Victoria, 29, Accountant

Growing up in Malaysia, Diana loved food, but it was when she moved to Australia at the age of 19 that her passion grew. Falling in love with the produce of her local Melbourne food markets, Diana says she never knew food could look so beautiful, and fresh, organic, sustainable food could be so readily available.

Diana hopes to open a fresh and casual dining restaurant, inspired by Sweetgreen and Dig Inn, venues she found and fell in love with while travelling through New York City. Diana says she loves the fresh approach to food favoured by chefs Dan Hunter and Ben Shewry, whom she describes as her food idols, alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Shane Delia and Benjamin Cooper.

The youngest of three children, Diana grew up in Johor Bahru in Malaysia with her parents, who cooked traditional home meals. She moved to Kuala Lumpur at 17 to complete her Cambridge recognised A-level exams, before making the move to Melbourne to study Commerce at Deakin University. She now works for Deloitte as a senior analyst, a role she has held for nearly five years.

Diana lives in Melbourne’s south with her partner Tim. Outside of cooking, she loves to run, practice yoga and travel, combining her love of trying new experiences with new cuisines.

Diana loves how food brings people together and sees this as a big part of what she wants to do with her life. Following her MasterChef Australia experience, she hopes to gain experience in a commercial kitchen and catering for friends’ birthday and engagement parties.