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Hawaii ‘Master Chef’ contestant eliminated

Erika Engle
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COURTESY FOX BROADCASTING CO.

“Master Chef” contestant Paige Jimenez, from Hawaii, was awarded a white apron by award-winning pastry chef and show co-host Christina Tosi. Jimenez has left the televised “Master Chef” competition for home cooks after failing to impress the judges in an elimination test.

Paige Jimenez has left the televised “Master Chef” competition for home cooks after failing to impress the judges in an elimination test.

A Kaiser High School grad, Jimenez competed earlier on Wednesday’s episode in a team challenge where two teams prepared fish dishes for 101 lifeguards in California. Her team lost, sending her and other teammates to the pressure test in which competitors were tasked with recreating a dish by celebrity chef and show judge Aaron Sanchez comprising a thick grilled pork chop; nopales picadillo, a dish combining sauteed cactus with other vegetables and chorizo sausage; and a sauce made from prickly pear.

Two dishes, by Jimenez and a contestant named Jennifer, were the judges’ least favorite. In a possibly unprecedented move, Gordon Ramsay, show host and executive producer, polled other contestants as to who should remain in the competition, and all unanimously said “Jennifer,” ending Jimenez’s time on the show.

In an earlier interview, Jimenez called the timed cooking challenges “very insane,” and high-pressure, unlike cooking at home for family and friends.

“Overall it was an amazing experience from start to finish. I met some amazing people that I keep in touch with, and I would not change anything I did,” Jimenez said.

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