"A lot of people think my style of cooking is like a circus show..."

Age:  21
State: Victoria
Occupation:  Works with his father in the family business
Favourite cuisine: French/Molecular Gastronomy
Favourite place to travel: France
Favourite dish to cook: Steak
Favourite dessert to eat: French Macaroon
Sweet or Savoury: Sweet
Chilli or garlic: Garlic

Independent and driven, Aaron certainly has a unique style of cooking, and is the only one of the MasterChef Australia contestants that used the controversial and experimental style of molecular gastronomy during auditions when he spherificated peas for the judges.

"For those people that don't know what molecular gastronomy is, it's basically a very precise way of cooking that involves taking an ingredient and then presenting it in a dish in an entirely different way and in a different form and texture. So basically I took peas, and then using spherification techniques reformed them to a different shape."

Taking a risk with his inventive technique, he has also taken a big personal risk to enter MasterChef Australia, turning his back on the family business in the process. "My father was against me doing MasterChef because he is against me going into the food industry. He wants me to take over his business and take over his legacy. It was difficult to apply because of this but I had my own reasons to come. I was at the auditions by myself and I have my own ambitions. Even when I found out I had got through to the Top 20 my Dad didn't want me to come, but I hope now that he is proud of me."

Having only cooked for three years, since leaving home and going to University, Aaron's style of cooking is certainly forward thinking. "I heard about something called a 'culinary foam' and I googled it and started to learn more about chefs that cook using this style such as Heston Blumenthal. Basically it's all about using chemistry and cooking together to create some surprising results."

This style of cooking has become quite a trend in Europe but in Australia, it’s a relatively new concept, and one that Aaron is keen to champion. "Modern chefs that take this cuisine on are taking cooking and turning it on its head. It takes patience certainly. I tried to make a basil foam and it took several attempts – the main ingredient was air! It requires a real finesse to perfect this style of cooking."

Molecular gastronomy has many critics but Aaron is not afraid of standing up to them, and has even had to go against his own family to take part in MasterChef Australia. "People struggle to comprehend it. They see it and they question why I do it. A lot of people do appreciate it through and are fascinated by the concepts. A lot of people appreciated the technique but some think it’s a circus show and there are those people that would rather have a steak and chips. It's not for everyone but it is in many of the world's top 50 restaurants. It’s a new cuisine that is becoming widely respected."

"My goal at the minute is to own a three chef hat restaurant. I want to branch out, and I want to do my style of food."