Catherine "Cath" Collins is a contestant on MasterChef Australia Season 15 & 17. She is placed 5th on Season 15 & 23rd on Season 17.
Biography[]
Retrieved from 10play.com.au
Season 15[]
Wearing her heart of gold on her sleeve, Cath Collins has long dreamt of applying for MasterChef and inspired by Julie Goodwin’s return to the competition last year, she feels that now it’s time to take the leap.
Hailing from a big Aussie family, Cath is one of 10 children which made mealtimes a boisterous scene. Cath recalls her mum always served tasty meals, even when budgets were tight.
As a proud mum to two daughters, Cath was inspired to step up her cooking when her girls were born, and to focus on making delicious food that nourished, engaged and excited them.
As a self-taught cook with over 100 cookbooks, Cath loves all types of food and is neither a sweet nor savoury specialist, providing an adaptability she sees as an asset.
With a love of European cuisines Cath is inspired by her travels and eating out. During COVID lockdowns she kept her family connected with far flung destinations from her home kitchen, staging Thai, Italian, Czech Republic, Mexican and Portuguese themed dinners, and keeping them surprised with creative desserts.
Having worked in the travel industry for many years, Cath later achieved her vocational teaching qualifications and taught tourism. Now working alongside husband Brad in their family construction business, it’s not where her passion lies, and she has her family’s full support to chase her dreams.
In her spare time, Cath enjoys music and art, and loves running, walking and hiking with girlfriends. She has completed half marathons and triathlons, so rising to a challenge is familiar territory. Cath joins the competition armed with life experience, good humour, and a healthy dose of tenacity to go after what she wants.
Planning on drawing inspiration from her many food idols including Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein, Maggie Beer, Massimo Bottura and Yotam Ottolenghi, Cath hopes to launch a café serving high tea and to stage cooking classes for school aged children, young adults, right through to tailored adult classes.[1]
Season 17[]
Having brought the wow-factor to Season 15, Cath Collins now brings her bright, infectious positivity Back To Win.
After claiming fifth place in 2023, Cath returns to the competition a wiser, calmer cook, and says she is ready to have more fun this time around, and feel less pressure.
Cath embraced change in a big way since her last appearance in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, moving away from the family construction business to follow her dreams and launch her own food business, Cath’s Kitchen. The self-taught cook now runs cooking classes and small group catering from her Melbourne home’s beautiful kitchen, and also loves the time she gets to spend running all-abilities cooking classes for the disability sector. In addition, Cath’s business has consulted to the corporate world, incorporating food into executive leadership programs.
After bravely diving headfirst into her mid-life career change and now reaping the rewards, Cath hopes that her Back To Win appearance will inspire others to believe in themselves in pursuit of a goal.
Inspired by recent travels to Europe and Singapore as well as eating out, Cath is always developing recipes and has begun work on another dream project, writing her own cookbook.
Supported by husband Brad and adult daughters Alexandra and Abby, Cath looks forward to rubbing shoulders with MasterChef Australia royalty as she gets back into the kitchen, ready to push herself and make the most of this unique opportunity.
Fuelled by nostalgic memories of growing up in a big family with bustling mealtimes spent gathered around the table, this warmth translates directly into Cath’s cooking style.
But while she loves to pay homage to time-honoured family favourites, or ‘cuddle recipes’ as she calls them, Cath is also intent on showcasing how her skill and repertoire has evolved, with dishes set to be more varied and adventurous.[2]
Trivia[]
Season 15[]
- At 54, she is the oldest woman of the season.
- In Week 1, she, Alice, Antonio, Declan, Jessica, Larissa, Rhiannon, & Theo all had to be quarantined because they all tested positive for Covid. They are still in the competition but have to compete in next week's Pressure Test.
Season 17[]
- At 56, she is the oldest woman of the season.
- She is also the oldest person to be the first person eliminated in the series.
References[]
External links[]
Cath Collins on Instagram