Tears will flow on this week's episode of MasterChef New Zealand. At stake for the 24 contestants is a place in the top 16 and entry to the palatial MasterChef house.
With last week's Golden Apron winner Dave McKinnon already bagging one of the top spots, only 15 places remain. That means more than a third of the contestants will go home.
"It's a day full of tears and tension," says a TVNZ spokeswoman.
The contestants are given just 60 minutes to cook from ingredients in a mystery box, and three scant minutes in the pantry to choose up to 15 other ingredients. To add to the drama, the judges can - and do - eliminate contestants at any time during the cooking or tasting.
More than 500,000 Kiwis tuned in to watch the first episode of the series' third season last week.
