MasterChef's Poh Ling Yeow has captured hearts during the latest season of Masterchef: Back to Win with her endearing habit of watching her food cook in the oven.
She was sadly eliminated on Sunday but during every cook would peer into the oven and many fans thought she was willing her food to cook faster.
She explained the “method to her madness” on Monday night's episode of The Project and admitted she's often asked why she looks into the oven.
“Everyone says – are you trying to make it cook faster?” she told guest panellist Steve Price, who joked she’d turned him into “an oven starer” too.
“There is actually a purpose to it, because I’m watching to see if I need to crank it up,” she explained.
“If I see it’s browning too much, I lower the temperature again. So I’m actually watching to see how I can keep adjusting, because of course, the time frames are always a little bit unrealistic. So I am actually … I am actually doing it for a reason,” she said.
The season one star was surprised by the outpouring of support that came from fans after her surprise elimination on Sunday night.
“What I’m really moved by is that people really get my wackiness,” the Adelaide artist said.
“Like from the messages that people are sending me. They’re quite detailed and they do get what I’m trying to do, which is really lovely that that punches across through the chaos. Through my Captain Chaos cape!” she joked.
Fans of the show were in tears as judge Melissa Leong gave a touching farewell to Poh.
“Poh, you are a national treasure,” Leong said. “Every day we could be guaranteed we’d get all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your love and all of your commitment.
“You’ve absolutely won our hearts all over again. You’ve always fought to show and represent who you are and to be proud of your heritage, and I think millions of people around the world see that and understand that and love you for that even more.”
Poh took the elimination in stride, saying: “I’ve had such a fantastic time. It’s been such a joy to cook with these guys and it’s really humbling to be around them.”
She revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald that she was “relieved” to leave the competition.
“There’s a kind of relief when you’re let go,” she said.
“You’re sitting with that pressure for so many months. But I do want to thank the people who’ve supported me and understood my madness and embraced me for who I am. I know I’m hard to watch,” she added,
“The message I want to put out there is whatever is making you feel different on the outside now, you can learn to harness that. It’s going to make you unusual and outshine the rest. Be yourself. At 46 I think I can actually lay claim to having done that.”
This article originally appeared on Over60.