Age: 40 

State: Victoria 

Occupation: Chief Operating Officer 

Instagram: @msalita 

A successful tech entrepreneur by day, outside of the boardroom, Alita Harvey-Rodriguez admits she’s always dreaming of food. Alita’s parents, mum Charo from Peru and dad Chris, from England, immigrated to Australia in the 1980s with just $500 to their names and the will to succeed. Alita and her sister Victoria watched their parents work tirelessly to build a life for their family and their strong work ethic runs through Alita’s veins.

Watching her parents in the kitchen from a young age laid the foundation for Alita’s passion for cooking, and inspiration grew. She not only observed but learnt by doing. With Peruvian and English influences a given, her parents also travelled widely for business, and Alita and her sister tagged along whenever possible, with wonderful memories of discovering the flavours of Asia.

Alita credits her unfortunate luck of being bitten by a tiger snake – four times, no less! – with propelling her skill in the kitchen. After the incident on the family’s country Victoria farm aged 12, she was nervous spending time outdoors, turning instead to the kitchen as a safe space, putting into practice what she’d grown up learning.

As an adult, Alita has poured her talent into e-commerce and customer experience across a successful career. Previously a Telstra Business Awards state finalist, Alita has helped grow some of Australia’s biggest brands online. Most recently, she co-founded and is Chief Operating Officer of an online platform helping families with school-aged children reduce the cost of living.

Not a day goes by without Alita in the kitchen. Cooking for her husband Michael, sister and even her dog, Sage, (yes, she gets homecooked meals too!), Alita also loves staging her own personal pop-up restaurant for family and friends, dubbing it ‘The Alita Experience’.

Looking ahead, Alita would love to write a cookbook, collaborate with brands and has big plans to take the hard work out of dinner time as she looks to develop healthy, easy meal kits that would be available in supermarkets, with video tutorials to match to make feeding the family foolproof.

Considering creativity her biggest strength, Alita brings it in spades to the MasterChef Australia kitchen along with warmth, charisma and a born drive to succeed.