The detail in last night’s Masterchef elimination that got viewers fired up: ‘Stop the bullsh*t’

MasterChef Australia is heating up even more as we sprint towards the final weeks, but an overnight elimination challenge has divided viewers.

On Wednesday night’s MasterChef, five contestants were sent into a tense elimination where the more elevated the ingredients the contestants had to cook with, the less time they’d have to whip up something spectacular.

“Sadly, the journey will end for one of you today,” judge Jean-Christophe Novello told the nervous potential eliminees. Vinnie quickly played his immunity pin, telling the judges that “one in five is not great odds.”

This left Hannah, Lydia, Annabel and Alyona to duke it out in the elimination. Lydia and Annabel both selected the first box with onions, herbs and spices, which had the longest cooking time.

Annabel served up gnoccho fritto, which some viewers simply referred to as glorified ‘chips and dip’. Annabel herself admitted she “had a lot of regret about the avenue I went down”, revealing she wished that she had waited for a better assortment of produce with less cooking time.

Some viewers weren’t particularly stoked by Annabel’s efforts.

The judges were also less than impressed. “It just confuses me and I feel like Annabel is confused as well,” Andy Allen noted. “I would never cook this dish.”

In contrast, Lydia served up an onion tart, but sadly, the pastry wasn’t up to scratch as it was too crumbly. “I think she tried to fancy this up too much,” Poh Ling Yeow said. Andy said it was a “solid” idea, but the execution fell flat.

Ultimately, Lydia was sent packing. “This experience has been the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced,” Lydia told the judges, as she wiped away tears.

Given the degree of difficulty of Lydia’s pastry, some viewers weren’t happy to see her go.

Who has been eliminated from MasterChef Australia so far?

MasterChef Australia 2026 has already said goodbye to a string of hopeful home cooks, with the pressure tests and elimination challenges quickly thinning out the kitchen.

So far, the eliminated contestants include Megs Steel, Jeff Lam, Belinda Gosden, Bella Di Conza, Alita Harvey-Rodriguez, Kanika Gadyok, Lucy Mansfield, Miin Wei Looi, Olaolu Olorunnimbe and Lydia Kamperos.

Megs was the first to leave after serving undercooked prawns, while Jeff’s pie pressure test ended his run. Belinda, Bella and Alita followed after dishes that didn’t quite hit the brief, including Bella’s flawed entremet and Alita’s ambitious dumpling lasagne.

Kanika was sent home during Around the World week, Lucy exited after a tricky Chou Farci pressure test, and Miin’s emotional farewell came after his duck dish missed key elements. Most recently, Olaolu and Lydia also left the kitchen, proving just how brutal this season is becoming.

MasterChef Australia airs Sunday 7pm and Monday and Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play.

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