20-05-2025
MasterChef Australia's most difficult challenge yet sees eliminated contestant left with 'PTSD' after attempt at iconic Balloon Puppy cake
Fan favourite Jimmy Wong had to hang up his apron on Tuesday after he was eliminated in a brutal dessert challenge on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win.
The 58-year-old who last appeared on the cooking competition in season 8 confessed he was 'gutted' when his dish fell short.
Jimmy joined Ben, Rue and Tim in recreating an elaborate Balloon Puppy cake from guest judge Steven He of Melbourne 's Le Yeahllow.
The amazing looking entrement treat featured a base of chocolate fairy sponge, shortbread crumble with dark chocolate and a layer of sour cherry compote and another layer of chocolate sponge.
Between each layer there is ganache made from English breakfast tea, topped with a decoration of a miniature 'balloon dog' made of white chocolate.
However, when Jimmy presented his version of the dessert his 'puppy' looked more like a 'potato starting to sprout' complained judge Andy Allen.
Things went downhill for Jimmy with the judges complaining of 'flawed flavours', even if Andy ended up praising the cook for his 'delicious' cake.
''I'm so sorry to say Jimmy you're going home,' Judge Poh Ling Yeow announced at the end of the episode.
An emotional Jimmy then paid tribute to his time on the show.
'I'm gutted but you know what? It's been an absolute privilege to be part of this amazing experience
'And I just wish all of you the best of luck and I will not be stopping,' he told the finalists.
'I will continue to fight for the things that I love and continue on this journey of mine.'
In the end it was Ben Macdonald who triumphed walking away the winner of the next-level challenge.
Jimmy later reviewed his own performance in a chat with 10Play.
'I was in my head, I wasn't able to get past the stress and the anxiety over following recipes in that time frame,' he told the platform.
'I have a little bit of PTSD from that experience,' he joked.
'Coming in this time, I said, look, just believe in yourself, sit into the process and trust your gut. Try to be as calm as possible because I know I've had enough experience in between the two seasons to believe in the fact that I can do this.'
It comes after MasterChef Australia: Back to Win sent home Matt Hopcraft after the dentist failed to impress the judges in Sunday's elimination challenge.
Matt, 53, who finished sixth on the cooking competition in 2015, hung up his apron when his Italian meringue missed the mark.
The popular contestant struggled in the presentation of his Bombe Alaska dessert which included a burning rum finish.
However, the dish was a disappointment with the meringue ending up wet, instead of silky, a result of Matt running out of time.
Matt was given credit for his delicious ice cream by Andy Allen, but the judge also slammed the dish for its 'overly boozy' flavour.
come to an abrupt end,' Matt said in an Instagram post.
