State: VIC

Age: 27

Occupation: Primary School Teacher

When Primary School teacher Monica Mignone speaks to her students about the importance of a balanced lunch, it’s a motto she lives by in her own kitchen.

Born in Melbourne as the youngest of three girls, Monica says her tight-knit Italian family was always together, spending weekends alongside her cousins enjoying picnics and riding bikes.

A bubbly and chatty self-described tomboy, Monica played semi-professional competitive basketball throughout high school, at one time touring the United States and Canada with the Blackburn Vikings at just 17. A broken foot at 20 halted her playing career, and a passion for cooking was given room to thrive.

Learning from her Nonna and Mum who are great bakers, Monica hopes sweets will be her strength in the MasterChef kitchen, but admits complex Asian flavours like Korean and Indian might be her downfall.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Deakin University in 2012, Monica went on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching, and is now in her 5th year teaching grade 1 and 2 students.

After watching the response an unbalanced lunchbox had on her student’s behaviours, Monica completed an online diploma in Nutrition at the end of 2016. The following year she started a garden kitchen at school, running nutrition lessons and teaching children about vegetables and the difference between ‘everyday’ and ‘sometimes’ foods.

Inspired by teaching, motivating and helping people, Monica also teaches group fitness classes, and has left at home her boyfriend Daniel and cavoodle, Miley.

Following her MasterChef journey, she hopes to have a space where she can hold cooking classes for families, hosting workshops and food demonstrations. She also dreams of selling Italian street food sweets alongside a hole-in-the-wall coffee and cake stand.