MasterChef Australia viewers slam ‘double standard’ in latest elimination

Monday night’s Black Apron elimination on MasterChef Australia ended in another fave being sent packing — and Emily stans ain’t happy.

For the latest elimination challenge, contestants needed to choose to platform a variety of delicacies from five countries in a dish: Vietnam’s banana blossom, Sweden’s juniper berries, Portugal’s alheira sausage, Italy’s bottarga fish and Japan’s sansho pepper.

Emily chose banana blossom, a decision that sadly led to her elimination.

Emily made Filipino spring rolls with pork, prawns and banana blossom, but Poh Ling Yeow warned Emily during her cook that she wasn’t hitting the brief. “Do you think you’re featuring the banana blossom enough?” she asked. “Just make sure the banana blossom doesn’t get lost.”

The 37-year-old youth worker expressed hesitations before presenting her dish. “The only thing I’m worried about is whether the judges think I have featured the banana blossom when there’s not much flavour coming from the banana blossom,” she said in a confessional.

And bingo: while the judges enjoyed the taste of the spring rolls, Poh noted “there is not much evidence of the banana blossom.”

Given that the point of the challenge was to highlight a country’s delicacy, Emily was eliminated for failing to hero the banana blossom in her dish.

Emily’s fans have taken to X to share how sad they were to see her go so close to the finals.

Other fans have suggested a double standard is at play, as Emily went home despite cooking a good dish that received generally positive feedback for its taste.

Others pointed out that banana blossom doesn’t have much flavour in the first place, especially compared to the other bold-flavour options from Japan and Portugal.

In an interview with Chattr, Emily addressed this double standard of going home, despite presenting a dish the judges enjoyed. “I think everyone would still have a glimmer of hope that sending a tasty dish with the ingredient would keep them in the competition, but hitting the brief is also crucial,” she said.

Emily’s journey on MasterChef Australia 2026

Emily Sue quickly became one of MasterChef Australia 2026’s most beloved cooks, bringing her bubbly vibe and big flavour into the kitchen.

The 37-year-old youth worker from New South Wales grew up surrounded by food, with her parents running a Chinese restaurant in rural NSW and her grandfather opening one of Dubbo’s first Chinese restaurants.

That background shaped her cooking style, which often leaned into bold Chinese, Cantonese and broader Asian flavours, while still showing plenty of creativity and innovation.

Emily’s best dishes included her tomato and short rib noodle soup, which impressed the judges so much early in the competition that judge Jean-Christophe Novelli removed her black apron.

Right before her elimination, Emily almost won immunity with a sweet moong dal dosa during Sanjeev Kapoor’s Indian Mystery Box, proving she could push herself outside her comfort zone.

MasterChef Australia airs Sunday to Wednesday on Channel 10 and 10Play.

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