34, Software Developer, NSW

Hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, Antonio Cruz Vaamonde moved to Australia in 2015 to pursue a better life. His biggest influence and supporter, his grandmother whom he called ‘Mamucha’, encouraged him to make the move and the pair often spoke about him applying for MasterChef. Mamucha sadly passed away during the pandemic which heartbreakingly denied final goodbyes, so Antonio will be cooking in the MasterChef kitchen in 2023 to honour their strong bond.

This joyful cook watched both his mother and Mamucha in the kitchen growing up and learnt a great deal from observing the family’s matriarchs. Antonio will lean into his sweet and savoury strengths in the kitchen which include desserts, pastries and sweets, as well as Italian flavours, Asian cuisines, barbecue methods and showcasing his South American culinary heritage. He will draw on the support of his whole family, including his dad and three younger sisters.

Citing Gordon Ramsay and social media star Andy Hearnden among his favourite chefs, Antonio loves collating ideas and elements from many cooks and chefs to combine for his own creations. He anticipates tapping into the skillset of his day job too, with troubleshooting and ‘hot fixes’ of the software development world likely to have application in the MasterChef kitchen.

Outside the kitchen, Antonio enjoys riding motorcycles, music, movies, hiking, cycling, playing guitar and spending time with friends and his beloved golden retriever, Ziggy.

Having realised that food is his calling, Antonio would love his own patisserie, a place where he can share his creations and people can gather with their own loved ones. Ideally this would be alongside his mother, also a talented baker, bringing a shared dream to life.