Antonio Cruz Vaamonde is the latest contestant to bite the crust on MasterChef: Secrets & Surprises after falling short in an elimination challenge overseen by one of Australia’s greatest culinary treasures – Maggie Beer.
Each contestant was given the choice of cooking with two unique ingredients handpicked by Maggie or taking a gamble and using a hidden ingredient, covered by a cloth.
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Whilst we admire Antonio for his bravery and choosing to go with the mystery ingredient (oranges), it didn’t pay off and he was criticised by judges for his use of white chocolate in his hazelnut cream, white chocolate ganache, and orange caramel, which they dubbed “too sweet.”
In the second round of the challenge, Antonio was ambitious, creating a goat’s cheese and kalamata caramel mille-feuille. But whilst he was praised for working together delicious flavours, his rough puff pastry ultimately sent him home.
“I got oranges which I was just so ecstatic to have,” Antonio told New Idea the morning after his onscreen departure.
“I focused all my effort into not going into round two but I didn’t have enough time to think about the olives…” he added.
When asked if he had any regrets about choosing to cook with the mystery ingredient, Antonio was quick to tell us “no, not at all!”
“If I got stuck with a really bad ingredient on the first round, I would have spent the entire time of my cook thinking about what I could do with the olives [laughs] but that didn’t happen.”
Reflecting on his time in the MasterChef kitchen, Antonio told New Idea that it was “wonderful.”
“It’s really hard to watch yourself [onscreen] but it’s been an amazing experience, I had a lot of fun.”
Antonio also shared a rare insight into which challenges are best suited to which contestants.
“I enjoyed every single one of them [the challenges] but I think I did really well with the mystery boxes.”
“I think mystery boxes are very well suited to people who do desserts or pastries in general.”
“I also really loved the service challenges, just the rush, the feel, serving 800 people, that was amazing.”
So what’s next for the Venezuelan native?
“Hopefully a few pop-ups, just collaborating with the MasterChef family, and hopefully opening a bakery sometime soon … .and who knows maybe MasterChef Fans vs Favourites.”
Antonio also teased whom he’d like to see take home the top title.
“They are all amazing, so I know that any one of them can actually make it. [But] I would love to see Declan, Rhiannon, my roomie Ralph, any one of those guys!”
