Poh Ling Yeow struggles to hold back tears on MasterChef as she bids farewell to contestant Andre Ursini
Andre appeared alongside Poh on the inaugural MasterChef season back in 2009.
However, his second chance at success was foiled after he lost a Pressure Test that tasked Andre and fellow contestants Alanah Lowes and Snezana Calic with recreating an ornate dessert by renowned pastry chef Philip Khoury.
When it came time for Andre to make his exit, judge Poh became emotional when reflecting on the journey that she and Andre had started together.
'Andre, we started this journey together – whoa – 16 years ago,' Poh said, with tears welling in her eyes.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
'For the past 16 years, I've watched you not only become a really brilliant cook and an amazing entrepreneur, but an amazing husband and dad.'
An emotional Poh added that having the chance to see Andre in the MasterChef kitchen again was a pleasure.
'It's been so nice and fun to be back in the kitchen with you,' she said.
'I love that you've always marched to the beat of your own drum.'
Poh then lightened the mood, joking: 'Even though sometimes I do – no I don't, I really don't.'
Obviously touched by Poh's heartwarming tribute, Andre wasn't shy about returning the compliments.
'I was pretty inspired that first time I walked in – seeing my mate in the bright shining light where she belongs,' he said.
Andre continued to heap praise on the MasterChef judge saying: 'Poh is a jewel in the crown of the Australian culinary scene.'
'She's one of the most genuine and unique individuals that we've all been around.
'She's basically going to start levitating any year now,' he joked.
Speaking to camera after making his emotional exit, Andre was philosophical about his elimination, despite being 'devastated.'
'Being eliminated, I'm devastated, but I've come so far in the competition,' he said.
'It's taken me 16 years to re-emerge – I came in here with no expectations and got to top ten.
He added: 'I'm feeling pretty invigorated. I've rediscovered my passion for cooking after all these years and, from now on until the time I die, I'm going to keep cooking.'
Poh also repeated her sentiment on Instagram, commenting under a post on the MasterChef page about Andre's exit.
'This is very hard for me to say, but I'm super proud of you,' she wrote.
'It has shaved 2 years off my life with every pressure test I've had to watch u do so that adds up to 6 years, which is very expensive for my well being.
'I love the conviction and stoicism with which you walk through life. See you on the flip side.'
Fans also flooded to the comments to echo Poh's words, with many praising Andre as their favourite contestant.
'Dammit. I'm sobbing,' one wrote. 'So sad you've gone Andre. What an absolute joy you are.'
Another chimed in with a similar: 'So sad to see that one of my favourites has left. You are a joy to watch Andre. You're amazing and always full of energy and humour. You will be missed.'
Andre appeared alongside 19 hopefuls, including Poh and Julie Goodwin, on the inaugural MasterChef season in 2009.
He was eliminated while Julie and Poh went on to claim winner and runner-up titles, respectively.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Aerial Photographer of the Year: the 2025 winners
The inaugural Aerial Photographer of the Year awards attracted 1,549 entries from around the globe, the photographers using drones, aircraft, helicopters and even balloons. The judging panel selected the top 101 images for publication and awarded the ultimate accolade to Joanna Steidle of the United States. Daniel Viñé Garcia, from Spain, and David Swindler, another American, took second and third place respectively in the photographer of the year category. Australia's Ignacio Palacios won photograph of the year, second and third place going to Talor Stone and Thomas Vijayan respectively. Awards for special categories spanning black and white, abstract, drone and chairman's choice were also handed out. Pal Hermansen, who won the special award in the drone category, captured a snow blizzard by a lake's edge in Norway COVER IMAGES Colin Leonhardt's photo of an alumina mine tailings dam, a waste pond for bauxite ore extraction, earned the special award in the abstract category COVER IMAGES Two seals lounging on a drifting slab of ice in the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, southern Iceland, helped Fabien Guittard seal the win in the chairman's choice category COVER IMAGES A lava river flows out of the Litli-Hrutur volcano, Iceland, hours after its 2023 eruption, in this panoramic shot by Mike Mezeul SWNS Ignacio Palacios's photo of the Cono de Arita in the middle of the Arizaro salt flats in Argentina earned him the photograph of the year award COVER IMAGES A polar bear in Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago, after eating a walrus carcass, captured by Pal Hermansen, the winner of the special award in the drone category COVER IMAGES The alumina mine near Collie in Western Australia, photographed by Colin Leonhardt COVER IMAGES The Brasvellbreen glacier, part of the Austfonna Ice Cap in Svalbard, earned Thomas Vijayan third place in the photograph of the year category and reminded the public of the reality of climate change COVER IMAGES David Swindler captured a swarm of flamingos surrounding a small group of pelicans, as he won third place in the photographer of the year contest COVER IMAGES Glacial calving, the process where chunks of ice break off from a glacier, reveals an organic pattern in the waters of Northeast Greenland National Park in this photograph by Talor Stone COVER IMAGES Daniel Viñé Garcia caught the moment lava from Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano formed a pattern resembling a skull COVER IMAGES Joanna Steidle, the overall winner, also took a photograph of a fever of cownose rays approaching a school of menhaden off the coast of Southampton, New York COVER IMAGES David Swindler's photo of a desert playa, among the flattest of landforms, which can periodically get covered by water — leaving salt, sand and mud after it evaporates COVER IMAGES A dormant volcano in the high-altitude Puna plateau of Argentina reveals intricate erosion patterns sculpted by wind and time in a photo by Daniel Viñé Garcia COVER IMAGES Barbara Brown, the winner of the special award in the black and white category, photographed a salt lake in the Goldfields region of Western Australia COVER IMAGES Joanna Steidle's shot of a humpback whale diving back under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Southampton COVER IMAGES
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie consumers issued urgent warning about viral Labubu toys
An urgent warning about a cult toy craze that's sweeping the globe has been issued to Aussies, as eager buyers lineup for hours to get their hands on the in demand item. NSW Fair Trading took to social media on Wednesday to alert consumers to a spike in fake Labubu toys being sold online. They warn that scammers are cashing in on the hype by flogging off counterfeit 'Lafufu' products or failing to deliver on orders altogether. Fair Trading shared a visual guide to help buyers spot the difference between genuine Labubu figures and some of the knock-offs that are making their way into the country. Key details include matte packaging for the real toys versus shiny packaging for the fakes, along with design differences. Authentic Labubus have ears that sit closer together and feature nine distinct pointed teeth. Authorities are urging shoppers to only buy from reputable retailers, steer clear of suspiciously cheap listings on overseas websites, and always check seller reviews before purchasing. The official toys, sold by PopMart, retail for about $32 but are often snapped up by resellers who hike the price to well over $100. NSW Fair Trading has encouraged consumers who have been scammed or have not received their item to report it immediately. Labubus, which originated in Hong Kong, first gained popularity in Asia through 'blind-box' collectible culture and social media hype. Its quirky design and limited releases quickly turned them into a sensation among collectors around the globe. The toys are a popular fashion accessory, and have been seen attached to the handbags and clothing of a number of celebrities and social media personalities. PopMart's valuation has skyrocketed on the back of Labubu's global success. The company is now estimated to be worth $68.47 billion, surpassing major toy giants like Hasbro and Hello Kitty creator Sanrio.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bachelor star gets her happily ever after as she announces engagement after failing to find love with Sam Wood
Nina Rolleston has found love after striking out with Sam Wood on The Bachelor back in 2015. The former reality star shared the good news of her engagement in an Instagram post this week. Posing alongside her partner in photos taken in Fiji, Nina did not reveal her fiancé's name. Nina had kept her budding romance under wraps before revealing her engagement. She added the caption 'hard launch' alongside the festive images, in which she showed off her diamond engagement ring. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The happy couple cuddled up and shared kisses in the series of images which were taken against the gorgeous Fijian backdrop. After appearing on The Bachelor, Nina went on to also star on a season of Bachelor in Paradise in 2018. She has since left the limelight and now works for SILK Laser Clinics. It comes after Nina exposed the truth behind life in the famous Hunter's Hill mansion. In a tell-all interview, she claimed that the 25 women were forced to live in 'asylum-style' accommodation and shared just one washing machine between them. Speaking on the Confessions of a Twenty Something Train Wreck podcast, Nina added that filming took place 'five days a week' and rose ceremonies would often last until 3am. 'We filmed five days per week with a two-day break, which wasn't always a Saturday or Sunday but it was always two consecutive days,' Nina said. She also revealed that the limited laundry facilities put a strain on the girls, who were often struggling to find clean clothes to wear. 'We had to do our own laundry and stuff like that. We only had one washing machine between 20-odd women. It's a lot of laundry,' she said. Nina explained that the frequent 'outfit changes' demanded by producers turned the laundry problem into a full-blown nightmare. She also spoke about the living arrangements during The Bachelor's third season. 'So if you think of, like, school camp crossed with a psychiatric asylum, that's what it feels like!' she laughed. Nina added: 'In my season, in the Hunter's Hill mansion, we had three bedrooms between 25 women. In my room, we had five girls: two bunk beds and a single bed.' She claimed that one of the other bedrooms actually housed '10 people'. Elsewhere in the interview, Nina addressed the insufficient number of bathrooms in the mansion, saying: 'Then we had four bathrooms between 25 girls.' She also explained why the female contestants would often look 'bleary eyed' and 'tired' during the rose ceremonies. 'People always say we look really tired in rose ceremonies. You have to understand that we've done a cocktail party and you have to wait for the sun to go down [for that]. You've never seen a cocktail party during daylight,' she said. 'We're in Sydney with daylight savings, so the sun doesn't go down completely until 9pm and we're sitting around literally waiting for the sun to go down. 'Then we have to do a cocktail party, where the Bachelor [Sam Wood] has to go around and speak to everybody. Then all the drama...' Nina estimated that the rose ceremony wouldn't usually begin until after midnight, after all the cocktail party footage had been captured. 'By the time we actually get to a rose ceremony. It's probably between 1am to 3am,' she explained. 'We've been in these outfits all day. So if you were the first person to go through to hair and makeup at 10am, you've actually had that on for all day, all night! 'Then you have those shoes and your feet are killing you. So you would be standing there on those stairs after you've just been filming, say, five or six hours at a cocktail party and then you're standing there.' Nina claimed that some departments would often halt filming if the shooting conditions weren't perfect. She said: 'You have to take into consideration, if one candle blows out, you've got the art department saying, "Stop! We have to re-light that candle". If a plane flies over, you've got the sound guys saying, "Stop!" 'If one of the girls' hair is out of place, or The Bachelor's tie is out of place, then wardrobe say, "Stop!" So everything takes so long.'
