While an elimination from MasterChef Australia is usually a recipe for heartbreak, an unlikely twist saw one contestant able to return.
Bella was sadly the third contestant sent home during an emotional elimination, and whilst she’s known for her desserts, that’s what sent her home.
However, she was given an unprecedented second chance and allowed to return to the competition on June 9 as part of a special comeback challenge.
Speaking to New Idea, Bella admits it hasn’t been easy returning to the kitchen midway through the competition, but she’s still hoping she can win!
“It definitely took a while to find my groove again in the kitchen,” she tells us.
“I’d missed quite a few episodes since my elimination, so while some things felt familiar, there was also a lot that felt different.”
Keen to prove herself, she upped the ante with her savoury dessert titled Nonna’s Garden, which proved to be the success she needed.
“I did contemplate the idea of cooking a savoury dish for the comeback challenge, particularly as I never got to cook any of my nonna’s traditional recipes for the judges when I was on the show,” she continued.
“However, I knew a lot of the cooks I was up against were known for the savoury dishes, and so to stand out I really needed to play to my strengths.”
During the episode, the contestants were tasked with cooking a dish they wished they made during their first stint of the competition.
Bella knew a lot was riding on her out-of-the-ordinary dessert.
With a capsicum sorbet at the helm, it was accompanied by a chocolate soil, fennel gel, parsley powder and chocolate verjuice crémeux.
While the judges loved it, she told New Idea that she was glad that she didn’t get to make it during her first stint on the show.
She went on to say that she had the idea for the dessert while she was on the show, but hadn’t had the chance to develop it.
“I went through many versions of that dish before it got to its final stage,” she shared.
“I don’t regret not cooking it sooner as I don’t think it would have been the best version of itself had I not spent the extra time working on it.”
Despite her worries that she wouldn’t get everything on the plate, she did, and the judges said they felt her absence in the kitchen.
Keep watching MasterChef Australia every Sunday at 7pm, and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm, on Channel 10 and 10Play.
