Queensland Age: 31 Occupation: Builder

As a young child, Ben’s parents owned a boat and the close-knit family would hit the waters at Moreton Bay almost every weekend, catching an array of fresh seafood including whiting and sand crabs.

Cool, calm and collected, Ben says his laid-back approach in the kitchen should not deceive his fellow competitors. Described by some of his fellow housemates as the king of seafood, Ben admits it is his greatest strength coming into the MasterChef Australia 2018 season 10 competition. His passion has always been the water and its produce and he does not remember a Christmas without a seafood feast.

Born and raised in Brisbane, Ben was followed by his younger brother, Nick. He attended Brisbane Boys’ College, before commencing a carpentry apprenticeship at 17. When he finished five years later he worked alongside his handyman father for three years, admitting the pair routinely took a midweek day off to hit the open waters.

It is not surprising then, that his own food dream takes him back to the ocean. Ben hopes to start a charter boat company, looking forward to taking groups out to fish before cooking the produce fresh on the boat.

Passionate about celebrated home cooks, Ben still cites Ed Halmagyi’s scrambled eggs as the best he has seen and looks to Iain Hewitson, Maggie Beer and former MasterChef Australia winner Andy Allen as his food idols.

When he is not fishing Ben loves arts and crafts, a skill he has inherited from his creative family – his grandmother was a sculptor. He enjoys painting miniature figurines and making earrings for his wife Caitlyn, who is hoping with the rest of his family he can bring home the coveted MasterChef Australia trophy.