitting that she thought her fellow Monaghan-native Tony Sheridan from Carrickmacross might win out. "It's a brilliant feeling. The scores I got were amazing."

Reflecting on how the week went in her eyes, compared to that viewed by thousands who watched events unfold on television over the five nights, she adds: "You just have to roll with the punches. At the dinner table you got the gist of what people would say, Tony is very honest and so is Patrick (Walsh from Bailieborough), and Collette (McGahern from Mullahoran), I still can't understand why she gave me a nine, she didn't eat anything!"

Taine and Collette have since teamed up for the cameras, this time for TV3's Expose with Glenda Gilson. "It just adds to the experience, the whole thing has been really incredible and the people I've met too, I met with the lads at the Cross Festival at the weekend and Pauline, she's just such a brilliant person."

They say a star is born in a minute but Belturbet's Pauline Farrelly's rapid rise to stardom came over the space of 25-minutes of TV time last Tuesday evening.

Laughing (still), she tells the Celt, with the odd 'like' thrown in: "I just want to thank everybody who supported me, for all the businesses in the town who sponsored me prizes and to everyone at the Slieve Russell, in particular Tony Walker, my manager, Catherina Crowe, and everyone else for all their nice messages."

Asked would she do it again? "Of course I would, but I'd do it differently next time... for starters I wouldn't do a baked Alaska!"

Scores over the week: Tony 27, Pauline 24, Patrick 30, Taine 32 and Collette 23.