Growing up on a farm, MasterChef’s Alita Harvey-Rodriguez had a unique childhood – one that included being bitten by a tiger snake four times at just 12 years old. But the terrifying experience would go on to shape her future in an unexpected way.
“I developed a fear of being out on the farm. I didn’t want to leave the house,” the 40-year-old from country Victoria tells TV WEEK. “My parents travelled a lot for work, so I was home, scared out of my brain, and I had to learn to cook for myself.”
Her parents, who ran two businesses alongside a broccoli and cauliflower farm, instilled in her a strong work ethic. But, after years of running a demanding corporate career herself, Alita knew she wanted something more – eventually taking a leap of faith to pursue MasterChef.
“I had a few people tell me that I should go on it – it kept coming up in conversation,” she recalls.
“Then I went to a food and wine market and there was a MasterChef booth with producers recruiting.”
Before chasing her food dreams, however, she found something just as important – love.
“I knew whoever I was going to marry had to be able to use more power tools than me,” she laughs. “And then I saw a guy at my work office who wore a suit and drove a ute. I said, ‘I have to marry that guy…’ and the rest is history.”
That mindset of backing herself is something she credits to her dad, whose resilience has had a lasting impact on her life.
“We got married 10 years ago, when my dad had just beaten a cancer that only six per cent of people survive,” Alita says.
“He’s still with us, but it was really rough. He never went in asking, ‘What are my chances?’ Instead, he would say, ‘How am I getting better?’”
MasterChef airs on Sunday at 7pm on 10 and 10Play.
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