By LAURA WAKELY
CAIRNLEA contestant TK had her Masterchef dream dashed after her turkey dish ran afoul of the judges.
Tran Kim Nguyen, known as TK, was eliminated in a challenge that saw her go ahead to head with contestants in a poultry cook off.
Forced to use turkey, a bird she’d never cooked, TK tried steaming the meat but realised it was too dry to serve.
With minutes left, she whipped up a turkey noodle stir fry that didn’t make the grade.
But the 22-year-old said the experience has only made her more determined to become a chef.
“Oh it was amazing,” TK told Star.
“I mean, we learnt so much from our mentors, the big guns, the celebrity chefs and also from each other.
“Being on the show has taught has to really adapt to situations and just think on the spot. “They throw you in the deep end.”
And what about the three judges – chefs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris and critic Matt Preston?
“They’re like what you see on TV.
“(After being eliminated) Matt shed a tear and it was really… it was really nice to see that I had so much support and a lot of love from everyone.”
TK is focused on finishing the final six months of her law degree, but says getting through to the top 24 on Masterchef, has made her hungry for a career change.
She plans to enrol in a culinary institute and work in a professional kitchen before opening her own Asian fusion tapas bar.