NSW, 36, Architect

For Jess Hodge, family is everything and she’s banking on the support of wife Emily and threeyear- old twin sons Arlo and Lucca as her ultimate cheer squad. They are the driving force behind her desire to succeed on MasterChef Australia and Jess sees her spot in the Top 24 as the catalyst for changing her young family’s life.

Through her work as a landscape architect, urban designer and university lecturer, Jess creates spaces that are engaging, useable and inspire delight, and her skill in the kitchen clearly enables her to inspire delight too.

Describing her cooking style as explorative, creative and generous, Jess says she learnt cooking by osmosis, from spending time with her German grandmother creating many happy food memories.

Inspired by her travels to places like Mexico, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, India and Morocco, Jess loves reliving memories of these trips and exploring cultures through cooking.

Considering herself self-driven, motivated and organised, Jess’ attention to detail and ability to interpret a brief will be key to her success in the competition.

Forced to cancel a year-long round-the-world family gap year in 2020 due to the pandemic, Jess turned to the kitchen for stress relief. Cooking became an exercise in mindfulness and a chance to unwind from her busy job. What began as a hobby is now an integral part of her life.

Jess believes in reciprocity, learning from Australia’s First Nations Peoples to understand, learn and promote sustainable landscape and food practices.

In the future, Jess sees herself travelling around Australia with her family to learn as much about the food and produce of our country as she can. Jess would love to own a property where she can grow her own produce and run a cafe or restaurant on site.