Tasmania, 29, Hairdresser 

Amy Luttrell’s favourite part of hairdressing was designing new styles for her clients. But she still needed an outlet for her creativity, so she turned to food.  Now the time has come to put her scissors to one side and pursue her MasterChef Australia dream.

No stranger to cooking for large groups, Amy hails from a blended family including seven sisters and one brother. Describing her mum Karen as her biggest inspiration in the kitchen, Amy has many happy memories of cooking as a child.

"We're such a big group when we're all together, there's never a dull moment. We often have big family cook-ups and food has always been a huge focus for us. I'm at my happiest when I'm cooking,"says Amy

Amy names Maggie Beer as her ultimate food hero and also admires Luke Nguyen, Stephanie Alexander and Heston Blumenthal.