Age: 39

State: Victoria

Instagram: @timbonefood 

Previous season & place: Season 11, placed 4th

After finishing fourth in MasterChef Australia season 11, Tim Bone is motivated to chase down a podium finish, with the boy from Ballarat intending to show the judges that he can cut the mustard.

Since his last appearance in the kitchen, Tim founded Tim’s Toasties, his mobile gourmet toasted sandwich business, which celebrates local produce. Earlier this year, the business expanded into a bricks and mortar setting, offering a range of crowd-pleasing flavours to satisfy the hungry hoards.

In 2024 Tim became a co-host of Network 10’s daytime cooking program, Good Chef Bad Chef, a role he has relished.

It has been a busy time for Tim personally as well as professionally, welcoming two young sons in recent years, Toby, 4, and Jude, 1, with wife Abbey. The light of Tim’s life, Abbey and his boys are Tim’s biggest fans and supporters and will inspire him to reach for the stars during the competition.

A self-taught cook with his heart on his sleeve, Tim was first inspired to cook while watching cooking shows like MasterChef Australia, and things came full circle when he competed for the title in 2019. He credits his time spent in the MasterChef Australia kitchen with giving him the confidence to really go after his food dream and make it a reality.

While victory is the ultimate aim, Tim looks forward to rubbing shoulders with some of MasterChef Australia’s finest alumni, keen to step outside his comfort zone to where the magic can happen. From being at the coal face of simultaneous cooking and customer service in his business, Tim knows his ability to channel pressure and stress in a positive way, will prepare him well for the challenges that lie ahead. 

In future, Tim dreams of further expanding his business and opening a cooking school for students in Ballarat. It’s his passion for bold flavours and honest, home-style cooking that drives Tim to inspire the younger generation from small towns to explore a wider culinary world.