SA's Tracy out of MasterChef
MasterChef finalist Laura is like an Italian grandma in a young woman's body and is a frontrunner to win the series, eliminated contestant Tracy Collins says.
Collins, a hairdresser from South Australia, was given the chop from Network Ten's reality cooking show on Monday after failing to impress the judges with a lobster dish.
Collins said at the beginning of MasterChef she had Emelia and Jamie pegged as frontrunners but Laura and Brent are the form competitors as finals week continues.
"When Jamie is on fire he is unbeatable and then Emelia is just consistently strong," she told AAP.
"Then on the other hand you see Brent and Laura who have just grown so much and just come into their own."
Collins said she was closest to 19-year-old Laura, who has an Italian background, out of the four remaining contestants.
She said Laura's plating skills were improving and described her as wise beyond her years.
"Laura she always just stays true to herself and she is just amazing for her age," Tracy said.
"She has got the Benjamin Button thing going on, she is like an old nonna in a ... 19-year-old's body.
"She is a smart little cookie and she still has got that honesty to her food and she knows how to really pull out flavour."
Collins' won MasterChef's first power apron, which gave her the chance to influence the outcome of cooks for a week.
Fellow contestant Kira Westwick said she felt betrayed by Tracy when she chose not to give her a recipe for choux pastry during a croquembouche challenge, which led to her demise.
Tracy said she took the power apron responsibility seriously and had no idea Kira didn't know a recipe for choux.
She said the contestants were told they should know the foundations of cooking, including choux pastry, and also did a master class on the skill.
"I had no malice in my decisions but I had to make a decision," Collins said.
"I honestly didn't know that she didn't know how to make choux.
"I still really respect Kira (and) I hold in in really high regard as a cook."
Contestants could cook anything they liked on Monday and had an open pantry.
Laura won an advantage for Tuesday's challenge after she wowed judges with sophisticated quail and artichoke dish.
Collins' presentation let her down and she failed to execute the two sauces for her lobster dish to perfection.
Since leaving MasterChef she has been doing work experience at Orana restaurant in Adelaide and will write a regular column for Barossa Living Magazine.
MasterChef returns to Ten at 7.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
