Thomas from My Kitchen Rules was eliminated tonight (see blog post on the episode here) and at the time he appeared to have defeatist attitude, but he tells TV WEEK he would do it all again. He also talks about being cast as one of the show villains.

Here is the interview from TV WEEK:

When you were filming the show, did you ever think the way you played the game would cause such uproar from fans?

When Carla and I made the decision to vote strategically, we would have been very naive to think there wouldn’t be backlash. When we made that decision, we had to accept that, unfortunately, we were going to get a bit of slack for it.

When did you make the plan to be strategic? Was it before the show had even begun filming?

We absolutely hadn’t planned to be strategic prior to Emma and Andrew’s restaurant. We gave fair scores – it was just that when we were at their restaurant, things weren’t going too well for them, and we saw it as an opportunity to stay in the competition. And Like everyone else at that table, we had all resigned from our jobs – we put our lives on hold and travelled halfway around the country, and we just filmed two months’ worth of restaurants. We thought, “Look, we will cop flak for it, and it’s probably not the best decision, but we’ve done too much to leave now.” Carla and I felt we didn’t  really have the opportunity to showcase our skills and we wanted to be given that chance.

So you didn’t think you were able to show your potential in the instant restaurant rounds?

No, not at all.

In what way? Because of the pressure?

I don’t want to say anything…no comment. I’m going to leave that alone.

Hs it been difficult seeing people make personal comments about you?

I think anyone would be hurt by the negative things people say. It’s very hard going through life and not being affected by that negative feedback.

How have you dealt with it?

It really helped having some supportive contestants around us. Helen from NSW was great – she calls Carla and I every couple of days and talks us through it to make sure we’re OK. She’s been a huge support.

Have you been worried about being recognised on the streets?

No, not at all. I’m living a normal life, working nine to five as a podiatrist, and just trying to keep a low profile at the moment.

Do you think the show has been edited to make you look worse than you really are?

At the end of the day, it’s a television show and the editors and the producers have done a really good job cutting and pasting it together to make an enthralling series. I’m not one of those people that’s going to start whingeing and complaining. It’s good entertainment.

How does it sit with you having a villain tag?

It’s fine. I mean, someone has to have it. At the end of the day, all the other contestants, as well as our family and friends, know what are really like as people.

Has it been hard to accept people pointing the finger at you, especially when other contestants were playing the game as well?

The show is about character development, and I there has to be the villains, the heroes and the neutrals. You need all of those characters to make a good show. I really compare it to Home And Away or The Bold and The Beautiful – there is so much drama. Someone had to be a villain. Am I disappointed it’s me? Hmm, not really – I’m not fazed.

How has Carla reacted to the backlash from fans of the show? We’ve heard she isn’t tuning in to watch it…

She doesn’t watch the show. Oh, she started watching the show for the first time last week. She was only going to watch it from the positive section onwards. She’s not that interested, really. I think she probably found it a bit hard, like I did as weel. It’s just not her reality, so she really isn’t interested.

Would you do reality TV again?

I would absolutely do it all again. It has been such an amazing opportunity. Yes, the hours were long, and it’s demanding, but I got to travel around Australia and meet some amazing friends and chefs. The whole experience has been invaluable. I’m open to anything, maybe even Dancing With The Stars.

Thomas and Carla deserved to go home because of their crime against seafood. Who would blend up beautiful looking Moreton Bay Bugs and turn them into Bug Cakes and killing any taste of the meat by adding in a load of chilli sauce?

Tonight it was Megan and Andy and Carla and Thomas facing elimination. Clearly the teams had moved on from the campsite in Port Douglas as they were now standing in a five star resort called the Elandra in Mission Beach.

Unfortunately for the teams there was a twist to tonight’s elimination, and instead of having carte blanch to cook what they wanted for their three course meal their menu had to feature key ingredients, moreton bay bugs, macadamia nuts and mango.

Carla and Thomas served Moreton Bay Bugs Cakes for entree, main was Paneer and Macadamia Kofta with a Coriander Sauce, and dessert is Mango Cream with a Coconut Tuile.Carla said their menu was thai inspired – isn’t Kofta more indian? As is the cardamon that went into their dessert.

Carla took responsibility for the entree, whilst Thomas did main, and he was getting very up tight with his Kofta’s and was refusing to help plate up the entree with Carla.

But the nightmare did not end there, as when he started cooking the koftas they ended up collapsing, and he was getting a tad hysterical yelling out “just stay away from me” and “I am not going to get it done”, and finally “I just don’t want to do this anymore”, and he also teared up whilst cooking them.

It was no surprise when the judges criticised the way they were showcasing the seafood. Guy thought they were OK but a bit thick.

Their main of Kofta did look dreadful on the plate however Pete Evans thought it tasted better than it looked.

Their dessert of Mango Cream again was a shocker as it did not set. It was unclear whether Carla started it in the time between entree and main, but if not maybe they had not given it time to set. With a dodgy tuile and a runny sauce with yellow colour it really looked like an infected wound.

Megan and Andy making a Mango Salsa with Prawns and Rocket, Angel Hair Pasta with Moreton Bay Bugs, and Pear and Macadamia Tart. Megan is such a control freak trying to oversight everything, when it is Andy who is the better chef. As he said “Go do something else I am the one who has made this sauce before”.

Pete and Manu again were disparaging about the fruit and seafood mixed together, however the four guest judges gave it the resounding thumbs up.

For their main Megan had cooked her pasta 30 minutes early and it ended up being over cooked but the sauce accompanying looked delicious.

The judges liked the pear and macadamia tart but they were criticised for over whipping the cream

Megan and Andy scores were good. Karen gave a 7, Tobie gave a 7, Liz gave a 6, and Guy gave a 7. Manu scored them a 7, and Pete gave a 7. This gave them 41 out of 60.

Carla and Thomas not so great. Karen scored them a 6, Liz gave a 5, Tobie gave a 5, and Guy a 6. Manu scored them a 5 , and Pete a  5. Which gave them 32 and Thomas and Carla were eliminated.

Thomas and Carla were certainly polarising and were a great team to love to hate but who is going to be the next villain? Princess Jen and Leigh will certainly step up to the plate, but I also think Megan has the potential to turn into a nightmare.

Were David and Scott told to pick  Nic and Rocco for the holiday prize so they could get gratuitous shots of their chests when they were snorkeling? For once I approve of producer interference in a reality TV show. Also if you need to see more footage apparently there is some on the official website!

It was The Amazing Race meets My Kitchen Rules, and like any good episode of Amazing Race it involved difficult vehicles to drive, dodgy maps and flaring tempers. The challenge was to drive from the bottom of the Atherton Tablelands to Port Douglas and the first three teams to reach the campsite would make the main course for the campers, and the last three teams dessert.

Also the teams could only get ingredients at markets and honesty boxes on the way, which made meal planning difficult for them. However the question has to be asked which stall did Carly and Emily get their bottle of Bundy Rum from?

As most teams appeared to want to cook mains they were all desperate to get in the top three and that is where the tension started.

Carla and Thomas got lost and tempers were flaring as there was an argument about who had forgotten the eggs. Thomas is never going to get a girlfriend as he talks to Carla terribly.

Also Justine and Angela were at the counter at one stop and kept on handing ingredients to each other ensuring no one else could get served. Simon flipped and said “If you have not finished shopping get off the counter”.

Though nothing could top Jennifer yelling at a sound guy to “Move out of my way now!” Quickly followed by her partner in crime Leigh banging into Justine’s car as they made a quick get away.

Simon and Meg were first to arrive, followed closely by Justine and Angela and Jennifer and Leigh. Thomas and Carla arrived last, it would have been interesting to know just how far behind the others they were.

The prep area was less then ideal with a lot of the tables on a slant as well as small camp ovens and BBQ’s. In fact I still can’t work out how Jennifer and Leigh got all their beef cooked.

Simon and Meg made Avocado, Prawn and Scallop Salad, and you had to feel sorry for Meg who must have thought she was in the twilight zone when she turned her back for a couple of minutes then turned around and her dressing jug had disappeared. It had slid off the table but she wasn’t to know that.

The judges said the dish was perfect for this weather but queried whether it was a main or an entree.

Jen and Leigh made Beef Fillet with Papaya and Wing Bean Salad. They were in all sorts of bother the mandolin wasn’t working properly so they were having to chop the papaya by hand, also the bowl of wing beans fell of the table on to the dirt. Jen said she was going to use them anyway and just give them a wash. However I noted on the dishes served up that there did not look like there were any on there.

The judges said the beef was cooked to perfection but had not been rested long enough, and the dish was not finished. The girls did not have time to get the peanuts and shallots on the plate.

Justine and Angela made Asian Prawns and Coconut Mussels with a Rice and Herb Salad. Angela is bossy but Justine just ignores her. Angela told her to take the prawns off but Justine kept on cooking them. Big mistake as the judges thought the prawns were overcooked however the mussels were perfect.

Steve and Helen are making Blueberry Mahalabia, a poor mans custard, and this was a savvy pick as the judges thought it was perfect for this type of weather. Also even though there were a few elements on the plate it did not appear to be as much of a prep nightmare as the other dishes.

Thomas and Carla made a Peach and Raspberry Streusel. They ended up burning the bottom of the cake, and Manu queried whether the peaches they used had been ripe as they tasted too acidic.

Carly and Emily are making Passionfruit Tartlet with Drunken Pineapple. The aforementioned bottle of rum was used for the pineapple but Pete thought it was little bit bland, but they have done a fantastic job on the tart.

Even though they were trying to create tension on who would be going into the elimination. It was no surprise that it was Thomas and Carla as it was easily the worst dish of the day. It looked like Thomas was completely disheartened and about to give up.

My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans has been getting some bad press lately for shagging a hot blonde. Yeah go figure. However he also  taking the time to raise money for the Exodus Foundation.

For as little as a $10 donation you have the chance to win dinner cooked by Pete Evans in your home for six people. If you won you could sell the seats off to your friends, or at least bribe them into bringing a decent drop rather then the chardonnay from the Cleanskins bins.

And ladies the prize does not include Pete staying the night…

Go here to buy tickets and support the Exodus Foundation which is run by Rev Bill Crews which assists the disadvantaged in our community.

I might even buy a few tickets myself as long as he brings his partner in crime Manu Feildel to mix the cocktails.

The My Kitchen Rules contestants were on the road last night going to Ingham to produce sweet treats to reflect the local sugar industry. It was the usual scenario where the public got to vote for the best team, and they would win immunity, and the person with the worst dish as judged by Manu and Pete would be up for elimination.

Now as a contestants should you go for the public vote which relies on getting out a lot of dishes and trying to please the local palates? As the public never get to taste all the dishes.  Or do you just knock out a more complicated tasty dish that will please the judges?

Angela and Justine went for the popular vote which looked like they were aiming it at the kids, with their Banana Lounge Cake which was decorated with lollies. Also Angela took the sugar brief very seriously and thought it was about adding as much sugar as possible, making a very sweet icing.

There were the usual dramas in the very short prep time of 90 minutes and also the vagaries of working with ovens outdoors, biscuits were burnt, crepes stuck, and pans dropped.

Also they had the added impediment of the hot humid tropical weather, something Thomas and Rocco said they struggled with. Also Andy appeared to be sweating a lot he really needed some ninja type head gear as there was a lot sweat going into those crepes. Maybe this was why they were said not to be sweet enough.

Carly and Emily made Choc Honeycomb Cheesecake Cones they were impressive as they made their own cones and their own honeycomb. The judges said it was unusual but Pete and Manu liked it.

Steve and Helen did a fruit scroll which was more like a baklava. Helen was having issues with the filo, and Manu thought it was not  the right dessert to do on a hot day, also Pete thought it was too heavy. Not sure how they met the sugar brief considering most of the sweetness would have come from the dried fruit, maybe the dipping it in sugar syrup got them over the line.

Thomas and Carla made Dark Chocolate Cupcakes which were said to be fantastic by the judges, and they must have gone close to winning the public vote. Maybe they are starting to find their feet in the competition.

Banana Lounge Cake was made by Justine and Angela, and quite frankly I think they should be up for elimination. Angela seemed to mis-interpret the challenge as get as much sugar as you can in the dish. Their icing was way too sweet and grainy, compounded by the fact there were lollies on top as decoration. Even the kids thought it was not great. Manu thought the presentation was OK, but Pete thought it was awful.

Jen and Leigh did a  Ginger Wafer with white chocolate cream. I would like to know how many they actually ended up plating up as they were struggling at one point with burning and dropping them. They were criticised for presentation but the judges thought the flavour was fantastic.

Scott and David made Banana Tartlet the pastry was perfect and Manu thought they had met the brief. Also they had they were acclimatised to the climate so no sweat dripping in there food. They also had the local’s support so they were always going to do well.

Meg and Simon made White Chocolate Caramel Mud Cake  and the cakes were sticking in the pan. This was the first time I have seen this pair flustered. Manu thought it was big but very light, so they did not have to worry about being up for elimination.

Nic and Rocco made Tropical fruits and Custard tarts and they looked amazing. The only criticism was the pastry was too thick, however Manu thought when he took a bite he was back in Paris.

Megan and Andy made Tropical Fruit Crepes and they were struggling cooking decent crepes, Manu wondered where the sugar was in the dish.Also they were criticised for cooking the fruit all the way through. However they were confident they would get through or some would say delusional. They were told it was not bad but the least impressive and they were up for elimination.

Personally I think Angela and Justine should have been there. All they stumped up were second rate badly decorated cup cakes.

David and Scott won peoples choice I suspect helped because they were local as well as making a cracker dish. The prize as well as immunity was winning a tropical North Queensland holiday. I am sure they were thrilled…hope for their sake Townsville is not on the itinerary. They also got to take another team with them which meant that team would also be safe from the next elimination. They picked Nic and Rocco. Well they had to really their wives would not have been too thrilled if they had picked an all girl team to go on an overnight trip with.

Meg and Simon thought this was bad strategy and that they should have left the stronger teams in to give them a greater chance of being put up for elimination. Good point, but David and Scott just seem to play a straight bat and don’t get into the game strategy.

“I am a lawyer and I have never lost a case and I am not going to start now” said former Public Prosecutor, Peter, who was battling it out for My Kitchen Rules survival with his partner Gary.  Well he did win a prize tonight – the worst looking dish ever to be put on the judges table. I doubt he will be putting THAT on his resume.

He also said he saw Carly and Emily’s youth as “inexperience”. They girls gave a nice jibe back about their youth would make them move faster in the kitchen, having a crack at the slow prepping Queensland pair.

You knew at some stage Peter and Gary would get their come uppance but it really is a pity to see them go so soon. For all their “villainy” and arrogance, Channel Seven can thank them for assisting in bringing in huge ratings for the reality show in its third season.

Again their menu was 70′s retro of Spinach and Cauliflower Soup, Kangaroo Stroganoff, and Custard Tarts with Banana Flambe. Their retroness was criticised, but I would prefer to see 70′s food on the table then some of the culinary combinations of the 80′s. However as has been commented before the pressure of the strict cooking time frames was always going to bring them down at some point and it did last night.

Their problems included:

• Peter taking the most of the prep time at the start in making too moist short crust pastry, and putting them in the tart tins, however he made the mistake he did not blind bake the cases;
• Not having enough time for the cauliflower soup to cook;
• Again the main prep time Peter was making the custard for dessert, with Gary doing most of the prep for the Stroganoff;
• No time to cook the mash potatoes, then putting to much cream in it so they could not serve it; and
• The pastry of the tarts was too wide and the egg was overcooked, even scooping over the banana could not save it.

Whereas Carly and Emily had a dream run with their menu of pan fried dumplings, steamed fish served with snow pea shoots, and their black rice pudding served with coconut mousse.

Not sure where all hype was about taking a risk about making an asian dessert, they are not the maligned dishes that they were ten years ago.

They produced near flawless dishes which gave them a huge score of 51 out of 60.

There was no hope that Gary and Peter could win, particularly after Liz Egan said their Stroganoff was the worst dish ever placed on the judges table.

The received a three from each of the judges, except for Guy Grossi who thought it was so bad they gave them a two. They scored only 17 out of 60 not even half of what the Victorian girls scored. Comprehensively beaten, Peter would not even be able to appeal the decision…

The next episode the teams are off to Far North Queensland I note they showed all the teams excited faces, except for Scott and David who are from there, and knows how hot it is heading into the summer months.

You can live blog with Peter and Gary on the Herald Sun at 11.30am today Sydney/Melbourne time. This could get interesting.

Channel Seven are cunning, they started setting up the Peter and Gary versus Carly and Emily showdown on Tuesday, with the Queenslanders snarky comments about how they don’t like the girls. Tonight it was revealed the pair also had a “tiff” maybe Peter does not like being the only tertiary educated contestant in the village. As Carly is a vet.

Tonight the teams other then Steve and Helen who were safe, and Peter and Gary who were up for elimination, had to cook in the My Kitchen Rules kitchen.

The first challenge was a 30 minute cooking one (take off of the Top Chef Quickfire?), with only one of the team mates cooking. Clearly they had not watched last year, as they all put up the stronger cooks, and after they went and got the ingredients for the dish they were told they had to swap…

Megan and Andy freaked out and continued to for the next 3o minutes, wow this pair are not as bad as Chris and Anastasia from last year’s The Amazing Race Australia but will their relationship survive the show?

Having said that she pulled off the chocolate volcano dessert and was safe from the next round. However if they want to remain they better get their shizzle together with plating up.

As were Jennifer and Leigh, who must be the favourites to win. Jennifer has done a commercial cookery course and I do wonder what advantage that does give her, but she does know her flavours and can cook so I don’t have a huge problem with it.

Meg and Simon were safe with their whiting, and surprising everyone including themselves, were Thomas and Carla.

The next challenge was to show themselves on a plate and they had 60 minutes to do so. Both Nic and Rocco and Angela and Justine made pasta, both were liked by the judges.

Scott and David made roasted spatchcock with sweet potato puree and beurre blanc, and Carly and Emily made duck with a cherry sauce.

After Pete nearly broke a tooth on a cherry pip their chances of being safe reduced dramatically, and they were told they were going to be in the elimination challenge against Peter and Gary. Very much looking forward to seeing the elimination episode, particularly Peter and Gary cooking under a time restraint.

“It would give me a sense of enjoyment to beat Emily and Carly, as they are a bit over confident, and quite frankly their cooking is not that good.” said Peter and Gary.

Later they said “There is no love lost between us and them.” Do Pete and Gary actually get on with anyone?

Speaking of not good cooking seriously what were Peter and Gary thinking when they decided to do chicken schnitzel with a vegetable kebab for their pop up restaurant? The two pieces just did not go together. Why not do a gourmet chicken schnitzel sandwich? For all their high end talk tonight’s dish was a bit low end.

Also they Peter and Gary are good at talking themselves up to camera but then said they were not able to spruik themselves on the street as apparently that lacked dignity.

Tonight on My Kitchen Rules the challenge was set in Melbourne and the teams had to set up a pop up restaurant to sell some street food. The judges said the people of Melbourne will decide the winner, but it was actually the team that made the most profit who won.

” We’re natural sales people” Megan and Andy drawled thinking this was going to give them the edge in the pop-up restaurant challenge. It was no surprise that it did not. They made Sang Choy Bow with Prawn Skewers, and apparently it was good but not good enough for them to win.

Steve and David with their Mediteranean Club Sandwich had no hope of winning as they priced it at $3.00 and they did not appear to have that many of them.

Steve and Helen took a risk in Greek filled Melbourne and did a Mezze Platter with Lamb Soulvaki. This pair like the New Zealand team work well together there are no dramatics in their prep time.

Speaking of dramatics the show was trying to make some by pretending there could be some cooking disasters with Carly and Emily’s rice for their Green Chicken Curry, and Jen and Leigh pressure cooking their pork for their tortillas. Both worked out fine.

Carly and Emily were criticised by the judges for making a mild green curry, and Jen and Leigh’s pork tortillas though tasting nice collapsed when they were eaten.

Carla and Thomas did beef and bean tacos with guacomale and salsa. Interesting to know if she got the recipe off her new Mexican boyfriend. Also Thomas does get a bit flustered in the kitchen what was he thinking when he put the lids on the saucepan so their taco sauce could reduce? And if Thomas using a fire starter was an intelligence test he would have failed.

Manu and Pete in the end were critical of their sauce as there was not enough flavour nor had it reduced enough.

Nic and Rocco went with sweet and did profitoroles with chocolate and strawberries. However the twist was deep frying the profiteroles. Serving one that was deep fried and one that was baked. Manu and Pete thought the contrast between the two was good.

Angela and Justine cooked Chocolate Chilli Con Carne which sounded a bit foul but the judges liked it.

Simon and Meg cooked Beef noodles with Pesto Coriander and they were criticised for not having enough sauce.

Emily and Carly who had put a high price point on their curry, and Steve and Helen were the top two with Steve and Helen winning the “peoples choice”. It was no surprise that Peter and Gary were told by Manu and Pete they were up for elimination this week.

Unfortunately the dour look on Jillian’s face in the interviews indicated they were the likely team to be eliminated, however I am not going to bag her out as I thought she was pretty classy the whole way through the series.

She was a cool under pressure as Sam her partner became excitable and stressed, and was fairly honest in her comments. Also even though it must have been testing at times, at the end she said she was so proud of Sam.

It was the elimination cook-off between Thomas and Carla, and the NSW team, which meant the judges were seen for the first time. I know I say it every series, but am not sure what Tobie Puttock adds to the show, and there should be a food critic sitting there in his place. The other judges were Guy Grossi, Karen Martini and Liz Egan.

As long as the show is rating it is unlikely they will change personnel. Also thought Liz Egan was looking particularly saucy, way to go Liz.

The challenge was to cook a three course meal in a strict time frame.

For entree Sam and Jillian served Seared Scallops on Parsnip Puree with Prosciutto Crumbs, for main Spiced Lamb Cutlets with Onion Sauce, and dessert was a Chocolate Martini with Raspberries.

Tom and Carla cooked for entree seared tuna with bitter greens, for main Slow Roasted Pork Belly on Pea Puree and Rosti, and dessert was Carla’s Chocolate Cups.

As last year the teams have 90 minutes before they have to serve their entree. Sam and Jillian made the mistake of roasting the parsnips which meant they had to add far to much cream to it and the parsnip flavour was not there.

Peter and Gary really don’t like Jillian and Sam as they were gleefully commenting on any of their mistakes. Are they still peeved that Jillian said the three hour wait for the main at their instant restaurant was unacceptable? Considering they complained about the wait at Sam and Jillian’s restaurant as well I don’t get it why they found them so offensive.

Both entrees looked nice, but Sam and Jillian’s appeared to have extra garnish on them that was not there when the time ended. However I did not rewind so I could be wrong.

Tobie Puttock thought Carla and Thomas’s entree a tad boring, clearly Manu and Pete needed to fill him in on some of the overdone dishes they have had to eat over the past few weeks.

However the consensus from the judges were that they pared it back far too much. It was thought the scallop entree was more composed, but because of the amount of cream put in the parsnip puree there was barely any parsnip flavour.

It was onto prep time for main. Thomas washed his grated potato to take out the starch but then added in flour to bind them, Manu was bemused by this  and said “So they take out the starch then add some back in?”.

Thomas was starting to lose the plot, and was running around like a chook without a head.

However main was turning into a disaster for the NSW team with Sam’s onion sauce looking disgusting with the sausage meat put in the onion and pork fat. Not sure why they needed the sauce when they had made a spicy fruit and nut garnish to go with it.

Also they put the lamb racks in the oven to late without browning them first. This impacted on the resting time of the meat.

Liz Egan thought the onion sauce tasted like it was the bottom of a pan, and she was not a fan. Guy Grossi thought it the let down to the dish.

For dessert it was the battle of the chocolate dishes, Carla’s Chocolate Cups which she had spent a lot of time on was told the chocolate cups were too thick, but the chocolate in it was very nice. She used a cream cheese in them rather than a traditional mousse.

The problem for Jillian and Sam with their chocolate martini was the amount of salt around the rim, which looked great, but it made it far to salty when they were eating it.

Guy Grossi gave a six, Tobie gave a five, Liz Egan gave a five, and Karen gave a five. Manu gave a six, and Pete gave them a five which gave them a total of 32 out of 60.

Tobie gave Thomas and Carla a six, Liz gave a six, Karen scored a seven, and Guy gave a seven. Pete gave a six, and Manu scored them a seven. Total was 39 out of 60. Thomas and Carla who were criticised for playing it safe with their menu were now safe from elimination.

Even though Sam does not look like she is handling the pressure in the My Kitchen Rules kitchen, it looks like in her personal life she has had to handle issues that would be unfathomable to most of us.

Sam was placed in foster care with her five other siblings, because at eleven she was looking after her younger brothers and sisters until authorities found them.

The Sunday Telegraph reports:

Abandoned by her mother when she was just 11, Bui was forced to raise her five siblings until authorities found them and arranged foster care.

Now, the reality TV contestant hopes her food future will involve helping children with similar family problems.

Bui, 23, was often left alone by her problem-gambler mother – occasionally for “weeks on end”.

“When my brother was six I let him go to Broadway shopping centre. It was in hindsight the best thing that ever happened to us as police found him and came to the house. They asked where my parents were and I said it was all OK. They forced their way in and said: ‘My God! There’s two newborn babies here’.”

After being placed in foster care, Bui learnt that her mother had been arrested and imprisoned in Korea for drug trafficking.

“I don’t hate her, she’s my mother and I wouldn’t be here and wouldn’t be who I am if she didn’t make her mistakes,” she said.

Quite frankly I think she has turned out quite OK considering the neglect she has been through.