Indian-origin contestant Adi Nevgi was the latest participant to be eliminated on MasterChef Australia Season 15 on Monday.
Adi, who made it to the top eight of the cooking competition, failed to impress the judges — Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo — during the colour palette elimination challenge, leading to her exit from the show.
The participants were confronted with a variety of petri dishes containing vibrant jelly-like pearls as they entered the MasterChef kitchen on the episode aired on June 26 in India. The judges revealed that these odourless spheres were prepared after subjecting some flavours through rigorous distillation and the home chefs were asked to identify those flavours.
Despite being informed by the judges that the pearls lacked any noticeable aroma, most of the chefs instinctively sniffed their petri dishes, just to be sure. Adi was among the first four contestants who incorrectly identified their pearls. She entered the second round of elimination alongside Rue Mupedzi, Brent Draper and Declan Cleary.
The contestants were then randomly assigned a colour and tasked with preparing a dish featuring that particular hue in this challenge. Adi received green as her assigned colour, but she struggled to find a clear direction for her dish throughout the cooking process. Ultimately, she presented a Middle East-inspired kingfish sashimi and tapioca crackers to the judges.
When Andy pointed out that Adi seemed dejected during the tasting, she nodded in affirmation. “It’s rushed, which shows in the plating. I don’t think it will be as balanced as I wanted it to be. So I’m disappointed. I’ve been wanting to do this for so many years and if this is the end, I’d be disappointed,” she said.
“It looks vibrant and it is green. It fulfils the brief in that regard. But it’s just a let down in the fact that it isn’t balanced,” Melissa commented after tasting Adi’s dish. Jock agreed with her, adding that the sauce was not up to the mark.
“I’m really proud of myself and I’m really grateful for this opportunity. It’s been amazing to learn so much from you guys. And you guys (the contestants). And, yeah, it’s bizarre that I ever got to stand here and I got this far. I think for someone who started cooking a few years ago, I did okay,” a teary-eyed Adi said after she was eliminated.
“Adi, you wouldn’t know that you only entered the world of food a few years ago. Your knowledge and understanding of cooking and various cuisines are remarkable. If you continue to embrace that passion, we have no doubt that you will go far," Jock commended Adi after her elimination.
“Follow your food dream. I think you’re gonna make it,” he added. “Don’t you dare stop,” Melissa advised Adi while giving her a final hug.