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- ‘You’re Told Off Straight Away’: Yo Yo Yang Reveals the Big No-No of the Masterchef Kitchen
‘You’re Told Off Straight Away’: Yo Yo Yang Reveals the Big No-No of the Masterchef Kitchen
by
Anita Anabel
If you’re going to get sent home for making a cake on MasterChef Australia 2021, you may as well be sent home for making a cake after meeting Nigella Lawson.
For 19-year-old Yo Yo Yang, having Lawson on was a surprise due to the fact that there was a global pandemic to contend with and the cast “didn’t expect to see anyone international”.
“There are a lot of things going on in the kitchen and I didn’t get as much time to speak to her,” Yang said during an interview with POPSUGAR Australia after her elimination. “However, having her on a hologram was just very inspirational and we were all very awe-struck obviously.”
Yang was sent home after failing to put up a perfect replica of Lawson’s Toasted Marshmallow and Rhubarb Cake — and in a comedy of errors of what could go wrong, was eliminated when for her meringue not holding its shape and her rhubarb being undercooked and crunchy.
“It was short, sharp and shiny,” Yang said, reiterating her sentiments about being the second contestant to leave the series, before admitting she really didn’t think she’d even make it on the show.
“I really did not expect to get an apron to be honest,” the medical student said. “I thought, let’s give it a go and let’s see how far I go and if not, I’ll definitely reapply later when I have more experience. But getting an apron was everything, it just meant a lot to me.”
During the challenge, Yang and her fellow contestants were tasked with making a creme anglaise to accompany the cake, and once again she was without a recipe.
“You can bring scraps of paper [into the kitchen] but that’s about it,” she said, before adding that she had the cold custard recipe in the back of her mind before the show.
Yang also revealed that just because it’s TV, it doesn’t mean the cast get any extra time in the kitchen.
“If you’re given an hour and a half, you get that time limit and no extra time,” she said. “If you try to touch it afterwards, you’re told off straight away.”
While you would think that she may not want to see a rhubarb cake and creme anglaise again, Yang was actually excited to reveal the kitchen hack she learned from her time on the hit series.
“The creme anglaise recipe is the same one you use to make ice cream!” she said, “Only it’s not churned!” Who knew!?
Yang may have only lasted a short-while in the MasterChef kitchen, however, it hasn’t deterred her love of food.
“I still want to graduate and become a doctor,” she said, before adding that she also wanted to “pursue things in the food industry as well.”
Currently, Yang has a website called Yo Yo Eats which sells the most adorable “food earrings”.
“I also have recipes that are simple and nutritious,” she said of the website. “It’s targeted at students because it’s really hard for people to make homemade meals especially when they’re under a lot of pressure, so having that available for them is something that I really want.”