NATHANIEL Milevskiy's time on MasterChef may have been short-lived, but the Buderim cook can see the bright side to his elimination.

The 29-year-old got to meet his food hero Marco Pierre White on Sunday night and cook alongside the acclaimed British chef in last night's pressure test.

"Marco's it for me. He's my food hero," Milevskiy told the Daily.

"He's the one person I could not wait to meet when I got on to MasterChef."

Milevskiy was eliminated after struggling to follow along as White cooked his famous John Dory dish.

"It was not easy keeping up with that man. I was worried I wasn't going to have any fingers left at the end of the cook," he laughed.

"It's funny some of the contestants were jealous because they wanted to cook with Marco and I got to do it.

"It sucks I had to go out that way but I got to go out in a way that I was comfortable with, which was with my hero."

NATHANIEL'S FAVOURITE LOCAL EATING SPOTS

• Best place for a coffee: Evolution, hands down best staff and coffee on the Coast
• Best meal with a view: Spice Bar then to Ben and Jerry's for an ice cream
• Best place to take a tourist to eat: Spice Bar or Laguna Jacks
• Best place for a drink with a mate: Taps in Mooloolaba
• Best place for a snack: Sun Sushi in Sippy Downs
• Best place on a budget: Peppers Pizza in Buderim
• Best place for a special occasion: Spirit House or Red on Thomas
• Best breakfast in on the Coast: My Place at Coolum Beach
• Best market for fruit and veg: Fruit World in Maroochydore

Milevskiy has returned to university and will spend the next 18 months finishing his degree to become a paramedic.

He sees his MasterChef elimination as the launching pad for his dream to open a retreat for emergency services workers and their families.

"Even if I won the show I would still finish my degree," he said.

"It will give people who come to the retreat a bit of a safety net knowing that the person who runs it has been out there on the front line.

"I want it to be a safe, welcoming place - a warm place filled with good memories made through food."

Milevskiy hopes to build the retreat in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

"Somewhere up in the hinterland around Maleny would be a beautiful place," he said.

"I went up there right before I went on MasterChef and I fell in love with the region."

But first he hopes to get some work experience in the food industry at a café in Mooloolaba or Maroochydore.

"I have all these ideas written down, but the main thing is making sure my skills in the kitchen are at a very high standard," he said.

"I just have to get into a kitchen and I'm hopeful one of the local chefs (on the Coast) will want to help me achieve this goal."

Noosa's Matt Sinclair and Elena Duggan and former Maroochydore local Harry Foster are all still in contention on the reality cooking show, which continues tonight at 7.30pm on Channel 10.