Just a pinch of salt and a little more time and Brampton's Kimberly Duffus might still be cooking in the MasterChef Canada kitchen.

Duffus, 24, was sent packing by judges Claudio Aprile, Michael Bonacini and Alvin Leung in the third episode of the current and fourth season of the popular reality cooking show in the first elimination challenge of the year. It certainly wasn't an easy one as it was the dreaded replication challenge where Duffus and a handful of other competitors had to recreate a tough recipe — squid ink pasta with honey mushrooms and a soft-boiled hen's egg.

Making things all the more challenging for Duffus was the fact she had only made pasta from scratch once before.

"Yeah, I'm pretty nervous right now (but) I'm going to push through it," Duffus told Aprile during the episode.

The pressure was clearly on as Duffus and the others had to juggle several different techniques in a short period of time, including harvesting the squid ink and ensuring the egg turned out exquisite.

Duffus struggled with her egg somewhat and partially broke it. However, when Aprile cut into it during the judging portion, he was extremely pleased with the gorgeous golden yoke that trickled out.

"Stunning," was how he described it before saying it should bring a "smile" to Duffus' face. However, he was less pleased that the egg didn't have any salt and made it known that could be an issue when it came to decisions on who to send home.

Bonacini also tried her dish and commented that the noodles were underdone and needed a bit more time in the boiling water.

When the final decision came and the judges told Duffus that her time in the kitchen had come to an end, it was a sad moment for the mother of seven-year-old daughter Nevaeh.

"Your daughter … got to see her extremely talented mother excel on the national stage," said Bonacini.