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Aaron bows out of MasterChef

Posted by: Christine Kellett, Fairfax | 16 July, 2010 - 8:28 AM

ABOVE: Aaron Harvie speaks to Denis Walter on Friday.

REPORT: He's had some close shaves with kitchen risk taking, but playing it safe has ultimately brought MasterChef's ponytailed pasta master Aaron Harvie undone.

With the finals in sight, the 37-year-old Sydney band manager took the traditional route with a simple plate of fish and chips but lost by a nose to elimination challenger Alvin Quah and his more modern take on the corner shop staple.

Harvie's crumbed fish and limp French fries were outdone by Quah's fat chips, twice-coated flathead and chilli-cucumber salsa in a 40-minute sudden death cook-off.

It was a near thing for Quah, however, with judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris admitting they were "splitting hairs" when trying to pick a winner.

"The thing that let you down was those chips," Calombaris told Harvie.

"They were just a big, soggy mess."

Competition curry man Jimmy Seervai was saved again after out-scoring Harvie and Quah in a name-that-fish challenge.

Harvie got off to a bad start in the final cook-off, losing a piece of his finger while peeling potatoes and "butchering" a John Dory fillet by skinning it the wrong way, but finished with time to spare after starting over.

He said he expected to feel devastated that his time in the MasterChef kitchen was up.

"I'm actually really proud of what I've done here," he said.

"If you've done as well as you can do and you've tried as hard as you can, you [should] have no regrets, and I have no regrets.

"It's reignited my creative side. I'm closing in on 40. It's inspiring to think outside the box again."

Mehigan thanked him for adding flair to the contest and applauded plans to open his own specialty pasta bar.

"You've brought us the pleasure of Mexian food, you've brought us the pleasure of good pasta," Mehigan said.

"You will bring a certain cool, a certain eccentricity [to your restaurant]."

Harvie, Quah and Seervai found themselves in the bottom three after a controversial pressure test on Wednesday night that saw youngest hopeful Callum Hann win a finals berth despite failing to plate up complete meals for a VIP judging panel.

Harvie, who postponed his wedding to take part in the program, will now follow MasterChef sweetheart Marion Grasby in launching his own range of Italian and Mexican sauces.

Channel Ten is keeping mum on the re-hashed finals format next week, but has revealed a celebrity Iron Chef will be part of the judging panel.

Matt Preston vs Bob Hart

VIDEO: Matt Preston, judge on the phenomenon that is Masterchef, and 3AW foodie Bob Hart joined Denis Walter in the studio to have a natter about their favourite subject... food. Click the image on the right to watch the video.