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The finalists for Australian MasterChef 2011 have been revealed. Kate Bracks emerged as the second contestant to make it to the final of this year's reality cooking competition after Alana Lowes was eliminated in last night's episode. Michael Weldon had already been announced as the first finalist in a previous challenge. Lowes was sent home after failing to impress the judges with her recreation of celebrity patissier Adriano Zumbo's fairytale gingerbread house. During the task, Lowes and Bracks had to create a roof covered in praline, tiles made from salted caramel, isomalt windows and a garden full of jellies and magic gum mushrooms. After her elimination, judge George Calombaris told Lowes: "The road hasn't come to an end, trust me," while Gary Mehigan praised her "creative touch". She replied: (more)...

Michael Weldon has won the first place in MasterChef Australia's grand final. The 25-year-old film projectionist won a 'three-hat' restaurant challenge against Kate Bracks and Alana Lowes, who must now compete for the remaining place in the final. Weldon told Adelaide daily The Advertiser: "I cooked a venison dish and it turned out to be a good one... they were looking for three-hat quality and they said mine was." Each of the contestants was sent to a high-end eaterie in Sydney tasked with producing a dish that would complement the existing menu. Weldon visited Est, where he cooked a main course of venison with beetroot, chestnut puree and a juniper jus. Lowes went to Marque, serving up a smoked tuna starter, and Bracks presented (more)...

Michael Weldon has won the first place in MasterChef Australia's grand final. The 25-year-old film projectionist won a 'three-hat' restaurant challenge against Kate Bracks and Alana Lowes, who must now compete for the remaining place in the final. Weldon told Adelaide daily The Advertiser: "I cooked a venison dish and it turned out to be a good one... they were looking for three-hat quality and they said mine was." Each of the contestants was sent to a high-end eaterie in Sydney tasked with producing a dish that would complement the existing menu. Weldon visited Est, where he cooked a main course of venison with beetroot, chestnut puree and a juniper jus. Lowes went to Marque, serving up a smoked tuna starter, and Bracks presented (more)...

Dani Venn has been eliminated from MasterChef Australia after disappointing in a "food autobiography" challenge. The 25-year-old and her fellow finalists Michael Weldon, Kate Bracks and Alana Lowes were asked to create three courses that told their life story during the three-house challenge. The quartet had all come under fire after serving up raw chicken during a task earlier in the week. As a result, judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan decided to place them all up for elimination instead of the bottom two. Venn said in a live chat with Herald Sun readers that she was happy with the way that producers portrayed her on the show, writing: "I really felt what came across was a true reflection of myself. I am emotional and happy and I was really (more)...

The final four contestants on MasterChef have been slammed for plating up inedible food. Dani Venn, Alana Lowes, Kate Bracks and Michael Weldon were challenged to re-create a Maggie Beer chicken terrine in last night's episode but all four served raw chicken. Judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Beer revealed that they could not eat some of the dishes for health and safety reasons, with Preston adding: "If a dish comes to your table in a restaurant and the main element is raw, you send it back - you're not happy." All four of the contestants will now face elimination rather (more)...

Ellie Paxton-Hall has become the latest contestant to leave MasterChef Australia. The former nursing student lost out to Alana Lowes in a pressure test on the Channel Ten reality cooking competition. Paxton-Hall told the Herald Sun: "Getting into the final four was playing on my mind a lot while I was cooking. The pressure of knowing this was the last chance to get into the final week was hard." The pair were challenged to reinvent their worst dishes from MasterChef so far, with Paxton-Hall choosing to revamp her stuffed capsicum with caramelised oranges. She will (more)...

Craig Young has left MasterChef. The professional musician, who made it to the top 13 of the Australian version of the reality television show, was eliminated after going head-to-head with Alana Lowes in a 15-minute cooking challenge. In round one, Young went up against Michael Weldon and Mat Beyer but failed to impress the judges with his "overcooked" quail breast. Weldon was praised for his "delicious" steak tartare with garlic chips, while Beyer's quail, fig and bacon dish was described as a "knockout combination". In the second round, Lowes competed with Dani Venn and Peter Vickery to stay in the competition, but shocked the judges by serving them "raw" lamb cutlets. Venn's Vietnamese beef salad was labelled "appetising" and although Vickery's lamb was a bit "rare, they told him that he (more)...