Meet Masterchef Australia’s 2018 Contestants

Adele Elliott, 34, NSW, Student Enrolment Officer:

Adele dreams of having a food truck that combines Southern American food with influences from her South African heritage. With her husband of ten years (and their fur baby Pheonix) cheering her on, Adele says she’s going in to this competition with a positive attitude and an open mind.

Aldo Ortado, 31, NSW, Restaurant Manager:

Born and raised in Bacoli, Italy, Aldo started to cook under the watchful eye of his ‘inspiring’ Nonna at just 7 years old. When he’s not dreaming of owning an Italian restaurant, Aldo enjoys spending time with his fiancé Mark, and their two Australian Labradoodles.

Ben Borsht, 31, QLD, Builder:

Ben’s best friend and wife signed him up for MasterChef after he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Named the “King Of Seafood” by his friends, Ben has a love for working with fresh food like crab and fish.

Brendan Pang, 24, WA, Social Worker:

Brendan says it was his Grandmere (Grandmother) who inspired him to cook, and taught him how to make delicious wontons and noodles from scratch. He has given up his career and life in Broome for the competition, moving back in with his parents in Perth to pursue his dream of opening a café.

Brett McGrath, 29, QLD, Coffee Roaster:

Brett admits he found his love for cooking at 10 years old, when he would watch Huey’s Cooking Adventure and “make a huge mess in the kitchen.” If he wins the competition, he’d love to find inspiration outside the living room by travelling the world and learning to cook different dishes in countries around the globe.

Chloe Carroll, 28, QLD, Nutritionist:

Chloe is putting her nutrition consulting business on hold to try her hand at cooking. The mum-of-two and self-described ‘foodie’ says her killer noodle making skills will be her biggest strength in the competition, though she’s worried about nailing the desserts.

Denise Valdez, 37, VIC, Stay-At-Home Mum:

With her daughter starting school next year, stay-at-home mum Denise is ready to focus on her long-time dream of opening a Mexican food business. While she’s confident in her ability to bring delicious, authentic Mexican food to the competition, she’s a little concerned about the wild molecular gastronomy techniques she’ll be asked to recreate.

Genene Dwyer, 49, VIC, Recruitment Co-ordinator:

Joining MasterChef is a big change for the recruitment co-ordinator. After 20 years in her industry, Genene says the competition is the chance she needs to prove to herself that anything is possible before she reaches the big 5-0.

Gina Ottaway, 54, NSW, Disability Support:

Cooking is a significant part of Gina’s life. Taking inspiration from her mother – both in the kitchen and in life – from a very young age, the NSW native wants to prove that age is no barrier when it comes to following your dreams.

Hoda Kobeissi, 32, NSW, Social Worker:

Family expectations once held Hoda back from pursuing her passions, but this is the year she decided to bite the bullet to compete on MasterChef. Now armed with her family’s full support, Hoda can’t wait to share that passion with Australia.

Jenny Lam, 28, WA, Entrepreneur:

Jenny knows exactly what she’s after from her time on MasterChef – to earn the credentials to open her own cooking school! And the entrepreneur is no stranger to success. She started her own marketing company at just 19.

Jessica Liemantara, 19, VIC, Waitress:

MasterChef is not the first foray into the reality TV realm for 19-year-old Jessica, who once auditioned for Great Australian Bake Off. And as the youngest in the competition, Jessica hopes the competition will help make her dreams come true.

Jo Kendray, 46, VIC, Travel Manager:

Jo has put everything on the line to make her MasterChef dreams come true. Giving up her job as a travel manager, the determined 46-year-old wants to combine her two loves – food and travel – to kick-start a business organising foodie adventures. She says her biggest challenge will be cutting down to cooking just one plate of food!

Khanh Ong, 25, VIC, DJ:

Working under pressure is no problem for DJ Khanh, who says being able to think on his feet means thrives in high-stress conditions. As for what we can expect from him, Khanh reveals his strength lies in understanding South-East Asian flavours.

Kristen Sheffield, 27, SA, Urban Planner:

It was the realisation that life is too short to not be happy that drove Kristen to chase her MasterChef dreams and after dedicatedly watching every episode of every season, the 27-year-old finally applied to be on the show herself!

Lisa Diep, 33, NSW, Senior IT Analyst:

If Lisa looks familiar, you may remember her as the one-episode wonder on Channel 10’s Ready Steady Cook. Eight years on, the mother-of-one hopes to eventually combine her two great loves – food and travel – with a pop-up restaurant.

Loki Madireddi, 34, VIC, Stay-At-Home-Dad:

It was his stepson, Indy, who drove him to apply for MasterChef but a passion for food has been a big part of Loki’s life from a young age. Loki hopes winning will help him to bring the best of his beloved Indian street food to Australia.

Metter Chin, 54, NSW, Project Manager:

Metter’s love of food was born out necessity. As the eldest child of a busy family, he was tasked with keeping hungry siblings fed. The project manager hopes to modernise traditional Hakka food and introduce it to the Australian palate through the cooking show.

Michelle Walsh, 47, NSW, Writer:

Michelle is no stranger to TV, having spent four years as a presenter on Escape With ET! Now a successful food, travel and lifestyle writer, the mum-of-two says she works excellently under pressure and can’t wait to use her adventurous nature in her cooking.

Reece Hignell, 28, NSW, Recruitment Consultant:

Quitting his job to focus on a career in food was a big change for Reece. Having had a passion for food since the age of 12, the 28-year-old says he has finally found the confidence to pursue this exciting new career and says MasterChef is the first of many steps to get him there.

Samira Damirova, 36, WA, Stay-At-Home Mum:

Making the jump from teen popstar to professional chef is stay-at-home-mum Samira. The Azerbaijan native hopes her time on MasterChef will help to bring the cuisine to the forefront of Australian eating and believes her creativity will give her an edge over the competition.

Sarah Clare, 33, NSW, Stay-At-Home Mum:

Bubbly mum Sarah has a passion for foraged and local Australian ingredients, taking inspiration from her father who watched in the kitchen from a young age. She hopes to eventually open a restaurant that resonates with the average Aussie – and one where she would want to go to eat.

Sashi Cheliah, 39, SA, Prison Officer:

Sashi learned to cook at the hand of his mother in Singapore, and has a diverse knowledge of Indian, Chinese and Malaysian cuisines. Aside from his already-impressive skills in the kitchen, Sashi has the passion to experiment with new dishes.

Tim Talam, 28, NSW, Butcher Shop Assistant:

While he concedes he’ll miss his family, Tim admits the thing he’ll miss most during the competition is his barbecue! Perhaps unsurprisingly, we can expect plenty of meat-based and American-influenced dishes from the easy-going butcher shop assistant.