Posted by The Daily Telebraph, Australia on June 17, 2009 at 11:43:49:
By Erin McWhirter
June 17, 2009 12:00am
MASTERCHEF Australia favourite Poh Ling Yeow has accused a fellow contestant of sabotage during their toughest culinary battle yet - catering for a wedding.
The Adelaide artist said rivalry between the aspiring chefs was running thick and fast on the reality TV show, backing up claims made by ousted competitor Geni Papacostas.
When eliminated earlier this week Papacostas, 54, claimed the true colours of contestants were edited out of the show's broadcast version.
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Now, Ling Yeow has said while tensions had been mounting over the past two months, the knives come out during tonight's episode when the 35-year-old and other finalists, including Chris Badenoch, faced the challenge of catering for a wedding.
As Andrea Helstrip, 36, and Shaun Heath, 43, happily exchanged vows on board a charter vessel on Sydney Harbour, Ling Yeow said Badenoch, who was assigned as team captain for the challenge, apparently went into attempted sabotage mode on the decks below.
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Ling Yeow admitted she struggled while catering for the event, which was billed as a team challenge but more importantly was an individual assessment on cooking capabilities.
"Chris took on the role of team captain and he was a bit stern," Ling Yeow said. "He also did a few things that was a bit of sabotage and I found it quite unfair.
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"There were comments being made about me bringing the morale of the team down and that threw me off . . . I think it was done to sabotage.
"I was in a whirlwind of panic and yelled out for help but no one offered to help. I failed. One wrong move and you're out of the competition.
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"We all knew that and when they saw me struggling they used that to their advantage."
Ling Yeow's rant followed Papacostas giving her fellow competitors a serve about their two-faced backstage personas. "People don't see that - people being secretive and becoming more competitive," she said after being evicted on Monday night.
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"I would cook dinner most nights for everyone back home but people (other contestants) would not cook or get in the kitchen because they would not want to show skills or give ideas to others."
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Despite tensions boiling over on the Channel 10 program, the new Mr and Mrs Heath said their special day went off without a hitch.
"People might think it was a crazy idea, but we had the perfect wedding day," Mrs Heath said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
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