36, Rope Access Technician, WA

Born and raised in Turin, northern Italy, Andrea Puglisi has spent the past 10 years in Melbourne and Perth, but his cooking style still sits squarely in his Italian roots.

From a large family of big personalities and as one of five siblings, a busy kitchen was always a feature in Andrea’s family home. With his dad and Nonna as his cooking inspirations, most childhood memories centre around food and from the age of 11 Andrea was cooking pasta and sauces from scratch.

During his childhood Andrea’s family took over a café, and as he grew older, Andrea helped to run it alongside his family. This early immersion into the hospitality industry led Andrea to work as a hospitality venue manager, a bar tender and a vineyard farm hand. Whilst working in the hospitality industry, Andrea interacted with many chefs who imparted their knowledge and unique styles to him, which helped shape Andrea into the cook that he is today.

Andrea has stepped back from the hospitality industry, now working as a rope access technician, but continues to cook Mediterranean and pescatarian food every day, with Italian classics like spaghetti and clams a favourite on high rotation.

Big flavours will be a strength for this intuitive cook in the MasterChef kitchen, while he hopes to refine his dessert skills. For Andrea, the competition is all about pushing himself to see what he is capable of. He loves trying new things and is determined to enjoy the ride. In the future he would love to open a tapas wine and cocktail bar somewhere tropical, with palm trees and in front of a surf break, melding two of his great loves.