Queensland, 31, Nutritional Coach

At 31, Kira Westwick is not only a busy mum of two, but an accomplished businesswoman.

She runs two health and fitness studios on the Gold Coast with husband Adam. She’s also an accomplished cook, focusing on healthy and nutritious ingredients and often incorporating raw food.

Kira considers daughters Jordan, six, and Madelyn, two, her greatest achievement and loves nothing more than sharing stories with her girls over the dinner table.

Mum Coralie and Grandma Fran are amazing home cooks. Food was the foundation of every celebration growing up with elder brother Leigh, 33, and younger half-sisters, Sarah, 19, and Nikki, 16.

Kira suffered chronic fatigue in her early 20s. Although debilitating, she credits the illness as the catalyst for changing her lifestyle. Eating foods that would help her heal led to a career change from teaching into health and fitness.

Kira became a personal trainer and studied nutrition after moving to the Gold Coast in 2007. She also trained as an accredited pilates and yoga instructor.

Now a Nutritional Coach, Kira gets great satisfaction from demonstrating how nutrition can improve health in a sustainable and enjoyable way.

Kira loves preparing wholesome food, making it colourful, tasty and fun. A range of cuisines get a run in her kitchen, with favourites including Mexican, Thai and Spanish. She shies away from cooking with processed foods, oils, fats or sugars, and knows this will challenge her in the MasterChef Australia kitchen.

“My passion is to create food that nourishes the body, mind and soul in unity. None of these should be neglected or separated when it comes to food.”

Kira dreams of penning a healthy cookbook to help change people’s lives, starting with the food they eat – she’s already begun by publishing a kids version and a blog. Running healthy cooking classes is also a dream, as is adding a wholefood café to her health studios.

Following Jordan’s birth, Kira stared down a challenge as she faced post-natal depression. Battling low self-esteem and feeling isolated in a new community, Kira managed to pull through with her husband's support, and a focus on wellness.

Kira’s food idols include wholefood pioneers Cynthia Louise, Matt Stone, Stephanie Alexander, Jude Blereau, David Wolfe and Lola Berry. She also admires Jamie Oliver, whose work with children reflects her own food philosophy.