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MasterChef's Therese on 'shock' elimination despite immunity pin
MasterChef fans were left in shock on Tuesday after the Dessert Queen herself, Therese Lum, was sent home despite the fact she had an immunity pin she could have used.
The pressure test had the losing team from Monday night cooking up a challenge set by master chocolatier Kirsten Tibballs, which involved three different chocolate desserts.
As she went into the challenge, Therese said she wasn't ready to go home and felt confident because she had her immunity pin, however, she never played it, hoping the flavours of her dishes would shine brightly enough to keep her in the competition.
Sadly, her three dishes were the worst of the bunch and she was sent packing.
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When judge Melissa Leong told Therese she was going home, she said, "I'm so sorry, we really wish you'd played that immunity pin today."
"I'm so stupid," Therese told the cameras after leaving the competition.
"We're all shocked you're leaving the competition so soon," Andy Allen told her. "We really hope you enjoyed your time here and you're feeling positive about your time on MasterChef. You have been absolutely fantastic."
"Unfortunately, we have to eliminate dishes, not people," he added.
"I feel so numb right now," Therese said, thanking her fellow contestants for the friendships they formed.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Therese said, "I was shocked too, I was so numb, it took me a while to process all my feelings and to process what had happened in that moment. And I'm sure all the contestants felt the same way and same with the judges."
When asked why she didn't decide to use the pin, she said, "I think, because coming into the challenge, you know, desserts are my strength.
"And to date, I've been to a lot of eliminations, where I've just knuckled down and kept focus and really pushed through and persevered, and it actually played in my favour by doing that.
"So I came into the challenge with that same attitude and I didn't want to use it so early on."
She continued, saying leaving on a dessert wasn't how she expected to go.
"Not going to lie, it has definitely knocked my confidence, but you know I'm slowly getting my little sparkle back.
"But you know, I have to admit I'm still working on my relationship with chocolate right now," she joked. "Damn you chocolate!"
Therese added that ever since the episode aired, she's received a lot of love.
"Yeah, I've gotten so much support, and like encouragement, ever since it aired yesterday and I mean I'm in good spirits, I'm excited for the next chapter," she said.
And despite the fact she went home, Therese couldn't stop gushing about the judges, saying, "What you don't see is the amount of feedback that we get. They're very very thorough in how they critique us and, you know, it's really really helpful to actually help us improve."
She also shared that she is looking forward to the future, saying, "It was a shock, but when one door closes, another opens and I'm excited for things to come."
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