MasterChef's Gregg Wallace was left let down by Aaron's dish during Tuesday's show and crushed his dreams of making it into the final after finding it too sweet.
Returning to the kitchen, the first group of eight was asked to invent a dish using the larder which had been stocked with some of the finest foods and ingredients they could find - meaning only their imagination would be letting them down.
The five who made it through to the next round were rewarded with a shift in their first professional kitchen, starting in the fine-dining bistro Nessa in London West End.
Taking on the first challenge full of hope, contestant Aaron presented Wallace and John Torode with a plate of spiced beef mince with apple, topped with a fried quail's egg, coconut rice, garlic pak choi as well as pickled radish and ginger.
After taking in the flavours, Wallace positively exclaimed: "I like your pak choi, it's crunchy, juicy, I am picking up garlic, ginger. I am getting chili out of that bowl as well."
However, the good news came to an end when the sweet-toothed chef pointed out a flaw in the creation: "[But] I don't like how sweet that mince is. It's a little too sweet for me."
Gregg was left unimpressed with how sweet the mince was
BBC
Torode added: "The issue - it's not wet enough. Something with rice, you need sauce with it so it doesn't come together as a dish."
Taking on the feedback and reflecting on what he could have done better, Aaron explained: "Looking back now, I probably could think of some more dishes.
"But at the time, I guess the pressure - it's part of the show, right? And that's how you've got to perform."
After all eight dishes had been tasted, it was time for the judges to reveal who hadn't made it through to the next round, as Wallace explained: "A fabulous start to Knock Out Week. I mean, that was an invention test and some of the cooking was just off the scale.
The remaining five went through to work in a professional kitchen
BBC
Torode continued: "It is with a heavy heart that we have to say goodbye to some of you. Lee, Aaron, gentlemen, I'm sorry you're leaving us. Thank you very much for everything."
Walking out of the kitchen and looking back at his time, Aaron noted: "I'll look back on my MasterChef experience and see it overall as a really fun time. You're under a lot of pressure, but it's been worth it."
The BBC cooking competition recently came under fire as some viewers claimed the challenges were "too easy", such as making a humble salad using ingredients such as chicken, salmon and bacon, including their own Caesar dressing.
Taking to their X account, one unimpressed viewer commented: “Bloody ell, have they run out of meal ideas? Caesar Salad.”
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Gregg Wallace wasn't left impressed with one cooking hopeful's creation on Tuesday
BBC
Please write at least 1“Oh God the challenges get worse. A SALAD! #masterchef,” another noted before a third added: “So you want them to make a Caesar Salad then? #MasterChef.”
Another expressed: “I mean.. if you can’t make a basic salad how the hell did you make it through to #MasterChef.”
“Do producers think we’re not gonna notice how basic they have made these challenges recently? Supposed to test their skills, not their lunch knowledge,” a fifth expressed. (sic)