Victoria Age: 49 Occupation: Recruitment Coordinator

Born and bred in Melbourne as one of five children, Genene describes her childhood brimming with “classic meat and three veg” fare. It was only when she moved out of home at 23 that her flatmate began to teach her how to cook delicious meals. She was, in her words, a late bloomer.

Out of high school, Genene started work in the travel industry, working in wholesale travel for 10 years before moving into a travel co-ordinator role with a stockbroking company. She worked her way into recruitment, where she has now been for more than two decades.

Married since 2005 to husband Andrew, Genene is the proud step-mum to three children, Isabella, Simon and Henry.

An all-rounder, Genene says family meals now cater to a pescatarian and a vegetarian, so she is hopeful her skills will help in covering a variety of cooking styles in the MasterChef Australia kitchen. A big fan of cakes and biscuits, she makes all her own jams, preserves, relishes and pastes, but cites seafood as a weakness.

Listing Vali Little, Donna Hay, Karen Martini and Maggie Beer as her culinary idols, one day Genene hopes to own a regional property with Andrew. She wants it to feature an orchard and vegetable garden so she can bottle her own produce to sell at farmers’ markets.

Passionate about the notion of “paddock to plate”, she wants to turn that into “branch to bottle” and routinely takes leftover home grown food from friends to bottle up.

When she is not spending time with her family and cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Genene loves heading to the theatre and cheering on her mighty Richmond Football Club.