MasterChef’s Laura Sharrad has responded to criticism from fans that she constantly cooks pasta for her dishes, explaining that it’s her “specialty” to cook different types of pasta.

“We've all got our specialties. And I do own a pasta restaurant so it would be weird if I didn't cook pasta on the show,” said Laura, 24, who owns NIDO Bar and Pasta with her husband Max.

Laura spoke about how she loves pasta and her cultural heritage as well as fellow contestant Po Ling Yeow needing to “stay out of my lane”.

“This is what I do. This is my heritage,” she said during one episode.

“Poh's good at everything. When she started cooking pasta, I'm like ‘Damn you, Poh! Stay out of my lane’,” Laura joked. 

Laura has previously come under fire for cooking pasta, especially during a “mystery box” episode where there were four ingredients to use in the dish. For Laura, they were apples, potatoes, mint and peas, which she used to make gnocchi.

She was made fun of on Twitter for this move, with users joking about Laura taking out all of the pasta in supermarkets.

“Laura’s the reason there’s not a single bag of pasta left in Coles, it’s the only thing she can cook,” one joked.

Another agreed, saying “Three certainties in life. Death, taxes and Laura will cook pasta.”

One even joked they could spot Laura’s dish without watching the full episode.

“I’ve not watched this episode, but already know that the pasta dish is Laura’s,” they said.