MasterChef judges shock as contestant makes huge mistake

MasterChef judges were left in complete shock after one contestant made not one, but TWO huge mistakes during a frantic elimination challenge on Sunday night.

Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen watched on in abject horror as Eric Mao not only started a fire on set during the tense episode, but also made a major mistake in the final stages of the cooking challenge.

“I’ve just had mini disaster in the kitchen and now I’m losing a lot of confidence,” Eric said, after he had already set fire to his tray.

“Everything is disorganised, everything is frantic. It’s not going well at all."

Unfortunately he appears to jinx himself when he moves on to completing his carbonara by saying that "whatever happens" he can't make "another big mistake".

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It all came to a head during the 'emulsification step', which involved making the creamy carbonara by mixing together the sauce and pasta water in a pre-heated pan. But the pan was far too hot.

Eric held up his cooked pasta with a pair of tongs, before deciding he was just going to go for it.

“What are you doing Eric,” Melissa said, before Eric tossed the pasta in and the judges completely lost it.

“The pan is far too hot. I cannot emulsify and create a beautiful and luscious sauce in a pan that is that hot,” the cook said, before adding, “I don’t have much of a choice...”

In the end he manages to plate a dish though the final result, according to the judges, is 'gluggy'.

But it was enough to keep him in the competition, as Wynona Davies' salmon dish saw her eliminated from the show.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle afterwards, Wynona says the judges definitely set off "alarm bells" for her during the frantic final challenge.

"I think when Jock and Andy came over and said I was in a danger zone, that set off some alarm bells, and I was like yeah, it's me tonight. Yeah that was the moment," she tells us.

Despite some calling out the judges for being a little harsh this season, Wynona says it was "definitely deserved"

"Yeah, I mean I think it was definitely deserved, I wasn't happy with the dish, it didn't taste bad, but I knew it didn't meet the brief in the end."

Overall Wynona says the judges were all very professional, but she did have a favourite.

"I don't know what I expected, but they were so professional and so lovely, whenever we got feedback there was always good and bad, there was always a positive in what they were telling you and they always wanted you to improve and get better," she tells us.

"Melissa is the loveliest to get feedback from, you're just like, 'Keep talking to me'."

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