Indian-origin MasterChef Australia contestant Depinder Chhibber, who returned to the latest season of the cookery show after her Season 13 stint, was eliminated on Tuesday ahead of the semi-final.
Depinder had secured the seventh position in the 13th season, and was back for a second shot at the MasterChef trophy in the current 17th season, titled Back to Win. She finished fourth this time around.
Over the course of the season, her dishes ranged from a Kerala sadya (meal) served on banana leaf to a daring curry ice cream with roti, earning praise from judges and viewers alike.
“Although it might look like my MasterChef Australia journey has come to an end, this is just the start. It’s surreal to think I made it all the way to the Top 4. This experience has been more than a cooking competition; it’s been a life-changing lesson in resilience, creativity, and friendship,” she posted on Instagram.
“My passion for food has only grown stronger, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. This is just the beginning,” the 33 year old chef from New South Wales added.
On Tuesday’s episode, the final four competitors— Depinder, Callum, Jamie and Laura — faced a two-round pressure test. In the first round, each contestant had to choose between a visible ingredient and a mystery one, and create either a sweet or savoury dish. Depinder, leaning into her pastry strengths, selected green tea and revisited a signature dish from her earlier season: ghevar, accompanied by a green tea sponge and ice cream.
Depinder, who described ghevar as “Indian honeycomb”, won praise for the texture and technical finesse of her dish but a slightly dry sponge cost her a place on the gantry.
In the second round, the stakes doubled. Assigned cinnamon and switching to savoury, Depinder decided to make a Scotch egg. The dish didn’t deliver enough to push her into the semi-finals.
"I really wanted to make it into the semi-finals... However, I don’t envy the stress that Callum, Jamie and Laura will go through," she told Channel Ten, which airs the show. “Yes, it kind of sucks to not be able to cook in the semi-final because I would've had some really cool ideas, and I would've tried my best to hone the traditional side of my cooking.”
Her return to the MasterChef kitchen was driven by unfinished business — recipes and ideas that didn’t find space during her Season 13 journey. This time around, she was determined to make every dish count.
"I also wanted to cook a lot of street food because I feel like street food deserves a platform on a television show like MasterChef Australia. I think I'm very satisfied with the types of dishes that I put up because it was a variety. It wasn't just like one style. I am very, very content,” she added.
Depinder continues to run Ghar, her supper club that offers homestyle thalis in an intimate setting. A cookbook is also on the cards, she said.