It’s always hard writing about yourself, so I thought I’d let someone else do it for me. Here’s my bio from the Masterchef website:
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With her 1950s rockabilly fashion sense and love of retro food, Danielle is hoping the judges will rock around the MasterChef clock after tasting her dishes.
“I’ve always loved classic cars and the style of the 1950s,” she says. “Women were really elegant and classy, and I love that look. It makes you feel good about yourself.
“I’ve just started to get into the retro food scene and how I can put a twist on it. I’m keen to look at classic dishes to see how they can be brought forward into today’s age. There is a big movement towards retro food, like ice cream sandwiches on dessert menus.”
Growing up watching her mum Julie go about her weekly ritual of baking a fruitcake, Danielle has always loved cooking.
“Mum is my inspiration in the kitchen, but we often discuss where I get this love of cooking from,” says Danielle, who fondly remembers sitting around the dining table for dinner with her mum, dad Jeff and four siblings. “We figured that it was because as a family we have always sat down and had meals together.”
She left school where she eventually managed pet stores, before taking up a job in the family’s car mechanic business, which has been running for almost half a century.
“I really don’t know why I didn’t take up a chef’s apprenticeship when I left school,” she ponders. “As the years have gone on, I have kind of got myself into a position where it’s not financially viable to go do an apprenticeship.”
Leaving the family business behind has been hard for Danielle, but not as hard as being separated from her husband of one year Wade and her family.
“Wade’s been incredibly supportive,” she says, who has a long-term goal of owning a cooking mentoring school for disadvantaged youths where they can enjoy a family-style meal. “I was a fan of the UK series and I said to him that if it ever came to Australia I needed to be on the show!
“We met on the internet in 2005 on a dating site. We were just compatible right from the start. We both love animals and like to collect vintage toys and we’re into nerdy stuff!
Naming Heston Blumenthal as one of her favourite chefs, Danielle confides she’s looking forward to having her food judged to “validate that I’m on the right path”.
Danielledixon com