Cath grew up in outer Melbourne in a family of 10 children. Cath loved growing up in a big family which grew to include a few added extra’s over weekends when school friends would come over. Cath’s mum was welcoming and adaptable so an extra person to feed was never an issue.

The family shared some beautiful memory making holidays together. Many of the memories are based around food; the corned beef that Cath’s mum cooked, wrapped in a tablecloth, and cut fresh at Paradise Picnic Reserve in Apollo Bay is a food memory over 40 years old.

There was the accidental ‘apple glurg’ that was an apple dessert that went wrong and the golden syrup dumplings and bread and butter puddings for dessert that were cost effective and filled the family up.

The love of food is shared with Cath’s siblings. Cath’s older sister, Michele is an amazing cook whose strength is relishes and flavour bomb side dishes. Liz lives in the U.K. and her strength is her shared dinners …Liz’s beef wellington is out of this world. Suz is the platter queen of the family and Stephen is the French cook of the family. Pete was a chef and is Cath’s biggest supporter and mentor in the kitchen. Pete helped Cath prepare for MasterChef and they love nothing more than getting in the kitchen together.

There are now a few Vegans and vegetarians in the mix of the grandchildren which challenges everyone to think and cook differently. Cath grew up in a traditional meat and three vegie family so Cath’s cooking is forever evolving.

Cath’s daughter’s, Alexandra and Abby are great cooks themselves. Alex is a free form cook (no recipe, just cook with what you have got) whilst Abby loves baking and making fresh pasta. Cath’s husband Brad just loves eating what Cath cooks!