MasterChef Australia‘s Emily Sue served up a dish the judges loved, but a single mistake still ended her time in the competition.
While the judges loved Emily’s Filipino spring roll with pork, prawns and banana blossom, they felt the challenge ingredient didn’t shine enough — and with the standard so high, that was enough to send her home.
In a post-elimination interview, Emily told Chattr that MasterChef Australia 2026 has got to the point where the contestants’ dishes are so impressive that one small mistake can cost you your place in the competition.
“I believe anything can get you eliminated from the kitchen. It really depends if it’s your day. What I’ve realised is that everyone is getting better, and since we’ve been cooking for so long, a tiny slip up can send its maker home,” she told Chattr.
Despite being happy with the dish she produced for the judges, Emily took her elimination well, admitting that she should have been more focused on the brief, rather than spending all her time honing in on the flavour of the dish itself.
“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 explained.
MasterChef Australia’s Emily had a feeling that she’d be eliminated over the banana blossom
Emily added that despite the fact that it seemed she was confident with her Filipino spring roll dish when she served it up to the judges, she already had an inkling it might not be enough.
“I did [think I might be going home] because I already started having doubts during my cook when the judges kept speaking to me about my choice to use banana blossom,” she said.
However, the youth worker said that while she would have loved to be crowned the winner of MasterChef Australia, she’s proud of how far she got, adding that she didn’t think she’d make it past the initial auditions.
“I didn’t even expect to get an apron for the Top 24 as everyone was so good. I remember watching from the gantry on day one and thinking ‘well at least it was fun to meet everyone,'” she laughed.
“Honestly, I had the best time of my life in MasterChef and realistically, there is only one winner. I’m extremely grateful to have made it so far but sad I couldn’t learn more from the others anymore.”
So, what’s next for Emily now that her time in the MasterChef competition has come to an end?
“I’m trying to figure that out myself,” Emily told us. “I would like to find a way to work towards my food dream of travelling around rural Australia and helping young people learn life skills and budgeting during the cost-of-living crisis.”
MasterChef Australia airs Sunday – Wednesday on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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