AGE 42, STAY-AT-HOME MUM (ELIMINATED 10TH) Liliana is all about food and family, and comes from a strong Italian Calabrese extended family where food was always at the centre of life.

"That table laden with food, that abundance and promise of a feast, has inspired why I love to cook. The closeness, the memories, the smells, the love and laughter is something that I am very lucky to have been a part of."

Liliana lives with her two boys Jake (15) and Jesse (11), and husband of 21 years, Jason. A champion ballroom dancer for 13 years, she retired from dancing at 16 and later took up competitive bodybuilding. The past 20 years have seen her focus on her family and she has become a stay-at-home mum with a reputation for baking the best birthday cakes in town.

Although she started cooking in her 20s, Liliana's love of food is something that she feels is a part of her genetic makeup and she was profoundly influenced by her mother and her Italian upbringing.

"I didn't grow up at my mum's side, learning how to make traditional Italian cuisine. I was a dancer, and the kitchen belonged to my mum. The most I remember doing was running out to the garden to pick a bunch of oregano or basil to add to the pot. But I could tell by the smells if tonight's sauce was going to be a good one or not."

Her dream is to have a family-run seaside café, where the locals will come because it's like a home away from home. She sees MasterChef Australia as a step towards achieving that dream.