Australia’s answer to Willy Wonka, Adriano Zumbo became a household name thanks to his incredible dessert skills and iconic dishes unleashed upon MasterChef Australia contestants across eight seasons. Memories of his croquembouche or macaron ‘Tower of Terror’ are easily conjured as dishes which helped earn his nicknames as the ‘Pâtissier of Pain’ and the ‘Sweet Assassin’.

From humble beginnings in rural Coonamble NSW, Adriano’s sweet tooth was honed early by raiding lollies and cake mix from his parents’ supermarket. His passion saw him begin his apprenticeship at age 15, sealing his future path as he went on to complete further training in Italy and France.

Boasting the finest Parisian pastry institutions amongst his training grounds, Adriano studied at l’Ecole Lenôtre, Bellouet and with Pierre Hermé, going on to open his first pâtisserie in Sydney in 2007. The ensuing years saw Adriano take his skills to the world stage, competing in international contests including Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie and the Asian Pastry Cup.

With a limitless imagination and a zest for bending boundaries, when this approach combines with Adriano’s classical training, the results are often simultaneously irreverent and delicious.

The author of three best-selling cookbooks, Adriano has also long been a familiar fixture of the small screen. In addition to his MasterChef appearances, Adriano hosted two seasons of Zumbo’s Just Desserts and was more recently resident judge on five seasons of Netflix’s baking reality series, Sugar Rush.

Feted on the international events circuit for demonstrating his sweet skills, these days, fans can experience Adriano’s exquisite creations first-hand at Zumbo in Noosaville, Queensland. Those in Sydney can also savour his flavours courtesy of his curation of the QT Hotel’s decadent high tea offering, QTea.

With everything to gain by throwing his hat into the Dessert Masters ring, Adriano’s work regularly takes inspiration from his life and childhood, with every dish telling a story.

Expect the eclectic from this industry icon as he gets set to pull out all the stops during the competition.