Meet the eight finalists for RT Today's TV Home Cook competition

Voting opens at 4pm today

RT 's Today show have announced the eight finalists for their TV Home Cook competition. Amateur cooks from Cork, Dublin, Galway and Mayo have been shortlisted for the inaugural competition and voting opens to the public today at 4pm.

In March the Today show, presented by D ith S , Maura Derrane and Sinead Kennedy, began their hunt for home cooks from across the country who had a flair for food and a passion for chatting to take part in a brand-new cooking competition. With chef Trisha Lewis as mentor, contestants needed to step from the home kitchen into the TV kitchen - cooking, sharing their recipes, and showcasing their personality to a national audience.

The competition was opened to non-professional cooks with a love of food and a flair for sharing it - whether they were cooking for family, friends or your community.

Competition mentor and chef Trisha Lewis said: The standard of the home cooks was exceptional, and they brought such a genuine, uplifting energy to the Today kitchen. I'm proud and honoured to be their mentor.

The eight finalists are:

Gwen Delaney (65), Sutton, Dublin 13 - Teacher and Manager at Bracken Hill Nursery School, Howth

Aoife Cheung (31), Galway - Office Manager and Business Owner

Shane Tallon (42), Santry, Dublin 9 - Solution Consultant

Rosaria Manchese (33), Monkstown, Cork - Family Support Worker

Dee Freney (42), Mayo - Adult Educator

Gerald Daniels (50), Mitchelstown, Cork - Production Manager

Kay Lehane (41), Doneraile County Cork - Primary School Teacher

Margaret Leahy (65), Connemara, Galway - Owner of Fable Tours

Four finalists were announced on the Today show yesterday and the final four will be announced today. Voting opens on RT .ie at 4pm today at RT .ie/tvhomecook

Vote for Today's TV Home Cook

Videos of each home cook in action in the Today show kitchen are available to watch now on RT Player's You Tube channel and on the RT Today show Instagram and Facebook accounts.

This round of voting will close at 6pm on Tuesday 5 May and four semi-finalists will be announced on Wednesday 6 May. The final four will each get the opportunity to cook live on Today before the vote opens again in mid-May. Two home cooks will win a place in the live final and will cook head-to-head on Monday 25 May. The winner of Today TV Home Cook 2026 will be announced live on the show on Tuesday 26 May.

Watch chef Trisha Lewis explain the next steps on Instagram

ENDS

Sarah Neville, RT Communications

LINK:	https://about.rte.ie/2026/04/29/meet-the-eight-finalists-for-rte-today...
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