NSW, 25, Bar Tender

This young dad has his eye on the prize and creating a solid future for his family.

Growing up in Adelaide, Jamie and younger brother Luke, now 22, had well-developed palettes. This was thanks to mum Celia’s work selling educational products which took them right around the country. As they drove around Australia they sampled the cuisine at every stop.

Jamie says he decided he wanted to be a chef at age six, mesmerised by the kitchen prep in a family friend’s restaurant.

After finishing school, Jamie lived in New Zealand for three years, first stepping behind a bar while working at Mount Hutt. Additional travel saw Jamie trekking in Nepal and he spent four months in India.

Returning to Australia he continued his work in hospitality. It is an industry he loves, perhaps because of his own love of eating and drinking with friends.

Jamie fell into bar tending, which he’s done for eight years - seriously for four - as he has worked his way up.

Meeting partner Rhiannon while staying with friends in Sydney in 2011, the two were engaged within six months. Soon after they were expecting daughter Amelie, now a year old. A second baby is on the way in 2014.

His hard work and his bid for success in the MasterChef Australia kitchen is to secure a good life for Rhiannon, Amelie and their new arrival.

His food heroes include David Chang, Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller and Luke Nguyen. Eating at Momofuku and Tetsuya’s changed the way Jamie looked at dining.

His food ambition is to marry his passions for cooking and cocktails, by becoming a business owner and chef at a number of Sydney venues. He wants to concentrate on good food, good drink, good times and creating happy memories.

"I want to entertain and give people an experience that sticks with them.”

He would love to open a small bar with a great food list, a bistro more focussed on food, as well as a crazy bar as an outlet for his creativity.

“Nothing is too great to achieve if you put your mind to it. I want to meet new people, taste new flavours and textures and learn new skills. I hope to increase my arsenal in all areas and apply them to my world of cooking.”