South Australia, 32, Carpenter

Scott Yeoman quotes his dad when asked about his philosophy in the MasterChef Australia kitchen: “You don’t know if you don’t try.”

Family is a huge influence on Scott and he has close relationships with mum Annette, dad Christopher and sister Lisa. Scott’s extended family also includes two nieces, a nephew, grandma Barbara and his grandpa Ralph.

Aged 87 and still fighting fit, Ralph is like a best friend and Scott wants nothing more than to make him proud.

After completing Year 11, Scott followed in Ralph’s footsteps and worked as an apprentice carpenter. But in his third year, he tore two discs in his lower back.

The injury was so severe that for three weeks he could only crawl around the house. This was followed by months of painful physiotherapy and hydrotherapy and a year of rehab before he recovered fully.

After he returned to carpentry, life wasn’t quite as idyllic. Scott’s run of bad luck continued with a broken ankle from a wakeboarding accident, a non-cancerous tumour on his foot that required surgery and a bulged disc in his neck.

A depressing time for Scott, if there was an upside it was that during his recovery he could watch hours and hours of cooking shows, awakening the budding chef within.

“Sometimes bad things need to happen to realise your true passions in life,” says Scott.

A self-taught cook and a quick learner, Scott loves nothing more than cooking for friends and housemates, trying out new recipes out on them. He also admires Matt Stone’s organic cooking style and would one day love to work alongside him.

A knockabout Aussie bloke, Scott is a big kid at heart who is hoping to find that special girl. He loves spending time at the family’s shack on the Murray and relaxes by playing both guitar and drums.

“I really want to challenge myself and learn more about food,” says Scott.

“Nothing makes me happier than to hear that people love my food and want to go back for more.”