Age: 29

State: Queensland

Occupation: Commercial Property

Happiest by the ocean, Brisbane-based Harry Butterfield has his sights on being this season’s resident seafood guru.

With fond of memories of helping his Mum and Dad in the kitchen as a kid, Harry really embraced cooking around age 12, influenced by his family of good cooks, and heritage spanning Northern Italian, English and German.

Both his Nonna Yvonne and Pop Ivan have played a huge role along Harry’s culinary path. Nonna always making something delicious from whatever was in the fridge or pantry and Pop sharing his love of the ocean, as they surfed, fished, and swam together. Harry will dedicate his MasterChef Australia journey to them.

Super passionate about sustainably harvesting seafood, Harry has been known to swim for hours in search of crayfish, even in shark-infested waters! He finds it incredibly rewarding to dish up something delicious he has harvested for family and friends, and has a huge respect for fresh produce, not letting anything go to waste.

A commercial property specialist by trade, in his spare time Harry is an adrenaline junkie who has worked as a snowboarding instructor in Japan and New Zealand. Indulging his love of the outdoors any chance he gets, Harry also loves to surf, dive, spear fish, hike, and travel.

Aspiring to the talent and creativity of his ultimate food hero Josh Niland, Harry looks to many cooks for inspiration, including Taku from Outdoor Chef Life, and Roy and Anna Turner who run the remote Haggerstone Island in Queensland’s Barrier Reef.

Cooking from the heart, Harry loves combining fresh and wild Australian seafood with hearty Italian or French techniques, as well as combining influences from Asian dishes, highlighting Chinese and Japanese flavours. His all-time favourite dish is steamed mud crab, something he can picture on the menu of the laidback seafood bar he dreams of opening, “Fins n’ Tins”. It would feature quality seafood shared with friends, good beer, wine and live music.

Set to rely on his calm nature in the kitchen, now is the perfect time for Harry to chase his dreams of breaking into the food industry, with wife Lily and dog Gnocchi at home cheering him on.