For most contestants, the moment they’re eliminated from MasterChef Australia comes when the judges deliver their verdict. For Jackie Yu, it happened much earlier.
In fact, the 31-year-old believes she knew her fate before the elimination cook had even begun.
During a Sweet Week Taste Test, the contestants were tasked with identifying a range of ice cream flavours. The first four cooks to guess incorrectly would face off in an elimination challenge.
When Jackie incorrectly guessed rockmelon instead of watermelon, she found herself up against Annabel, Casper and Aaron.
“Honestly, I felt like I knew it was over before the cook,” Jackie tells TV WEEK. “As soon as I guessed rockmelon and realised I was up against Annabel, Casper and Aaron. I knew the pressure had got to me and I tried so hard to keep it off during the cook, but obviously couldn’t.”
That self-doubt was something Jackie battled throughout much of her MasterChef journey.
“My biggest challenge in the competition was definitely the mental game of fighting negative self-talk and imposter syndrome,” she explains. “Particularly after I had a few bad cooks in the early days, I knew I had to lock in, keep practising and keep pushing myself.”
Despite having battled some low moments, there were also many highs, and one of Jackie’s proudest moments in the competition came just one day before her elimination.
“My Hot & Cold Plum dish from the day before I left would’ve been something I never conceived if it weren’t for the challenge,” she recalls. “It was a really fun cook. It was also proof, mainly to myself, of how far I’d grown since day one and showed how much more I was able to do by the time I left the competition.”
And once Jackie did leave the competition and returned home after living and breathing food for weeks, it proved to be quite the adjustment.
“When I got home I was like, ‘Where are the cameras? Where are the clocks? No blast chillers?’” she says with a laugh. “I couldn’t stop reading cookbooks and kept cooking every day.”
While her time in the MasterChef kitchen may be over, Jackie says her food journey is only just beginning.
“I’m keen to continue learning and get more practical experience,” she says. “I’m so inspired from working with all the talented cooks on the show and keen to plan pop-ups and collaborations celebrating food and the cultures that come with it.
“I’m also thinking about doing some international trips, hopefully to more remote places around the world, and documenting it all. We’ll see where it leads.”
MasterChef Australia airs Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7pm on Network Ten and 10.
TV WEEK is counting down Australia’s top 70 TV shows of all time, and we want your vote! You can vote for your top 10 Australian TV shows of all time HERE. Get in quick — voting closes on June 21!
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
