New South Wales, 26, Copywriter

Described by friends as fun, light and jovial, the food Karlie plates up showcases a very different side. Packing a punch with her cuisine, Karlie prefers to slam on the brakes with big, bold and brassy Oriental flavours.

Born in Adelaide, Karlie and her parents and brother Brad moved to Sydney when she was five, settling in the city’s northern beaches.

After travelling for several years after high school, Karlie started an Arts degree from Southern Cross University, majoring in Journalism. She completed the degree by correspondence and graduated in 2012, before successfully commencing an internship with a prominent design magazine. After four years in sub-editing, Karlie took a leap and moved to renowned home furnishings company Williams-Sonoma, where she now works as a copywriter.

Karlie’s love of interior design pales beside her true passion: writing about food. She loves to cook for friends and family and takes after her father, Dirk, in the kitchen, after he introduced her to big flavours and spicy dishes as a child. Dirk has travelled regularly to China for work since Karlie was a child and that has inspired her love and passion for Mandarin cooking and Chinese culture.

Describing food as a “language in itself”, Karlie is now learning Mandarin and describes her cooking style as modern Asian fusion. She says she loves the Chinese culture of celebrating each meal.

Together with her partner Adam, Karlie has worked hard to renovate their art deco Paddington home, a work in progress but a labour of love. The home includes a rooftop terrace, where Karlie routinely entertains for friends and family.

Karlie says she hopes to combine her love of writing and her passion for food to become a writer in the culinary industry, developing recipes and critiquing food.