WARNING: This article contains spoilers for MasterChef Australia season 11 that may influence your enjoyment in discovering the plotlines. Read at your own risk.
Barely a few days before MasterChef Australia season 11 heads to the road for the west, Derek Lau, who is actually from Western Australia, was eliminated from the series. Unfortunately, he struggled at this week's challenge when he failed to notice the time at the auction.
According to Junkee, Derek wasted 10 minutes for eggs that he didn't really want to buy at a market auction and another 30 minutes for shopping for the other ingredients. The judges gave the contestants just 120 minutes to do everything -- shop, cook and prepare the dishes for serving in this episode's contest.
Derek also decided to steer clear of his desserts forte, which was his second mistake. So, he prepared a savory dish called egg yolk ravioli that he has never even tried cooking before.
In the kitchen of MasterChef Australia season 11, Derek had trouble with putting his ravioli pasta together and broke a lot of the yolks. With just eight contestants left, the challenges have definitely been getting harder and harder and while Derek pulled through in the past episodes, his weakness really got the best of him this time.
According to TV Black Box, George warned Derek that he is set for a disastrous result if he continued with his plan. Thus, he had to quickly change his strategy and start all over with a new dish.
Pressed for time, Derek ended up whipping Smoked Pasta with Onion Sauce using the ingredients he was preparing for the ravioli with just other 20 minutes to the clock. Expectedly, it didn't impress the judges of MasterChef Australia season 11 because it was quite a simple dish.
Derek was the 17th person eliminated on MasterChef Australia season 11. The experience, however, has made him aspire to open his own restaurant in his hometown.
"I've actually been looking at a spot in South Perth along Angelo Street," the 26-year-old said, per Perth Now. "It is quite expensive, but I also know that they've got the demand that will be able to sustain whatever we open there."
But while that restaurant dream is slowly hatching, Derek is opening a pop-up in Melbourne in August. He had also gone on food travel to Singapore and Hong Kong since being on the show.
MasterChef Australia season 11 will continue with a new episode on Sunday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m. on Channel Ten.
