Age: 44

State: South Australia

Instagram: @andreursinicooks

Previous season & place: Season 1, placed 7th

A graduate of MasterChef Australia’s debut season in 2009, Andre Ursini is back to where it all began to rediscover the passion for cooking he first unveiled in this competition. Now a successful restaurateur and business owner, Andre is excited to return to the spotlight and have some fun. A break from logistics and numbers of business, in the MasterChef Australia kitchen Andre will have the freedom to simply cook, share and create.

First appearing on MasterChef Australia as a 28-year-old project manager, Andre’s journey was driven by a desire to transform his passion for Italian food into a successful career. Since then, his trajectory has been nothing short of extraordinary. His first venture, the award-winning Andre’s Cucina & Polenta Bar was a runaway success, becoming an Adelaide dining institution for a decade, celebrating Italian cuisine and culture.

The restaurant set the foundation for what has become a thriving career in the culinary world, with Andre then launching ORSO and Wilmott’s Gastronomia in Adelaide’s centre, and Lost Phoenix Farm and Distillery in Hindmarsh Valley, South Australia. A further venue, Viletta Porcini in Mylor, is a unique and intimate space where Andre offers hidden culinary experiences, cooking for the pure love of it with no menu, no bookings, and no pressure beyond his own passion – every chef’s dream.

Excited by the prospect to get back to base in the MasterChef Australia kitchen for Back To Win, Andre plans to showcase his more mature style, accompanied by his grin a mile wide and his infectious energy for his craft. His dishes remain big and bold in flavour, but now offer more refinement and technique amassed over 16 years in the kitchen.

Inspired by chefs Eugenio Maiale, Antonio Carluccio, and Giorgio Locatelli, Andre’s go-to pantry ingredient is olive oil, and says that his weakness in the kitchen will be desserts. Conversely, his biggest strength will be the sheer depth of his experience, his understanding of technique, and his ability to think creatively on the go.

Supported at home by wife Hana and children Rafael, 11, Isla, 9, and Luca, 6, outside the kitchen, Andre enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu and mushroom foraging.