Andy Allen’s return to the MasterChef Australia kitchen should have been a heartwarming homecoming, but not everyone was thrilled to see him.
Monday night’s semi-final marked the judge’s first episode back following paternity leave, with Andy stepping into a mentoring role as Aaron, Petro and Vinnie fought for the final two places in the competition.
Tasked with preparing a two-course menu for 20 diners and the three judges, the contestants had just three hours before their main courses needed to leave the pass.
No pressure!
Andy was on hand to guide the cooks and keep them moving through the high-stakes service challenge, but his approach left viewers at home divided.
While some fans were thrilled to see Andy back in the kitchen, others questioned whether the Top 3 should have been able to cook their way into the grand finale without their advice.
“I don’t understand why Andy is offering advice to the three remaining contestants,” wrote one viewer. “It’s high-pressure cooking and they should be able to cook their way into the finals without a chef’s advice!”
Another argued that the contestants were under enough pressure “without Andy hovering over their shoulder”.
However, plenty of viewers rushed to Andy’s defence, pointing out that guiding less-experienced chefs is exactly what a mentor does.
“It’s called being a mentor. Even in a restaurant kitchen, head chefs tell up-and-coming chefs what to do and guide them,” one fan responded.
Aaron says the contestants needed Andy’s guidance
Speaking exclusively to WHO following his elimination, Aaron defended Andy’s involvement and said his return brought a special energy back into the kitchen.
“Having Andy there was unreal because the energy back in the kitchen was so special,” he said.
“I think all three of us felt so comfortable. We were like, ‘Oh, okay, this is home.'”
Far from seeing Andy’s advice as an unfair advantage, Aaron believes none of the semi-finalists would have completed the mammoth challenge without his encouragement.
“I don’t think any of us would have finished if he didn’t keep pushing us and encouraging us the way that he did,” admitted Aaron.
The semi-finalist also praised Andy for knowing how hard to push the contestants without sending them over the edge — which, in a three-hour service challenge involving 46 plates each, feels like quite the balancing act.
“He was able to give us something that would also be very encouraging at the same time without getting you to break down,” he explained.
“I think he had that really good balance of being a great mentor, and he really, really pushed us through it”
Andy helped Aaron recover from a major setback
Aaron experienced first-hand just how important Andy’s guidance could be.
The contestant set out to impress the judges with an ambitious Asian-French fusion menu, serving a pork loin chop with three sauces for his main course, followed by basil and white pepper ice cream with tomato, strawberry and white balsamic granita for dessert.
After devoting much of his time to the intricate dessert, Aaron fell behind on his main and Andy warned him that he needed to turn his attention to the pork before it was too late.
When Aaron eventually carved into it, he discovered it was undercooked.
With Andy’s words to push hard because it was “now or never” ringing in his ears, Aaron managed to finish the pork on the flat top and get his plates to the pass just in time.
Unfortunately, while the pork intself was well-cooked, the judges felt the flavours of his three sauces clashed.
However, the star of the show was his dessert, which left the judges speechless and earned him praise for the growth he had demonstrated throughout the competition.
Ultimately, Vinnie narrowly edged him out to join Petro in the grand finale.
While Aaron may have fallen just short of the final two, he remains certain about one thing: Andy wasn’t simply hovering — he was helping all three contestants get to the finish line.
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