MasterChef fan favourite sent packing in shock elimination, as top five revealed
Sunday's high-stakes episode saw the remaining contestants battle it out to make the top five, with debut MasterChef winner Julie Goodwin and most recent victor Nat Thaipun forming part of the special-look judging panel.
The current season of the long-running Ten cooking series has seen past stars return to the kitchen for another shot at the title.
In Sunday's elimination, Goodwin and Thaipun set the contestants a challenge of creating a meal with ingredients they each used in their respective winning dishes.
With just 60 minutes on the clock, Depinder and Ben ultimately came out on top, joining last week's immunity winners Callum and Laura to make up the top four.
Sarah and Jamie were then sent to a second round for the final spot, tasked with whipping up yet another dish from Goodwin and Thaipun's pantries.
Sarah, who recently went public with her relationship with fellow MasterChef star Declan, set herself the almighty feat of making Pork Assiette – which required her to cook pork three different ways in just 60 minutes.
Jamie, meanwhile, leant into classic flavours with roast chicken and vegetables.
After a last-minute hurdle, in which Jamie was forced to abandon his failed gnocchi, the first-time returnee was ultimately victorious over Sarah, with the judges unable to look past her undercooked pork belly.
The third-time MasterChef competitor, and runner-up in season 14, broke down in tears upon realising she just missed out on the top five, as the judges rallied around her.
'Sarah. You are so unique,' Jean-Christophe Novelli said.
'It is a pleasure watching you cooking. Every single dish you came out with were very different, and please, do not change.
'It's just a bad day in the office. You are so credible. Trust me. I really admire you.'
While Sarah didn't make it to the final, the TV cook did leave the show with a new love in her life, Declan, who was eliminated several weeks ago.
The pair revealed their secret relationship to Stellar in June, saying they began dating during filming of the latest season in Melbourne.
'We instantly got along and started spending a lot of time together,' Declan, 27, said.
'Nothing was ever rushed or forced – we just enjoyed spending time together. And Sarah, being from Melbourne, knew all the places to go. So we'd go to the beach, or go-karting, and we went out for lots of dinners.'
It was Declan who made the first move on Sarah, who has a 14-year-old son, as she faced elimination for the first time.
'I was [panicking]. 'Oh sh*t. I've been spending all this time with this bloody amazing chick and now she might be leaving,'' he told the magazine.
'And so, as she's walking into the elimination [challenge], I said, 'Sarah, can I ask you something? Would you like to go on a date with me?' And she just looked at me and said, 'You're a bloody idiot!''
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA'S TOP FIVE REVEAL THEIR HIGHLIGHTS:
Ben Macdonald, New Zealand
'Travelling to Doha and winning immunity cooking in an Alain Ducasse restaurant. Unforgettable,' Macdonald said.
Callum Hann, South Australia
'All the way back on day one, I was lucky enough to be the leader of the Green Team in the Gordon Ramsay service challenge, and we won! Afterwards, Gordon said to me 'if this is how you run your restaurants, I can't wait to make a reservation'. To get that positive reinforcement from one of the best chefs in the world was a pretty incredible feeling.
'Another great memory was our trip to Doha and cooking with so many ingredients in the desert that I've never heard of or seen before. Winning the first immunity challenge of International Week was incredible.
'Cooking with Hugh Allen and Vue de Monde, with another ingredient I wasn't familiar with, was also a very special experience.'
Depinder Chhibber, NSW
'My proudest achievement would be winning immunity in the final challenge in Doha. I had a rough week so winning that immunity just made it all worth it.
'My fondest memory is the Dough-Fest team challenge where Callum and I were safe [with immunity] and we got to roam the MasterChef Garden and taste everyone's the dishes.'
'My fondest memory of the season far is definitely winning a business class flight to Doha in the travel challenge. Getting to travel in style with some of my good friends was pretty wild.'
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