It was a 10 year school reunion, and an upcoming milestone birthday, that were the catalysts Courtney needed to shake her life out of the rut she realised it had become.

"I'd been working at the local bowling club for over 12 years and to be honest I lost track of time," Courtney says. "It hit home at the reunion when no-one could believe that I was still there, running the same club. I felt like I'd been in a time warp.

“Plus I'm about to turn 30 which I know isn't old but it's a marker in the sand. You have a big party at 30 and it's a real celebration of your life so far and I want people to think I've done amazing things."

An applicant for MasterChef Season One, Courtney was unsure about applying again, but was encouraged by her friends.

"I've been waiting for something to come and change my life and what I've realised is that it isn't going to happen,” she explains. “I applied in year one and didn't follow up my application. This year my girlfriend made me ring and chase it and that made me realise you don't wait for people to get back to you. You do things for yourself."

The youngest of six children, Courtney grew up on a small farm in Kellyville. She describes her family as being like that of The Castle and her childhood was characterised by pitching in and learning the importance of being resourceful.

"We grew up making the best of what we had in the fridge,” she remembers. “We learnt to go out fishing and put crab pots in, and to do all sorts of things to make good meals. I'm not scared of pulling the guts out of a fish, and definitely was never a prissy little girl. We didn't have a lot of cash growing up but we didn't miss out on things."

Inspired by her father, who worked a second job as a chef, Courtney became addicted to watching cooking shows on TV, and used to adore reading The Margaret Fulton Cookbook.

"I quickly realised that if I was the one to create an evening meal for the family, I wouldn't get too grilled about my homework!" she laughs.

As for her MasterChef dream, Courtney is realistic. "I know running a café is hard, expensive, and cafés open and shut all the time so I don't know if that's for me,” she says. “But having cooked for friends, I'd love to get into events catering for parties."