MasterChef Australia star announces huge career move after shock elimination
MasterChef Australia contestant Rue Mupedzi is setting herself up for a huge career in the culinary world after her shock elimination from the Back to Win season on Tuesday.
Instead of hanging up her apron for good, the 29-year-old dental hygienist is planning on becoming a pastry chef.
Rue, who is known as the 'dessert queen' by fans, announced she plans to head to Europe to pursue her dream as soon as possible.
'My vision board is to go to France and gain work experience in the pastry world for six months to a year, as well as explore Europe,' she said in a new interview with Yahoo Lifestyle on Wednesday.
The WA-based kitchen star said her long-term plans included opening her own pastry shop.
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Elsewhere, Rue opened up about her return to MasterChef after her headline making appearance on the show in 2023.
'I still wanted to work really hard and do well, but the most important thing to me was to have a good time,' she said.
'Coming back was like riding a bike. It felt like I never left! I integrated back into the kitchen so quickly.'
Rue scored a major win on her first go on the hit cooking competition, when she won one of the biggest prizes the contest has seen.
The Zimbabwe-born cook was left speechless when she came first in an immunity challenge after judges fell in love with her sweet and spicy BBQ sauce recipe, BarbeRue.
Not only was she free from elimination that week, she won the life-changing prize of having her sauce produced, packaged and sold in all Coles stores across Australia for a limited time.
Rue suffered the heartache of a second MasterChef Australia elimination this week after a tricky pudding failed to impress the judges.
Rue, Tim, Audra and Sarah were tasked with remaking Variations of Sourdough and Strawberry with Elderflower and Balsamic dessert from O.MY restaurant's Blayne Bertoncello.
The dish included a strawberry sorbet which sat atop a sourdough-infused crème pâtissière, a strawberry gum emulsion, macerated strawberries, sourdough tuilles and fried elderflower crisps - all finished off with a balsamic gel.
As Rue, Audra, and Tim all struggled with their emulsion, which split and was too runny when compared to Blayne's, the temperatures began to soar in the kitchen.
In the end, it was the dessert queen herself who was sent home over her grainy crème pâtissière.
In tears, Rue told the judges that it had been an honour cooking for them and being on the show for a second time around.
'Just being called back among such amazing chefs made me realise I'm also part of the great people,' she shared.
Jean-Christophe Novelli sang high praises of the contestant and her presence on the show.
'You are unique, you've got the most amazing spirit and, for me, I believe you are a ray of sunshine in any kitchen,' he told Rue in a heartfelt speech.
Speaking of her final cook with 10Play, Season 15's Rue was left disappointed after being eliminated in a challenge she considered to be her bread and butter.
'I really felt like this was a cook that I was supposed to shine in, and I didn't,' Rue said.
'I had done all these elements over a thousand times, and somehow that didn't show. You couldn't see that on the plate.'
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