Series 5 Contestants

Find out more about the 22 contestants in the Series 5 MasterChef Australia kitchen.

of 22

Andrew Prior - Age 40, Ex-Insurance Underwriter (Retired Injured)

Following a nine-month stay in Paris last year, Andrew was inspired to give up his career as an insurance underwriter and follow his food dream, applying for MasterChef Australia as a kick start to changing his life.

Andrew lives with his partner of nine years, Peter, and their two golden retrievers.

?My earliest memories of cooking were of my nana. She made the best roast dinners, with beans from her garden and the best gravy you have ever had. But I started cooking after she passed away so I never got to find out how she did it.?

For Andrew his school years were a bit of a challenge, being the target of bullying because of his sexuality. As soon as he was 18, he left home for the bright lights of inner city Sydney. Self-taught, Andrew started cooking when he left home as he had to cook for himself, and has learnt from cookbooks and cooking shows. He started to love the praise that came from cooking for others and his dinner parties are now legendary.

?Do I throw dinner parties? I have to admit that I go a little overboard with preparation and effort. I find that sometimes I've spent more on one dinner party than I spend on the week's groceries. But I justify it by the fact that I get enormous pleasure out of giving people a fantastic meal.?

Andrew's dream is to open a French bistro with an Aussie twist, and he feels that the older he gets, the harder it is to change his path. He does not want to put it on hold any longer, and now is the time to chase his dream.
Clarissa Dodawec - Age 44, Opera Singer (Eliminated 4th)

Clarissa's love for music hit at a young age, with her first solo performance taking place at just 12 years of age. Like most musicians, Clarissa juggled a day job while working professionally as an opera singer. But due to a problematic jaw condition impacting her singing, Clarissa had to redirect her career path. Enrolled in a post graduate qualification to become a teacher this year, Clarissa deferred her studies to pursue her MasterChef Australia dream.

"I have fond memories of growing up on a hobby farm. We had a few pigs, chooks, a cow and calf, and a few sheep. I remember my parents making sausages, catching yabbies from the creek, picking mulberries from the mulberry tree and scratching the pigs' backs with sticks, they loved that."

In addition to a degree in Sociology/Anthropology and Public Relations, Clarissa holds a Certificate of Music (Classical).

Clarissa credits her mother Ludmila as being a major influence in her interest of cooking, making delicious Ukrainian food and growing her own fruit and vegetables.

"We had three peach trees in our garden and as a kid one of my favourite memories is picking a fresh peach off the tree after school or having a slice of homemade cake my mother would have made especially. Mum made delicious cakes using fruits she grew from our garden, donuts with custard filling, sponge cakes with jam that she'd made with fruit that we'd grown. She pickled olives from our olive tree and made peach, apricot and fig jams from our fruit trees in the garden. Not many kids have that these days and I cherish those memories."

Clarissa hopes MasterChef Australia will allow her to turn her love of food and cooking into a fulfilling career and she dreams of offering cooking classes in a range of cuisines.

"There's such an honesty to making something with your own hands.?
Dan Tuddenham - Age 20, Student (Eliminated 1st)

Dan grew up with his parents and two sisters in the small country town and for as long as he can remember, he was always around his mum and grandma whenever they were cooking, and they have taught him most of what he knows today.

?My earliest memory is standing on a chair in my grandma's kitchen helping her make cakes. I'd cut out the shape of scones using the rim of a glass, that's where my love for cooking desserts and pastries was born.? Dan also cites Maggie Beer as a great inspiration, although his grandma is still his cooking idol.

?I used to watch The Cook And The Chef and Maggie Beer is one of my culinary idols, she has taught me a lot about cooking.?

He also admires Adriano Zumbo and hopes to follow in his footsteps one day. ?My favourite place to eat isn't a restaurant, but Adriano Zumbo's patisserie. The way he combines different and eclectic ingredients to produce what he does is truly amazing, and he's someone I aspire to be like.?

Dan is currently studying a Bachelor of Education in Primary Teaching, but says that while he is enjoying university, he knows deep down that his true passion is cooking.

One of Dan's greatest achievements to date is travelling to South Africa by himself where he volunteered in a remote local community, working in the orphanage and community for six weeks. It opened his eyes to the outside world and inspired his love for teaching and helping others. Combining this with his love for cooking, Dan's dream is to be a chef, and eventually to teach kids how to grow and cook their own food.

?I think learning different skills and techniques in the MasterChef Australia kitchen will provide a stepping stone to me achieving my dream of opening my own cafe or restaurant.?
Daniel Churchill - Age 23, Fitness Coach (Eliminated 15th)

Personal trainer, nutritionist and cookbook author, Daniel has achieved a lot for his years.

He grew up on the northern beaches of Sydney with his parents and two brothers. His childhood was spent outdoors and he has a keen love for the beach and surfing. His mum and dad always shared their love of food with their sons, and as a result all three boys have an interest in cooking.

With a Masters in Exercise Science, he is one of only a few post graduate qualified personal trainers. Daniel has worked with a number of professional sporting teams and athletes to improve their performance through the means of nutrition, strength and conditioning. He understands the importance diet has not only on a performance level but also for general health.

?I had been making up recipes for my mates to cook that helped them to be healthier, save money and impress their girlfriends. When I was writing these recipes up for them, I realised that I was writing my own book and that I had plenty more ideas. It was at that moment sitting at my desk that my love for food and cooking truly hit me.?

Daniel published the first in what he hopes will become a series of seven cookbooks, Dudefood, and he wants to continue to educate on health, nutrition, exercise and cooking.

When he is not cooking, working or working out, Daniel is down the beach with his mates, surfing, barbequing and enjoying his dude time.
Emma Dean - Age 32, Ex-Town Planner (Winner))

Growing up on a hobby farm, Emma spent her childhood surrounded by chickens, sheep, cows and horses. Her parents grew a lot of their vegetables and had many fruit trees, and her mum used to milk the cow daily.

?I understood from a very early age where my food came from, which really started my interest in food.?

This love of food has not dampened over the years, and even though she's now in the inner city, Emma still grows lots of fruit and veggies in her backyard. She has also recently got into foraging, with a keen interest in edible weeds and mushrooms.

Emma has a Masters in Environment and Planning and has worked in town planning for the State Government for over eight years. But after some recent soul searching, she decided to take a voluntary redundancy and make her food dreams a reality.

?I have got to a point in my 30s where I have worked in a well-paid professional job, but there is no passion or long term vision for myself in the office. Food and growing food has been a constant passion of mine and it makes sense to make the leap of faith into my new life.?

Driven and ambitious, Emma is not afraid of the hard work ahead and seems to succeed at anything she puts her mind to. ?I have the passion, drive, work ethic and direction to make this happen.?

She has spent the past few years renovating her house with gusto and it has been some of her most rewarding work to date. A former professional athlete, Emma has represented Australia in track cycling, and thinks her competitive streak will push her ahead in the MasterChef Australia kitchen and help her realise her culinary dreams.

?I'd love to own a restaurant that serves modern dishes where the foundation is seasonal and foraged ingredients that are the stars of the show.
Faiza Rehman - Age 24, Student (Eliminated 7th)

Faiza has strong skills in traditional Indian cooking and loves to bake beautiful cakes.

Faiza lives at home with her mother, father, brother and sister. Growing up, Faiza's grandma and mother taught her to cook. Her mum is a perfectionist and watches everything that she does in the kitchen.

?My food idol would have to be my mother. She has always cooked with such precision and passion. Although I learnt everything I know from my mother who is very panicky, I am the complete opposite to her and am a very calm soul in the kitchen. I think it's because I needed to be in order to maintain a balance between us.?

She is part of an organisation called Aspire to Inspire which aims to empower kids to get involved in the community and follow their dreams. She was nominated for Young Muslim Australian of the year in 2007.

Currently completing a Law/Science degree, Faiza has worked at a supermarket for the past eight years, a job she loves, but she sees MasterChef Australia as an opportunity to ignite the spark she has inside.

?I hope I can inspire young people to see that life is there to be lived. Step out of your comfort zone and push the boundaries, or you'll never know what you can achieve.?
Jules Allen - Age 38, Social Worker (Eliminated 11th)

Jules has four kids: two sons, Jay and Ishy (both 15), and daughters Elisha (19) and India (16). Over the past 10 years Jules has had 29 foster children.

Jules has spent her life helping others. Following the birth of her son, Jules started working in child protection and later moved onto working with teenagers in crisis. In addition to counseling, she helped rebuilding a women's refuge in the Solomon Islands which inspired her to set up the Women And Children's Care Initiative Incorporated, an organisation aimed at providing and supporting refuge for women and children who are victims of abuse and exploitation.

Jules states that her biggest hurdle has been trying to figure out why she is here and how she can best help others.

?This question was probably sparked by the death of my stepsister to leukemia when I was 19 and the suicide of a very close friend three years later. I try not to take life for granted.?

When Jules was 20 she was working as a waitress and had a dream offer of a chef's apprenticeship, but motherhood and a love of kids steered her in another direction. She sees MasterChef Australia as her opportunity to now follow that dream.

?I am ready to do something for me. I have always wanted to cook but I became a young mum and chef's hours were not realistic. I am in a better position to follow my own dreams now.?

Jules was inspired to cook by both her parents from a young age. Her English father was passionate about sourcing good food and her Thai mother was an amazing cook. She has many memories of spending long periods of time in Thailand with her mother's family and cooking over the fire with her aunty, pounding beetlenuts for hours on end.

Her dream is to open a restaurant that serves indigenous cuisine and teaches people how to cook with indigenous foods.
Daniel Kelty - Age 35, Stay-At-Home Dad (Eliminated 16th)

Kelty recently gave up his high-flying corporate career in the wine business, including a car and a six-figure salary. He has been relishing his new role as a stay-at-home dad for the past six months to children Thomas (6) and Elizabeth Rose (2), while his wife Donna has continued her career as an inner-city nurse and mid-wife.

Kelty has an unbridled passion for food, home and family. He began cooking out of necessity at 18 when he began university but feels that food was always in his blood. He has an award-winning edible garden that he is extremely proud of, and is addicted to making stocks, even having a freezer dedicated to housing all of his home-made stocks.

?Food excites me, it motivates me like nothing else in this world. I don't read novels, I read cookbooks. I love learning, experimenting, growing interesting herbs and then figuring out how to use them.?

On any given Saturday, Kelty can be found at the market with his son Thomas, talking to his fishmonger or greengrocer about the freshest ingredients.

?I will cook for eight hours on a Saturday with all kinds of delicious smells coming out of the kitchen. I drive my neighbours crazy with the fantastic aroma of my soda bread.?

His dream is to bring traditional Irish cooking into the modern age.

?Colcannon, mushy peas, soda bread, corned beef and cabbage. I have mastered all of these with a modern edge. Given my skills as a wine maker I would like to combine this in a funky wine bar in Marrickville.?
Liliana Battle - Age 42, Stay-At-Home Mum (Eliminated 10th)

Liliana is all about food and family, and comes from a strong Italian Calabrese extended family where food was always at the centre of life.

?That table laden with food, that abundance and promise of a feast, has inspired why I love to cook. The closeness, the memories, the smells, the love and laughter is something that I am very lucky to have been a part of.?

Liliana lives with her two boys Jake (15) and Jesse (11), and husband of 21 years, Jason. A champion ballroom dancer for 13 years, she retired from dancing at 16 and later took up competitive bodybuilding. The past 20 years have seen her focus on her family and she has become a stay-at-home mum with a reputation for baking the best birthday cakes in town.

Although she started cooking in her 20s, Liliana's love of food is something that she feels is a part of her genetic makeup and she was profoundly influenced by her mother and her Italian upbringing.

?I didn't grow up at my mum's side, learning how to make traditional Italian cuisine. I was a dancer, and the kitchen belonged to my mum. The most I remember doing was running out to the garden to pick a bunch of oregano or basil to add to the pot. But I could tell by the smells if tonight's sauce was going to be a good one or not.?

Her dream is to have a family-run seaside café, where the locals will come because it's like a home away from home. She sees MasterChef Australia as a step towards achieving that dream.
Lucy Wallrock - Age 31, Marketing Director (Eliminated 17th)

Growing up in a tiny fishing village on the south coast of England, Lucy had an idyllic childhood with her parents, sailing, crabbing and cooking. Her two siblings are 10 years older than her, and she relished being an only child when they were at boarding school.

It was Lucy's mum, a chef, who brought her up with a huge love of food and a great passion for cooking.

?I used to sit on the counter watching her as she floated around the kitchen concocting delicious dishes. She is not one for recipes, everything is perfected by senses and this is one of the most important cooking lessons I learnt from her.?

Lucy's mum had a successful catering company in the UK, and Lucy is certain she would have followed in her footsteps, although her mother advised her against it due to the long hours and impact on family and social life. A move to Australia to follow the man of her dreams, her husband Sam, saw Lucy continue in the corporate world of digital marketing in Sydney and leave her food dreams behind.

?I have always wanted to cook for a living. I turned 30 and it suddenly dawned on me that I have been working in a profession I didn't choose. We spend about 70 per cent of our waking days at work so we should be doing something that we love and makes us happy. For me, that's cooking.?

Lucy has rubbed shoulders with royalty on more than one occasion. As a Silver Service waitress in the UK, she used to manage the Royal Box at Wimbledon. She once spilt coffee on Prince Phillip, dropped a tray of glasses in front of Queen Elizabeth II and has many friends in common with Prince William and the Duchess Of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

A keen runner, Lucy cites completing her first half marathon as one of her greatest achievements. She also overcame dyslexia as a teenager and went on to study and get great marks at university. Lucy's dream is to have a cafe on the northern beaches in Sydney that people travel to from far and wide knowing they will be rewarded with delicious, nutritious, wholesome, freshly made food.

?This is a place where you can't walk past due to the smell being so tantalising and the sight of food in the window breathtakingly beautiful. ?
Lynton Tapp - Age 25, Stockman (Runner-Up))

A top end stockman, Lynton grew up on a remote cattle station, 230km from the nearest town.

?My father would fly a helicopter and my mum, my sisters and I along with the jackeroos would be riding horses. We would have a cook for the season and I was always impressed by the skill in which they were able to whip up meals on an open fire. My favorite memory would be fresh damper and golden syrup.?

Lynton's mum has heavily influenced his love of cooking, whether it was cooking for the whole station of up to 27 people or a big beautiful feast at Christmas for the family. Once a year they would travel to Darwin and it was here that Lynton was exposed to the flavours of Asian food.

?I grew up loving the freshness of the Asian food as a counterbalance to the meat and three veg back on the property. My mum had a pantry and growing up I was fascinated by all the mysterious items she would put up on the high shelves after her trip to Darwin? star anise, juniper berries, assorted dried fruits.?

The past two years have been tumultuous for Lynton and his family. His younger sister Emily was seriously hurt in a horse riding accident and his parents have recently lost their farm. Lynton has spent 12 months in America with Emily, cooking for her to ensure she received the best nutrition possible to complement her rehabilitation program to learn to walk again.

Lynton hopes MasterChef Australia will give him the skills and exposure to techniques that will take his food dream to the next level. He dreams of opening the first hatted restaurant in the Northern Territory.
Michael Todd - Age 41, Cinema Proprietor (Eliminated 2nd)

Married for 16 years to wife Kerry, they have three children: nine-year-old twins Thomas and Samuel and a six-year-old daughter, Alexandra.

Michael is a self-taught cook and learnt to cook out of necessity: he was a teenager and he was hungry. He would often ask himself: ?What can I make with what I have?? and his love of cooking and experimenting grew from there.

In addition to cooking, Michael's hobbies are photography and cycling, both of which have taken a back seat to his busy work schedule over the past few years.

Michael considers himself determined, confident and dramatic. Running his own cinemas, he is a self-confessed workaholic. He has not taken a holiday in three years and works 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Michael sees MasterChef Australia as an opportunity to broaden his focus after dedicating time to the business for so long. He hopes it will allow him to follow his food dream of opening a wine and tapas bar that adjoins his cinema ? something he has been too busy working to achieve to date.
Neha Sen - Age 31, Marketing and Communications Adviser (Eliminated 12th)

Neha grew up in India with her parents and younger sister Neesha. Her parents were doctors who served in the Indian Army and as a result the family moved around every couple of years. Neha attended nine different schools throughout her youth.

?I was exposed to different cultures, languages and food every time we moved, as every state in India is so different. Not knowing the regional language, I would always resort to food, my comfort zone, to engage and learn more about the locals.?

At the age of 23 she moved to Australia for post graduate studies and she holds a Masters in Information Technology and an MBA.

?After eating pizzas for months, it was time I entered the kitchen. Thank God for long online cooking tutorials with mum and some help from my Singaporean Indian landlady. I entered the world of cooking and started a journey of experimenting with ingredients, amazing produce and different shades of culture on a plate.?

Neha loves Latin dancing, which she does four to five times a week, and is known to bust a move when she nails a recipe. She has also continued her love of travel, and focuses on the gastronomic delights more than the sights.

?When I went to Paris, I had three photos of the amazing tiramisu that I devoured in a café, but forgot to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower.?

Neha hopes MasterChef Australia will help drive her passion for food and dreams of doing for Indian cuisine what George Calombaris has done for Greek food.
Nicky Agahari - Age 28, Pharmaceutical Manager (Eliminated 6th)

Born in Jakarta and emigrating to Australia as a five-year-old, Nicky is as passionate about eating as he is about cooking. His earliest memories centre around food: eating steamed rice noodles with peanut sauce every day after school in Jakarta and trips to Sydney's Chinatown with his grandma every Sunday to get the weekly groceries.

?I knew it would be a special Sunday dinner when she would let me choose two live mud crabs to take home. She would allow me to race them in the back garden, before then teaching me how to masterfully cook our family dinner.?

Nicky is engaged to Clara, a school teacher and also has a cat, Sumo, who he only feeds Wagyu beef (Sumo weighs 12 kilograms).

Nicky is a big believer in trying anything and everything. There is virtually nothing he won't eat. He likes to challenge people's ideas of good food by cooking with ingredients that most people would avoid. An avid traveler, he seeks food experiences wherever he goes.

?So far I've had the pleasure of sharing a big bowl chanko nabe with Sumo wrestlers in Tokyo, surviving a meal of fugu in Osaka, going ice fishing in Sapporo and frying delicious beignets in New Orleans.?

His passion to pursue a career in food came when he saw the reaction on the faces of friends and family after cooking them his Sunday roast chicken for the first time.

?Their glee was priceless, knowing I had created something to give them so much pleasure. For that instant nothing else mattered except that they were enjoying the flavours I had put together. I felt that I could spread happiness through my food.?

Nicky says his greatest strengths are his knife skills and fish fileting. He has a great love for meat, so much so that his engagement party was held in a butcher shop. Nicky dreams of opening a mini Izakaya that serves honest, affordable and accessible nose-to-tail cuisine.
Noelene Marchwiki - Age 59, Optical Dispenser (Eliminated 14th)

The mother of five grown up kids and two grandchildren, Noelene sees her future life in food as a natural extension of parenting.

?Food soothes and revives the soul in deepest despair and enhances the magical joyous events. No matter when family, friends or associates arrive at my home we gather around the wooden table and there is always food and drink on offer.?

Noelene says ?it's my time now?. She's raised her kids, worked in the same job selling prescription glasses for 11 years and now wants to indulge her passion for country style food and fresh produce from her garden.

Noelene's dream is to open up her house and her extensive garden to small groups, providing them with her picnic hampers, as well as hosting lunches at her home for local community groups.

Aside from family and cooking, Noelene's other passion is football. Every home game Noelene makes an afternoon tea for the whole team, friends and family.

Noelene has an adventurous palate and she makes anything from fish head curry to kangaroo or pig's head.
Pip Sumbak - Age 23, Personal Assistant (Eliminated 9th)

Pip had to turn down an apprenticeship at a award-winning restaurant on doctor's orders: after breaking her back in a skiing accident in Switzerland. Recovery has been particularly challenging for someone so active as she comes to terms with how her lifestyle has been limited.

Growing up on a rice and sheep farm, Pip and her three older siblings spent their days roaming free, playing rugby league and enjoying all aspects of the farm.

At the age of 14, however, her father suddenly passed away from leukemia and she moved with her mother to Canberra. Despite this huge challenge, Pip managed to resettle well, developing some great friends and becoming school captain.

Her mother taught her to cook and ignited her passion for food. Pip's biggest fear in life is falling into another career but always knowing she could have pursued a career in food.

?Food, family, surfing and being active are the most important things to me. I want my passion to dictate my career. I simply cannot see myself loving life and being my happiest self if food doesn't play a big part.?

Pip dreams of opening a surf retreat on the south coast that dishes up hearty, healthy local produce.
Rishi Desai, Age 35, Public Servant (Finished 4th)

Rishi Desai lives with his wife Mitra and six-year-old son Sharang. Emigrating to Australia only five years ago, he has been cooking since he was five years old, inheriting his love for cooking from his mother.

Growing up in the small city of Kolhapur, India, where his family still lives today. As a gifted cook, his mother inherited the family's cooking department and there was always a big spread on the table.

?The inspiration and the knowledge comes from my mother. She is a great cook who produces some amazing Indian foods, sometimes with rather unassuming and humble ingredients.?

Losing his dad when he was only 15, Rishi witnessed his mother's transformation from housewife to food entrepreneur. He was inspired by her strength and dedication to step up and provide for her family. She still runs a successful spice business in the town, employing some 20 local women.

Coming from a family of medical practitioners, Rishi went against the grain to study engineering in the US. It was here that he started to experiment with other cuisines including Mexican, South Asian and European.

Rishi's two great ambitions in life are cooking and Formula One. As his age won't permit him to compete in Formula One, he sees MasterChef Australia as a step towards pursuing his food dream: to open an award-winning restaurant with a modern Indian menu.
Samira El Khafir - Age 28, Stay-At-Home Mum (3rd Place))

A qualified hairdresser and former telecommunications worker, Samira lives with husband and her two daughters Nada (3) and Mariam (1).

Samira cites her top three loves as her girls, shoes and bags. She is also a sports lover, particularly AFL.

Samira says her mother's cooking is the best food she has ever eaten and her love of food has grown from family get-togethers throughout her life.

?The feeling you experience when you have good food around is amazing.?

While her expertise is traditional Middle Eastern cooking, it was a shepherd's pie she made for Ramadan that inspired her to follow her passion when she realised she could touch people with her food.

?Everyone was laughing, not wanting to try it, but all of a sudden it was all eaten and I was asked for the recipe. It felt amazing to know people loved my dish enough to want to start cooking it for their family at home. That was the moment I fell in love.?

Her dream is to open kitchen workshops for disadvantaged children in Australia where they can come and cook, have a good time and go home with the meals they've prepared.

?I just want to put a smile on their faces.?
Totem Douangmala - Age 23, Student (Eliminated 8th)

Born in a refugee camp on the border of Laos and Thailand, Totem's parents migrated to Australia when he was only six months old.

?I can vividly remember my parents working tirelessly day and night sewing clothes, helping to support their children. While having an income was an issue, I always knew our stomachs were going to be full. Mum is a very talented cook, and this is where my inspiration started. With a sack of rice, she could make an array of meals. From the ever so popular fried rice, to peasant dishes such as congee, mum always told me that rice is our most precious resource.?

As they searched for a better life, Totem's family kept moving and he says his memories from around this time have made him the man that he is today. His parents welcomed two more sons to the family throughout those years. His brother Grant was born in Victoria. Then after resettling again in South Australia, they had his youngest brother Ady, who has Down Syndrome, and who is Totem's greatest inspiration.

?He's the best kid and I want to do this for him as much as for myself. He has been my strength to do well in life.??

While cooking for Totem was always a passion, as a traditionally low paying career his parents never considered it an option for him.

?I chose a different career path as I wanted to make my parents proud. Now that my family are in a better place, I feel that I need to make decisions which are best for me.?
Vern Fitzgerald - Age 32, Bar Manager (Eliminated 13th)

Vern was born at home on a farm, complete with goats and an organic garden. He has an older sister, Jade, and together with their parents, they had an idyllic childhood.

?I have fond memories of playing with the goats, collecting fresh vegetables and eggs from the chooks. We then lived on the north coast of Tasmania. We had the closest place in town to the water. I would fish regularly, could get abalone off the rocks at low tide and seafood was always in abundance. I look back and feel very lucky at the life we led and it has shaped me into the person I am today.?

Growing up in such an environment, Vern's love of food was nurtured from a young age. His first influence was his mother, who was a great cook and always presented fresh, vibrant food.

Sadly, his mother passed away from cancer in 2008. Vern quit his job to cook and care for her in her final months of life.

?She was very fussy about what she would eat at that time, everything was organic and she had lots of dietary requirements. We laughed a lot, we shared stories, we pondered the future. Nothing will ever take that away from me, and it was a very special time for the both of us.?

Vern is a bartender by trade and he dreams of combining his trade experience with his love for food and cooking. Inspired by the many small bars he has seen on his travels in Japan, Vern would like to be the owner, host and chef of a ?no menu? bar that can combine his passion for art, food, music and wine.
Xavier Doran - Age 24, Carpenter (Eliminated 3rd)

Xavier is a carpenter from Sydney NSW who describes himself as ?a pretty chilled guy?. He chose a carpentry apprenticeship over a chef's apprenticeship as a teenager as he thought that spending so much time in the kitchen might kill his love for food and cooking. He has regretted this decision ever since.

One of four children, Xavier has two brothers who he is close to, and an older sister who has three children of her own. Xavier's parents separated when he was 13 and he has spent time living with both of them. Xavier now lives on Sydney's northern beaches with his high school sweetheart Hannah, whom he has been dating for eight years. He originally wooed her with his cooking as a teenager and she is the one person who gets to sample all of his cooking.

Xavier has a love of the outdoors and spends a lot of time surfing with his brothers and mates. He also has a passion for snowboarding, and has hit the slopes in Japan and Canada, where he lived for six months.

When Xavier was 15, he moved in with his father, and over time they shared their home with more than 50 exchange students. The experience piqued his interest in food and international cuisines, as he was exposed to Japanese, Korean and countless other dishes from around the world.

That period also inspired his interest in travel, and Xavier sees cooking and travel as one and the same. He has traveled to Europe, Canada, Japan and South East Asia and particularly loved Thailand, Vietnam and Spain for the inspiration he got from the cuisine in those destinations.

Xavier's food aspirations match his laidback personality and his love for international cuisines and the outdoors.

?I have often talked about owning a tapas and wine bar by the beach. I love this style of cuisine. Providing delicate, tasty food in a relaxed environment is what I dream of.?
Christina Batista - Age 31, Stay-At-Home Mum (Finished 5th)

Christina lives with her partner, Kate, and her two children, Damian (9) and Anabelle (6). When she's not spending time with her children she is either watching cooking shows or cooking.

When her son Damian was diagnosed with autism, it became necessary for her to be a stay-at-home mum.

?I want to prove to myself that I am more than what I am now. I know that being a mum is one of the most important jobs in the world, but I know that I can be more.?

Christina's dream is to open up a funky cafe that plays on her love of 1950s fashion and style.

?I would love to move to London and open up a little cafe there with Kate, Damian and Anabelle. I want to be able to give other mothers opportunities to interact with other people, and I would eventually love to run cooking classes from the cafe at night and spread my love of food.?