MasterChef's Phil reveals 'heart-wrenching' moment watching the show

MasterChef’s Phil Conway has shared a surprising insight into what it’s like being a contestant on the show and how it really feels to be sent home.

The Irish-born cook, who failed to impress with his spaghetti con anatra during Sunday night’s episode, tells Yahoo Lifestyle he found it extremely difficult having to watch the judges critique his dish on TV.

“It was pretty heart-wrenching,” he admits. “You obviously know from being sent home that they’re not going to be really positive comments, that's kind of a given. But when you hear them saying all the mistakes and what you did wrong along the way, I understand where I went wrong and why I got sent home.

“I thought I had done enough to hit the brief of what was needed to get me safe, but then when I saw the other guys’ dishes while we were waiting to be judged, I figured I was in a bit of trouble.”

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Despite being sent home earlier than expected and feeling “pretty sad” about how things turned out, Phil shares that he “absolutely loved every single second” of his MasterChef experience.

“I am obviously proud of what I achieved and it’s so great to have been on the show and got to experience the MasterChef kitchen in all its glory,” he says.

“I probably underestimated how big the days of filming would be on set and everything that goes with it. You kind of just think the contestants wake up and go in and find out the challenge and cook, but there's obviously so much more that goes into producing a show like this.

“You see an edit on TV of these pressure tests that are three, four hours long and it's cut down to 25 minutes of TV. So just seeing that intensity of that level of cooking under that time pressure and everything that comes with it, it was quite full on while you're in the actual environment itself.”

'Daunting'

After spending almost a decade working in the fitness industry, Phil made the decision to apply for MasterChef in the hopes of embarking on a new career path.

“I knew I wanted to get into food and didn't know exactly what avenue I wanted to follow within it, and I think MasterChef seemed like a pretty good starting point to go and hone my skills and learn as much as possible and upskill,” he details

“And the good thing is with MasterChef, you can do that in such a short timeframe because it's literally food, cooking, and learning 24/7 day in and day out and it really helped.”

The 33-year-old adds that the competition, as well as the support from the judges and his close bond with the other contestants, completely changed his life and helped him believe in himself again.

“I was a bit lost last year when I left my job in the fitness industry to follow my passion in food and wine and I kind of didn't really know where I was going and starting over with a new career in your mid-30s was a bit daunting,” he details.

“But just going on MasterChef kind of galvanised that I do have this passion and this skill and I can do something with it, and these guys really helped me believe in myself again. I’m just excited for the next chapter in food and wine.”

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