Age: 28

State: Victoria

Occupation: Barista

A proud Australian-born Thai woman, Nat Thaipun grew up in a busy family of five on Melbourne’s outskirts, with two younger brothers, and parents who ran a Thai restaurant where her Mum and food hero, Nutsiree, was head chef.

Raised as traditionally Thai, Nat spoke the language and learnt the ways of Thai people. Her late grandmother, Purd Boonpun, was a huge influence, further inspiring Nat’s love of cooking even after her passing, as she witnessed food’s place in grief and healing.

Nat feels the weight of keeping family traditions alive, to pass on skills and stories.

The depth of Nat’s connection to her Thai culture however has not been without its challenges, leaving her feeling isolated at times against an Aussie backdrop. She has grappled with her place between two cultures, and left Australia in 2016 to travel and in some ways, to find herself.

Trained as a Barista, over the past seven years Nat has lived and worked in Switzerland, Japan and New Zealand. Adorned with more than 90 tattoos, Nat loves adrenaline-fuelled adventures, and snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and skydiving punctuated her life abroad.

Being away from home has only strengthened the depth of Nat’s passion for cooking, realising food’s universal ability to connect people to their heritage, identity and culture as she found herself subconsciously tapping into her Thai roots through food while away.

Super passionate about breaking cultural stigmas, Nat hopes that the MasterChef Australia kitchen will help cement her grasp on her true identity and provide the opportunity to represent her culture through her food, personality and style.

Combining traditional comfort with modern flair, expect Nat’s food to be vibrant, fresh and full of flavour. With cooking a form of stress relief, Nat is comfortable stepping outside her culinary comfort zone, always eager to push the boundaries.

Self-described as chaotically creative and highly driven, Nat hopes to influence conversations that redefine Australian food and what it means to be Australian. She dreams of creating a hospitality co-working space called “The Good Space”’, and would love to emulate her hero Anthony Bourdain, writing to expose audiences to food and culture the world over.