01
Fregola soup with baccalà & pipis
A coastal Dalmatian soup that took her straight back to the Adriatic.
“This is my new number one dish.”
About
A culinary journey, one chapter at a time
Snezana's earliest food memories belong to the Adriatic: fresh seafood, good olive oil and long summer tables by the sea. She grew up in the green hills of western Serbia, where she learned the slower, heartier side of Balkan cooking — bread from scratch, jars of fermented vegetables, and dishes made to feed everyone who walked through the door.
She studied economics in Belgrade and built a career in banking before making Melbourne home. That practical streak never left: her cooking is generous, but it's built for real families and real weeknights.
Travel has shaped her cooking as much as home has. Snezana has eaten and cooked her way across five continents and more than 25 countries — from a round-the-world trip through Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Cuba and Mexico, to regular journeys through Asia and Europe, usually with the kids in tow. Along the way, Thai, Vietnamese and Indian street-food flavours have found a place beside the recipes she grew up with: cooking that moves easily from a coastal fish soup to a punchy southeast-Asian salad, with the same idea underneath — comfort first.
Snezana competed on two consecutive seasons of MasterChef Australia (Seasons 16 and 17), where her dishes — each one a chapter of her story — won over guest judges including Jamie Oliver and Jean-Christophe Novelli. Today she shares her cooking across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and appears regularly on Australian television and at live food events.
“Food is memory made edible. When I cook, I'm not following a trend — I'm passing something on.”
MasterChef Australia · Seasons 16 & 17
Dishes that carry her story
Across two seasons, her most memorable dishes mapped her own journey — from the Dalmatian coast to Serbia to Australia — and consistently moved the judging panel.
02
Bread & three butters
Hand-churned butters, each mapping a chapter of her life: bright coastal flavours from where she was born, richer country flavours from where she grew up, and a baklava butter for the friendships she found in Australia.
“I think you are incredibly brave to serve just bread and butter… But it is delicious.”
03
Garlic confit squid
A slow confit approach that split the judging table — before winning it over completely.
“When you first started slow cooking squid I was not happy with you. But you convinced me. It is a fabulous dish.”
04
Komorač
An old dish specific to inland Dalmatia, cooked with visible emotion and instantly recognised by the panel.
“This is a dish that brings people together.”
05
Yam dumplings (knedle)
Traditional Balkan knedle reimagined with native Australian ingredients — yam, Ooray plum and strawberry gum.
“That really did blow my mind. And that syrup — you could bottle that.”
