Things have started heating up in the MasterChef Australia Season 15 kitchen as 18 home cooks compete for the coveted champion’s trophy. Titled MasterChef Australia: Secrets & Surprises, the new season of the reality cooking show witnessed two eliminations in the first 10 days of the competition.

Andrea Puglisi, a 36-year-old rope access technician from Western Australia, was the first contestant to bid adieu to the show this season. The Italian-origin home cook failed to impress the judges in the childhood memories elimination challenge.

Though crestfallen after his elimination, Andrea admitted that the time he spent on MasterChef had been “a pleasure”. “I can do anything now, this experience has made me so much stronger, it's unbelievable,” he said.

Larissa Sewell, who won the first challenge of the season with her Borscht and Ukrainian Pampushky dish in the first episode, didn’t get the balance right in last night’s choux pastry challenge and became the second contestant to be eliminated from the MasterChef kitchen. However, unbeknownst to her fellow cooks, Larissa had won a ‘second chance apron’ in the first challenge. This gives her a chance to cook in next week’s elimination challenge. If she manages to impress the judges, she might stage a comeback into the competition.

“It's been a ride, cooking with and meeting these amazing people. I’ve made friends for life. That’s by far one of the biggest highlights,” the Ukrainian-Russian home cook said after her elimination.

“I have the ‘second chance apron’ but have to keep it a secret from other participants for now. I’ll be back for the next elimination to fight my way back in,” she added.

The season premiere of MasterChef Australia Season 15 was pushed back by a week following the death of judge Jock Zonfrillo. New episodes of the cooking competition, also judged by Andy Allen and Melissa Leong, are available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in India, a day after the telecast in Australia.