The 33-year-old Sydney IT consultant failed to properly read a menu prepared by hatted chef and cookbook author Christine Manfield and was promptly dispatched by the judges, who had last night questioned his ability in the kitchen when one of his desserts turned to mush seconds before presentation.

In his final elimination, Daddia went head-to-head with bar manager Courtney Roulston and food researcher Jimmy Seervai to serve up Manfield's spice-roasted squab and turnip cake - a dish that took two hours and 55 ingredients to recreate.

Despite shaky performances from both his opponents, Daddia's mistake of removing the baby pigeon's breast before deep frying it cost him the MasterChef title. A "medicinal" flavoured broth served as an accompaniment only added to his woes.

"It's like being stabbed in the heart," Daddia said after being told he was going home.

"It's deeply disappointing that this is what it's come to."

The French-cuisine specialist said he deserved to be in the finals "more than every other contestant" because he'd survived eight eliminations and still got up off the mat.

"I've taken the hardest road and I've fought in every one of them," he said.

"I've never given up... I really thought I'd make the finals."

Judge Matt Preston - Daddia's harshest critic during Sunday night's mousse cake fiasco - praised his determination but said the pigeon boob-boo could not be overlooked.

"I'm shocked because I felt that you were teflon," Preston told him.

"I felt that you did your best cooking under pressure."

Not so sure of himself was Seervai, who appeared flummoxed when the judging panel asked him if he had the cooking skills to win the competition.

"I used to believe so," Seervai said. "I don't know anymore.

"I've been battered a bit but I still want to be in this competition."

Daddia wasn't the only one of the trio to stray from Manfield's precise menu.

A stressed-out Roulston looked set to blow her top when judge George Calombaris questioned her adherence to ingredients measurement, which the contestants were warned was key to the meal's perfection.

"George, I've been cooking long enough to know what a teaspoon looks like," she snapped at him.

"I'm tasting along the way to compensate.

"I don't want to sound like a smartarse, but I'm someone who cooks by feel."

She ignored Manfield's instructions and almost halved the cooking time for the bird but still managed to have it declared "perfect" by the adventurous Sydney chef.

Back in the MasterChef house, the remaining top five contestants looked genuinely unnerved by Daddia's exit.

"With Marion going last week, I honestly can't believe Jonathan won't be in the final," Melbourne lawyer Claire Winton Burn said.

"I'm speechless."

Youngest hopeful Callum Hann, 20, said: "Jono has been one of the best cooks in the competition. He's been like a mentor to me."

Daddia said his time in the MasterChef kitchen had been an "epiphany" and had only hardened his resolve to quit his IT career in favour of opening his own French bistro.

"You can be a dark horse and slightly awkward sometimes, but it's endearing," judge Gary Mehigan told him.

"I think you've got what it takes to be a brilliant chef."

With Grasby and now Daddia gone, the finals race may come down to a contest between Winton Burn, fellow lawyer Adam Liaw and science graduate Alvin Quah.

Improving her odds, Winton Burn will cook for the chance at immunity in tonight's celebrity chef challenge.