"I got married the day before I left to come to the MasterChef Top 20 in Sydney...My wife is very supportive."

Age:  24
State:  Victoria
Occupation:  Call centre manager
Favourite cuisine: Italian
Favourite place to travel: Surfers Paradise
Favourite dish to cook: Lamb shanks, mash potato with gremolata
Favourite dessert to eat: Panna Cotta
Sweet or Savoury: Savoury
Chilli or garlic: Garlic

Newlywed Sam should be on a romantic honeymoon getaway in Thailand with his bride Serpil, but instead the cheeky Melbourne boy has postponed the start of his marriage to compete in MasterChef.

"Serpil is one of the most supportive people you could ever meet! She encouraged me to apply for MasterChef. She sees me cooking and knows me better than anyone and I wouldn't be here without her."

Desperately in love, the pair's four year relationship has been marked with hurdles from the start.

"Serpil comes from a very traditional Muslim background," Sam explains. "There were problems with us moving out and getting married. It's got better but it will always be a challenge. She has had so much to deal with. To make a decision to break up with tradition entirely and choose a bogan like me is massive and I'm the luckiest person alive."

Sam has managed call centres since he left school and it’s a career that he both excels in and loves. "I've worked in call centres ever since school. I went to Uni for two days and quit. I already had a job in a call centre where I was making OK money and I loved the people-orientated environment.”

"Through application and hard work I've worked my way up and now I run the main site."

While Sam is thrilled to have been picked for MasterChef, he's still not sure where his future in food really lies.

"It's interesting. I've always said that if this stopped tomorrow I'd go back to my life and be fine, be happy, be content, I didn't have a need to change my life to be happy. But this represents something that I can do."

"I've always used cooking as an escape, an opportunity to be by myself and let go of everything. Serpil has seen how much I love it and encouraged me to imagine making a career out of cooking."

"I like to make food people want to eat and I believe I cook honest, home style food. I don't believe in messing around with food."