It was undoubtedly one of the most shocking eliminations from the MasterChef kitchen so far, and ‘Dessert Queen’ Therese Lum was left feeling the aftermath of it all when she was sent home from the competition.
WATCH BELOW: MasterChef’s Therese on her elimination
She wowed the judges from the very beginning with her mushroom dessert, and Therese managed to score herself an Immunity Pin, which is the biggest advantage in the competition.
But it was her refusal to the play the pin that saw the fan favourite sent packing.
“Going home where I do have a safety net to save myself is definitely one of the hardest things that has happened,” Therese tells New Idea.
“It’s such a blessing to have the Immunity Pin but you also want to use it at the right time and that’s what I did, I really wanted to hold onto it until the competition gets to the pointy end and not too early on,” she explains.
Watching the show back, Therese adds that it was hard to relive the moment and to see herself upset, but she’s feeling optimistic right now.
“I think that’s the only way that I can be,” she says.
As for why she didn’t play the Immunity Pin, which would have saved her from an elimination, Therese explains that she’d had a “good run” so far, and thought she could make it work.
“Desserts are my strength and I had been through a few eliminations beforehand where I’ve just really buckled up and persevered and I’ve been delivering, so I thought I could do the same thing.”
She adds that walking out of the MasterChef doors after being eliminated left her reeling with pure shock.
“It was just an out of body experience and all I remember thinking is telling myself is ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now’,” she says.
Her exit from the show not only caught Therese by surprise, but everyone watching at home, including her friends and family who were “devastated” that she had left.
“I think I’ve managed to surprise the whole nation with what has happened,” Therese says.
Despite her time on the show cut short, Therese remains positive and says she has left with life-long friends and something she gets to tick off her bucket list.
“It’s been phenomenal – just even getting an apron in the beginning, just stepping into the MasterChef kitchen to cook everyday – it’s been so surreal it’s always been something that I wanted to do,” she says.
She adds that the contestants are each other’s “support network”, even though they are competing against one another.
“At the end of the day we’re just one big family and we just have so much love for each other.”
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