Age: 41

Occupation: Cinema Proprietor

Married for 16 years to wife Kerry, they have three children: nine-year-old twins Thomas and Samuel and a six-year-old daughter, Alexandra.

Michael is a self-taught cook and learnt to cook out of necessity: he was a teenager and he was hungry. He would often ask himself: "What can I make with what I have?" and his love of cooking and experimenting grew from there.

In addition to cooking, Michael's hobbies are photography and cycling, both of which have taken a back seat to his busy work schedule over the past few years.

Michael considers himself determined, confident and dramatic. Running his own cinemas, he is a self-confessed workaholic. He has not taken a holiday in three years and works 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Michael sees MasterChef Australia as an opportunity to broaden his focus after dedicating time to the business for so long. He hopes it will allow him to follow his food dream of opening a wine and tapas bar that adjoins his cinema, something he has been too busy working to achieve to date.