New South Wales, 26, Marketing Co-ordinator

Born in Belarus, Anastasia and her family moved to Ukraine when the Soviet Union dissolved, before making the tough decision to move to a better life in Australia, landing in Brisbane when she was just five.

Anastasia has vivid memories of this culture shock, her exotic lunch boxes magnifying her differences with the other children. The family moved to Sydney after a year and Anastasia has embraced her Aussie home ever since.

Cooking since she was in high school, Anastasia used to help her mum Elena make organic baby food for younger brother Anthony, who arrived when she was aged 11.

Anastasia lived in Spain during 2011 as part of her degree, where she met and fell in love with Italian partner Antonio. Her passion for food also flourished and she loved to visit local markets, host dinner parties and cook for her friends.

Anastasia and Antonio now live in Sydney and he is the biggest supporter of her food dream, understanding that while she enjoys her marketing role at Sydney’s Doltone House, food is her future.

Calm and focussed in the kitchen, Anastasia is a rustic cook, influenced by a wide range of chefs including Maggie Beer, Rene Redzepi, Yotam Ottolenghi, Kylie Kwong, and Rick Stein.

Anastasia dreams of inspiring and teaching the community about food and believes that sustainability is key. Her long-term goal is to have her own restaurant, with an on-site organic kitchen garden and wild foods influencing the menu each day.