{"id":517106,"date":"2026-07-09T06:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/517106\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:06:11","slug":"major-masterchef-debate-erupts-after-controversial-elimination-divides-aussies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/517106\/","title":{"rendered":"Major MasterChef debate erupts after controversial elimination divides Aussies"},"content":{"rendered":"

MasterChef<\/a> viewers are divided over who was sent home on Wednesday night, and a major debate has erupted over what would be worse if it were served in a restaurant.<\/p>\n

Contestants were put under an immense pressure test by guest judge and Michelin-star<\/a> chef, Sam Aisbett.<\/p>\n

He showed the competitors his crab salad<\/a>, which featured fennel jam, cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, mud crab, apple daishi, pickled palm heart, macadamia nuts, and Buddha’s hand citrus, and was arranged in a wreath, with a seaweed vinegar jelly in the middle.<\/p>\n

The contestants needed to recreate it in just three hours.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/p>\n

Alyona was emotional when she presented the dish to the judges, as she struggled throughout the cook and was forced to remake certain elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sam said it was clear her dish was missing the dressing, and that the crab was over-seasoned to “overcompensate” for that.<\/p>\n

He did like apple-daishi pearls and the seaweed dressing, but couldn’t look past the issue with the star of the dish.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share? Contact au.lifestyle.ent@yahooinc.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Andy Allen said he thought the crab was cooked well, but in Alyona’s haste, she left a big chunk of macadamia in the dish, which didn’t go down well with the judge.<\/p>\n

Casper, on the other hand, was also in the bottom two for an unfortunate reason.<\/p>\n

The judges raved about the appearance of every element of Casper’s dish until Sofia Levin bit down on a piece of crab shell.<\/p>\n

Poh Ying Leow also had the same.<\/p>\n

Sam said that a mistake like that in a restaurant setting is a “big thing”, while Poh called it “such a sin”.<\/p>\n

\"Casper<\/p>\n

Fans couldn’t decide who made the worse mistake out of Casper and Alyona.<\/p>\n

Fans divided over MasterChef’s elimination decision<\/p>\n

Alyona ended up being booted from the show, but viewers were divided on whether this was the right decision.<\/p>\n

It opened up a discussion on what would happen in a real restaurant setting.<\/p>\n

“Casper should have been eliminated. Shell in the food could mean the dish gets sent back. Didn’t they say ‘you lose the customers’ trust straight away’ in one of the last episodes. Lack of seasoning would still be eaten at least,” one said.<\/p>\n

“Unless I missed something, I think the shell was the bigger sin. I think that was a bit rough on Alyona, but as far as I am aware, she only had some missing dressing,” added another.<\/p>\n

“Casper got really lucky because a shell is enough to send someone home 99 per cent of the time. That being said, Alyona definitely made a lot more flaws, so this is the fair outcome,” a third wrote.<\/p>\n

“Someone please explain to me why Casper’s shell in his dish might be worse than Alyona’s missing item, over-seasoned crab, macadamia chunk, etc? She seems to have more errors, no,” another commented.<\/p>\n

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