After bidding farewell to 11 talented home cooks on MasterChef Australia 2021, the series offered up a delicious twist by bringing all of them back for second chance week.
Early eliminated contestants such as Trent, YoYo and Katrina had been away from the MasterChef kitchen for a few weeks, while Tom Levick had only just been sent home the day before.
Second chance week also meant that fan-favourites such as Minoli, Therese and Conor — whose eliminations came as a huge shock — have returned to really show the judges what they can do and have another crack at winning the $250,000 prize.
Up for grabs is not one, but two, chances to re-enter the competition with the aspiring cooks facing off in a series of challenges to earn back their aprons.
First up, the eleven contestants had to whip up some tasty treats with a hero ingredient one of the remaining cooks had purchased for them. From that challenge, Conor, Minoli, Eric and Katrina’s dishes were deemed the best and went head to head in a pressure test to win their spot back in the game.
The winner of that competition was Minoli, which means she is now officially back in the game.
“I went in with the mindset that I wasn’t going to fail,” DeSilva told The Latch about her winning cook. “I spoke to my mum beforehand and she said: ‘You just have to believe in yourself. You’re a good cook and you know what you’re doing. Just go in there and don’t think about not doing the right thing — put all your energy into thinking that you are going to smash it.’”
Next up, the remaining “second chancers” were put through a new challenge with the winner of that also returning to the fold.
The winner of the second pressure test was Maja Veit who was one of the earliest contestants to be eliminated and genuinely looked like she might faint when Melissa rolled out her white apron.
“I think I’m a dedicated person when I set my sights on something,” Veit told The Latch following her return to the show. “And as soon as I left and I knew that there was even a slight chance that there would be a comeback, I just got straight into finding work experience.
“It was something that we were allowed to do as part of the competition, and I just didn’t waste any time with that.”
While Therese was not successful in making her way back into the competition, she did say in a promo for second chance week that she was going to fight for her apron to be returned “harder than I fought for anything.”
The 31-year-old from NSW became the third contestant in MasterChef Australia’s history to leave the series with an immunity pin still in her possession, in an elimination that shocked even Andy, Melissa and Jock.
“I’ve actually given it back,” Therese told The Latch during her exit interview. “I didn’t really want to stare at that thing every single day when I wake up.”
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