Jess Liemantara has been eliminated from MasterChef Australia.
The 19-year-old aspiring chef made it to the top four, before being eliminated during tonight’s episode.
Jess competed against Ben Borsht and Sashi Cheliah in an elimination challenge. Khanh Ong was fast-tracked to the semi final during the Bondi Icebergs challenge last week.
Jess was tasked with preparing a dish for the judges and four special guest judges, in just 90 minutes. She chose to create a black sesame ice cream with yuzu and peanuts, and ultimately lost out to superior dishes from Ben and Sashi.
Despite leaving MasterChef, Jess says she can’t believe how far she made it in the competition.
“I still can’t believe it,” Jess says of making it to the top four.
“All my life I’ve worked in restaurants as a waitress, and now being able to be in the kitchen is actually amazing,” she tells TV WEEK.
Jess admits she was overwhelmed by the challenge that saw her eliminated.
“Finding out we had to cook for the top four chefs in Australia, oh gosh, it was gut-wrenching! It was crazy!” she says.
Her dish did not turn out how she hoped, which Jess puts down to wanting to try too many things.
“I was just thinking about all of the things I wanted to do, rather than keeping it simple. It was still fun to make it,” Jess reveals.
“I definitely wasn’t very happy with the dish I plated up. I think I wanted to do something better than that, but I’m still grateful that I got to try it out and put something out at least,” she continues.
“I had so many ideas about how I wanted it to look, and when it didn’t work out I was already like ‘oh gosh I think this is my ticket home.'”
With Jess eliminated from the top four, remaining contestants Sashi, Ben and Khanh will compete in the semi-final and final.
MasterChef Australia’s 2018 Finale Week continues on Monday and Tuesday, 7:30 pm, on Channel Ten.
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