Age: 40

State: Victoria

Instagram handle: @beaucook

Previous season & place: Season 4, placed 8th

Back in season four of MasterChef Australia, Beau Cook was a construction worker by day and amateur chef by night. Powering through the competition to finish eighth, Beau returns to Back To Win ready to challenge himself again and seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity a second time around.

A fan of simple, rustic flavours with Italian touches, following his last stint in this kitchen Beau took up his dream opportunity to become a firefighter, a role he has proudly held for 11 years. His love for food has never waned though, and he even authored a cookbook.

Beau has a passion for using homegrown ingredients in his cooking and plans to demonstrate the skills he has developed over the past 13 years during Back To Win, while learning from his fellow contestants and esteemed judges. He admits his lack of restaurant experience might be a weakness, but he is banking on his strength of staying calm and cooking to high standards under pressure.

Having had a fascination for cooking from a very young age, Beau is self-taught in the kitchen and draws inspiration from chefs including Kylie Kwong, Adam Liaw and Maggie Beer, as well as international legends Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. As an advocate for ‘re-wilding’, his food dream in the future would involve more land, a bigger veggie patch, and some animals.

Chasing the satisfaction he feels from achieving in the face of pressure, Beau hopes that the MasterChef Australia kitchen will again be a place for personal growth, to broaden his understanding of cultures and cuisines and to build new friendships.