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Deepali's rare error

It's the signature Aussie dish that many home cooks have attempted in their own kitchens.

But for WA MasterChef contestant Deepali Behar, recreating the iconic steak-and-chips combo was no easy feat. So much so that it cost the Secret Harbour cook her spot in MasterChef's coveted top 24, with Behar last night eliminated from Ten's reality cooking show.

Marking the first pressure test for the show's sixth season, the UK-born dentist - who moved to Australia four years ago with husband Jordan - was sent packing in her second elimination challenge, unable to out-cook rival contestants Scott Yeoman, Nick Doyle and Jamie Fleming.

Behar, who is Hindu and has never tasted beef, struggled to recreate an extravagant fillet of beef dish set by acclaimed Australian chef Shannon Bennett, of Melbourne's Vue de Monde restaurant. Even despite producing the "best" jus gras sauce in the challenge, Behar's downfall was the key element of the dish - the beef - which was deemed "too rare".

The 30-year-old is the second hopeful cook in the top 24 to leave the competition, which now sees three WA contestants remain - Amy Shields, Nicole Cleave and Steven Peh.

Although she has since acquired a dental clinic with Jordan, Behar still has hopes to launch a line of homemade foods.