From publishing cookbooks, to running a catering business and being a MasterChef Singapore and MasterChef Asia judge, Audra Morrice has forged quite an impressive food career since first appearing on MasterChef Australia in 2012. But those 13 years in between don’t necessarily prepare you for the unique reality TV chaos when you finally return to that kitchen.
“I thought it would be easier, but no,” Audra laughs during an interview with Draw Your Box, explaining contestants must adopt a “competition mode” mindset once they’re back on set.
“I haven’t been in competition mode for the last 13 years. I’ve just done what I do… What is funny is one of the things I said I really learned out of MasterChef the first time around was it really taught me how to be organised,” she shares. “I’ve lived my life the last 13 years [for] events and stuff to actually be organised.
“But you come into this kitchen and they throw a time limit on you all that goes out the door… it’s like you’ve learned nothing at all from the first time around!”
Listen to our podcast interview with Audra Morrice below:
After working in telecommunications for 19 years, Audra placed third in 2012’s Season 4 of the cooking show – which current MasterChef judge Andy Allen actually ended up winning at the time.
“I’m so proud of how far he’s come as well,” says Audra. “Like he said in the first episode, I was kind of like a mother figure for him, which is so lovely because I care about a lot of them.”
With this season called MasterChef Australia: Back To Win, the premise is based on former contestants returning for the chance to claim victory this time around. While it’s a competition – and the stakes could appear higher because she’s cooking for former co-star Andy – Audra admits her ultimate goal during this pre-filmed season was to have plenty of fun while showcasing dishes connected to her cultural heritage.
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but I didn’t really cook for them [the judges], to be honest” she laughs.
“Look, I think it’s very obvious. There were some of us that really studied to come into this to win this. I just kind of went into this and just cooked what came to mind and what I felt in the flow of the moment. Sometimes it was an epic success, sometimes it was a disastrous fail, but all I wanted to do was cook wholeheartedly and put delicious food on the table for them.”
Audra’s father is of South Indian descent and was born in Singapore, with her paternal grandmother hailing from Chennai and grandfather from Pondicherry in India. Her mother is of Chinese descent and was born in Sarawak, Malaysia. She grew up enjoying a melting pot of cultural cuisine – Chinese dishes, and also Indian dishes that were influenced by geography. She notes that the “Indian kind of culture is so different” depending on where you live – “much like the Indians in Singapore where I grew up,” she says, and “in Malaysia where mum was from, the Indian culture there is quite different as well”.
“So when we say South Indian influence and when I speak about South Indian influence in my food, it’s my grandmother’s influence because they moved from India to Singapore, to Butterworth, actually, after the Indian War,” says the TV star. “It’s so fascinating – the influences of where your environment [is] does impact your food.”
While there are South Indian dishes such as appam, dosa and masala vada that she loves eating in Singapore and Australia, Audra says she didn’t grow up with the distinctly traditional North or South Indian cuisine that the masses know of today. “The Singapore influence has kind of created my style of Indian,” she says.
Determined to showcase more of these dishes that are rich in intergenerational connection and nostalgia, Audra says she honed in on family recipes and techniques.
“Interpretation and inspiration is in the eyes of the beholder, or in this case, in the eyes of the cook. You cook what you feel and how you interpret something, and I was led by that. Where I could show mum’s side of the family, I did. Where I could show dad’s side of the family, I did.
“I have a real love affair with India. Sadly, my grandparents passed away before I was born, so I never got to meet them. And for the longest time, I sort of grew up very Chinese, because my mum comes from a family of nine and so those Chinese influences were very great and prominent,” she says.
“But my mother also cooked the most incredible Indian dishes. And again, it was her style, and that’s where I learned a lot from. So this love affair of Indian spices was important for me to showcase on the show, because… we are so diverse in Australia that that’s the real beautiful thing about it.”
Audra’s personal connection to this food, plus a chance to educate wider Australia about the diversity in Indian cuisine, have clearly played a huge role in how she’s approached the competition thus far.
“For me, whenever I got a chance to [do it], bang!” she says passionately. “But sadly, it didn’t happen all the time. I think the one thing one of the judges said somewhere during the cook, I can’t remember which episode it was, that when you actually showcase your heritage, that’s when you shine. And she’s right!”
At this point in the MasterChef 2025 season, Audra has already made the top nine. While we’re yet to see how the rest of her journey plays out, we already know that she’s continued embracing her love for food and TV. She’s creator, executive producer and host of a six-part TV series, Eat Roam Relish, which premiered on SBS in May.
Ultimately, Audra’s love for sharing her delicious creations will never stop. “Can I just honestly say, if I could keep my front door open for anyone who loves food, I would welcome them into my home and I would just cook for them.”
We might just have to take her up on that offer!
Audra is one of 24 cast members on MasterChef Australia: Back To Win alongside: Alana Lowes (Season 3), Andre Ursini (Season 1), Beau Cook (Season 4), Ben Macdonald (Season 6), Callum Hann (Season 2, Season 12), Cath Collins (Season 15), Declan Cleary (Season 15), Depinder Chhibber (Season 13), Jamie Fleming (Season 6), Jimmy Wong (Season 8), Laura Sharrad (Season 6, Season 12), Matt Hopcraft (Season 7), Pete Campbell (Season 13), Rhiannon Anderson (Season 15), Rue Mupedzi (Season 15), Samira El Khafir (Season 5), Sarah Todd (Season 6, Season 14), Savindri Perera (Season 16), Snezana Calic (Season 16), Steph de Sousa (Season 11), Theo Loizou (Season 15) and Tim Bone (Season 11).
The judges are Andy Allen, Poh Ling-Yeow, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and Sofia Levin.
MasterChef Australia: Back To Win continues at 7:30pm on Channel 10 and 10 Play.
Top image source: Channel 10
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