Masterchef Australia Top 24: Meet the 2019 Contestants

Abbey Rose, 28, Kitchen & Homewares Buyer, NSW

Abbey has a creative background, and says she’s very visual in the kitchen. She loves to draw and plate intricate dishes and often has a clear picture of how her dish will look before she begins to cook. Her crispy skin salmon fillet with prawn bisque wowed the judges during the auditions.

Anushka Zargaryan, 49, Optical Dispenser, VIC

Anushka describes her food as a ‘fusion’ of cuisines from Iran, Russia and Armenia. Her Russian honey cake was a hit with the judges during her audition, with Anushka revealing she loves the technical challange of cooking desserts.

Ben Trobbiani, 24, Pharmacist, SA

Ben is confident in balancing and pinpointing flavours, describing his style of cuisine as modern Australian. Ben loves native ingredients, and is in awe of the foraging movement and enjoys exploring modern techniques.

Blake Werner, 23, Bar Manager, VIC

Blake’s parents own a Spanish restaurant in Melbourne, where he manages the bar and works front of house. Ready to extend his culinary education, Blake’s hoping to learn more at the hands of the MasterChef mentors.

Christina Laker, 29, Naturopathy Student, QLD

Christina considers Maggie Beer to be her cooking inspiration, favouring working with seasonal produce and earthy flavours. She loves to serve up bold, bright and colourful dishes with fresh and zesty herbs.

Dee Williams, 37, Office Manager, VIC

Dee spent 12 years away from home in a boarding school in the Sri Lankan city of Kandy, relishing the time she spent at home on school holidays. At home her mum encouraged her to read cookbooks and taught her the basics of classic Sri Lankan and southern Indian dishes.

Derek Lau, 26, Financial Analyst, WA

Derek has a sweet tooth, but found himself impressing the judges during the auditions with his pork and prawn potstickers. He’s hoping that his ability to follow instructions under pressure could be his strength this season.

Huda Al Sultan, 34, Dietician, SA

Huda says the move from Saudi Arabia to Australia was an eye-opening experience in the kitchen, and she enjoys wandering supermarket aisles and local farmers markets, experimenting with the different produce on offer.

Jess Hall, 28, Travel Agent, NSW

Growing up watching Nigella Lawson inspired Jess to try her hand at cooking. She set the bar high for herself in the auditions, after serving up caramelised scollops that delighted the judges.

Joe Ahern, 22, Digital Production Assistant, WA

Watching Sashi take out the 2018 MasterChef Grand Finale, Joe was inspired to apply. He plated up a ‘faultless’ pumpkin agnolotti dish that received an anonymous ‘yes’ from the judges.

Kyle Lyons, 29, Brewery Sales Manager, WA

Kyle wowed the judges with his ‘scallops’ dish in the auditions, which highlighted vegetables instead of seafood. He says Thai and Indonesian influences in Perth have shaped his cooking, and cites master of Middle Eastern cuisine Yotam Ottolenghi as his food hero.

Larissa Takchi, 22, Restaurant Manager, NSW

Born and raised in Sydney as part of a big Lebanese family, Larissa says her weekends have always revolved around food. Her mum owns a restaurant north of the city, and it’s there Larissa works as a Restaurant Manager. Larissa considers herself an all-rounder in the kitchen, with a flair for a wide range of cuisines.

Leah Milburn-Clark, 22, Theatre Manager, VIC

Leah scored the final apron in the auditions, and she feels the pressure to prove she’s worthy of the honour. She has a strength in sweets, and is passionate about intricate desserts and molecular cooking.

Mandy Hall, 51, Stay At Home Mum, SA

Mandy is passionate about meeting market producers and learning where good originates, and she previously took a two-week residency with fermentation expert Sandor Katz.

Monica Mignone, 27, Primary School Teacher, VIC

Wanting to know more about how diet affects her student’s behaviour, Monica completed an online diploma in Nutrition in 2016. Now, she runs a garden kitchen at school and holds nutrition lessons for her students. Monica hopes to have a space where she can hold cooking classes for families, hosting workshops and food demonstrations.

Nicole Scott, 24, HR Associate, QLD

Queensland native Nicole says she’s most confiend in the kitchn with seafood and protein, but she’s worried about the technical dessert elements. She has left the judges hanging for more after plating up a perfectly cooked rib eye steak at auditions.

Sandeep Pandit, 37, IT Project Manager, VIC

Born in Kashmir, but later migrating to Bangalore where his passion for cooking grew, Sandeep is most confident cooking with spices. His family didn’t have a fridge so his Mum taught him how to cook dahl without having it stick to the hotplate and how to boil food to prevent it spoiling. He brings his wealth of knowledge, and flavourful dishes, to the competition.

Simon Toohey, 32, Cocktail Barman, VIC

An award-winning Cocktail Barman, with a Masters in Gastronomy from Queen Margaret University, Simon hopes to showcase his knowledge of food sovereignty and sustainability, alongside indigenous farming and medicinal spices.

Steph De Sousa, 45, HR Specialist, NSW

Mother-of-four Steph is hoping to create a place serves wholesome, flavoursome food. A place that’s just like “going to mum’s for dinner.” She’s inspired in the kitchen by Maggie Beer, Rick Stein and Sri Lankan Peter Kuruvita.

Tati Carlin, 49, Receptionist, VIC

Raised by her paternal grandparents, Tati learned to cook curries traditional to Java and Indonesia. She admits Asian curries and cooking with intuition will be her strength in the MasterChef kitchen, though she worries about the Pressure Tests.

Tim Bone, 33, Cooking & Garden Educator, VIC

Tim says he’s a fan of big flavours and honest food – nothing “flashy” or “fancy” – and he cites paella as his go-to dish.

Tessa Boersma, 27, Criminal Statistician, QLD

Tessa is a self-taught cook who began experimenting in the kitchen from the age of six. Starting off with a sweet tooth, she says her taste has developed over the years and describes her food as classic with a twist. She hopes to open a farm café when her MasterChef journey comes to an end, focussing on seasonal produce in the south-east Queensland hinterland.

Walleed Rasheed, 38, Marketing Analyst, VIC

Walleed dreams of opening a fusion dessert bar, celebrating both Middle Eastern and Western sweet treats. His dessert was praised by the judges in the audition, where he served up baklava inspired pistachio ice cream cones.

Yossra Abouelfadl, 36, Pharmacist, NSW

Yossra moved from Egypt to Sydney in 2003, and was thrilled by the multicultural melting pot of her new home as she wandered the local stalls and markets. She takes inspiration from idols Nigella Lawson and Jamie Olivr, watching their shows and trying new recipes in the kitchen at the end of her working day.