When Aaron Kher walked out of the MasterChef Australia semi-final kitchen, he had given absolutely everything, so much so that he nearly collapsed.
“The crew actually had to come up to me and give me a lot of sugar because I was going to pass out,” medical product specialist Aaron, 32, tells TV WEEK.
“I had nothing left in the tank.”
Aaron donned his chef whites proudly for the semi-final. (Credit: 10)
Despite pouring every ounce of himself into the cook, it wasn’t enough to earn a place in the grand finale, bringing to an end what he describes as an “all-consuming” experience.
“Throughout the competition, you’re quite separated from all your support groups,” he explains. “Everything is about MasterChef. You’re only thinking about the pressure because there’s so much weight on every cook. You feel a lot of mental stress to perform at a high level continuously. You don’t get a break.”
But while his journey in the competition is over, Aaron says it marks the beginning of a brand-new chapter.
“It’s not the end of anything, it’s the beginning of a whole new journey,” he says. “I’ve already started working in a sushi restaurant, I’ve got pop-ups coming up throughout the year, and I might even head to London to visit my sister.”
Perhaps the biggest transformation has been personal. Throughout the series, Aaron reconnected with his Malaysian heritage through food, something he says changed the way he sees himself.
“From day one to now, I’m a completely different person,” he says. “It helped me rediscover who I really am and stop putting up a façade. It taught me to express myself and be real with how I feel.”
Aaron’s fellow contestants and close friends Petro (left) and Vinnie (right) are through to the grand finale. (Credit: 10)
That journey was made easier by judge Poh Ling Yeow, who understood the expectations Aaron faced after leaving his family’s business to chase his culinary dream.
“There are a whole lot of expectations that come from our Asian families,” Aaron says. “She reassured me that chasing my dreams wasn’t letting anyone down. I needed to do this for me.”
The MasterChef Australia finale airs this Sunday at 7pm on Network 10 and 10Streaming.