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Laura And Dev Eliminated In Junior MasterChef Australia's Semi-Final

The contestants had to cook a lemon meringue tart for a spot in the grand final.
'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestants Carter, Georgia, Dev, Filo and Laura
Channel 10
'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestants Carter, Georgia, Dev, Filo and Laura

They were so close to reaching the end, but unfortunately Laura and Dev were eliminated from ‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ on Sunday night in a nail-biting semi final.

In a pressure test that would decide who goes through to the grand final, Dev, Laura and remaining contestants Georgia, Filo and Carter had to whip up celebrity chef Kirsten Tibballs’ lemon meringue tart.

But it wasn’t just any lemon meringue tart. The dessert featured a multi-layered base with spiced shortbread casing, a white chocolate and rice bubbles layer, salted caramel, lemon cake and crunchy meringue sticks to top it off.

With judge Andy Allen absent as he was feeling a bit under the weather, fellow judges Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo gave the young cooks pep talks as they concentrated hard in the kitchen.

Ultimately, Laura and Dev’s dishes didn’t quite hit the mark and they were eliminated from the competition.

Who Will Be In Junior MasterChef Australia’s Grand Final?

This means Georgia, Filo and Carter will go head-to-head in the grand final.

Georgia, 11, credits her grandmother for teaching her these cooking skills.

“I’m very close to my Nanna and my Papa,” Georgia said on the Channel 10 reality show, explaining she’s also learnt to make dishes that reflect her cultural heritage.

“They’re both Sri Lankan. My Nanna taught me how to make lots of different Sri Lankan food.”

‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ contestant Georgia
Channel 10
‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ contestant Georgia

Georgia said that what she loves most about cooking is that “it’s a great way to express myself”, and she has no plans to stop her magic in the kitchen any time soon.

“When I grow up I would love to own a cafe where I could do small nice desserts,” she said.

Meanwhile Filo, who grew up in Egypt before moving to Australia when he was eight, is also very proud of cooking food that reflects his cultural heritage.

The 12-year-old from Victoria has learnt his cooking skills from his parents who have owned a takeaway restaurant in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt and a café in Melbourne.

'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestant Filo
Channel 10
'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestant Filo
'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestant Carter
Channel 10
'Junior MasterChef Australia' contestant Carter

As for Carter, Italian is his favourite cuisine and the 12-year-old has a knack for making pastas and desserts.

His dream is to one day be a chef and the proud owner of a hatted restaurant.

The ‘Junior MasterChef Australia’ grand final airs on Monday at 7:30pm on Channel 10.

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