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EXCLUSIVE: MasterChef's Yo Yo on her 'very sad' exit
MasterChef's Yo Yo Yang was the second contestant to leave the show on Sunday night with the 20-year-old failing to recreate Nigella Lawson's toasted marshmallow and rhubarb cake from just a description.
Judge Melissa Leong shared the sad news with a visibly upset Yo Yo, who was the youngest contestant this season, saying: "I'm so sorry, but you are leaving us today. It's such a shame, but the food world is at your doorstep."
Yo Yo responded,: "It's been a short but very sweet time. I'm not sad about leaving the kitchen, I'm sad about leaving you guys."
Her fellow contestants all appeared heartbroken over the elimination with the medical student adding: "I hope I get to see every one of your smiling faces in the future."
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Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle on Monday, Yo Yo said she was "very sad" to say goodbye to her fellow contestants.
“It was definitely very heartfelt and I really enjoyed spending time with all the contestants there honestly," she said of her farewell. "It was definitely very sad for me to leave them behind, but I’m very excited to see what they can do on their journey in the kitchen."
She added that despite going out on a Nigella dish, she doesn't have any resentment towards her.
"I love Nigella still," she said. "I think I prefer going out in a pressure test compared to something I’ve conjured up myself, but I loved seeing Nigella."
"Actually I didn’t expect to see any international celebrities or chefs there to be honest, so having her on Zoom and kind of in holographic mode was quite awesome," Yo Yo added.
The chef also shared what the toughest part of being on the show was. "[It] would definitely be the sacrifices that you have to give along the way, so not only sacrifices that I make for myself and my time, but also for my family as well. I’m quite family orientated, so being away from my family for a long time was quite hard for them and for myself."
She added that her friends were stunned to see just how talented she was in the kitchen.
"I think the best part of being on the show is to be able to showcase my skills. Lots of my friends know I cook, but don’t know to what extent I can cook.
She also said meeting the contestants was one of the highlights of appearing on the show.
"There’s never really a chance to meet people that are so likeminded that you can connect so well on such a deep level about food. Even if you have nothing in common, food is something that we all can share and really have deep conversations about," she said.
One of MasterChef's greatest strengths is that it actually showcases the diversity we see around us in Australia. Yo Yo shared how proud she is to be part of the show.
"The diversity on is marvellous, you know, people of different cultures, different backgrounds, and also of different representations. They very openly celebrate the LGBTQI community as well. I think it’s great and I think definitely more shows need to be able to produce something like this too."
She added that she hoped Aaron takes out the MasterChef crown, but said Tom and Theresa are also "equally exceptional".
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