Cooking for family and friends in your own home is obviously very different to whipping up a dish on national TV. After watching MasterChef Australia for many years and contemplating whether to apply for the reality TV show herself, Cath Collins finally decided to audition for this year's season, thanks to one special person: Julie Goodwin.
The 54-year-old was inspired by Goodwin's return to the competition on the Fans & Favourites season last year — 13 years after she won Season 1 back in 2009.
Like Goodwin, Collins' passion for food stems from her love of feeding her family and friends. Coming from a big family (where she's one of 10 children), it was once Collins became a mum herself that she truly started her cooking journey. Her focus has always been on creating meals that are both delicious and nourishing. Outside of the kitchen, you can find her enjoying music, art or running in a half marathon or triathlon.
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Very excited for Australia to watch her journey on MasterChef Australia: Secrets & Surprises, Collins recently shared a photo of herself with some of her co-stars, writing that she "can’t wait to start this magical journey".
While last year's season MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites featured 12 returning contestants from previous seasons and 12 amateur home cooks, the 2023 season returns to the original format featuring 18 faces that are new to Aussie TV.
The contestants are Adi Nevgi, Alice Han, Amy Tanner, Andrea Puglisi, Antonio Cruz Vaamonde, Brent Draper, Cath Collins, Declan Cleary, Grace Jupp, Jessica Perri, Larissa Sewell, Malissa Fedele, Phil Conway, Ralph Kahango, Rhiannon Anderson, Robbie Cooper, Rue Mupedzi and Theo Loizou.
In addition to MasterChef judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo (who recently passed away), this year there's a star-studded lineup of guest judges including Jamie Oliver, Curtis Stone, Maggie Beer, Rick Stein and Peter Gilmore.
MasterChef Australia: Secrets & Surprises will premiere on Sunday, May 7 at 7:30pm on Channel 10, following a special edition of The Sunday Project which will pay tribute to Jock Zonfrillo from 6:30pm.
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