Shane Cullinan (40) is from Limerick and lives in Cork. He is married to Elaine with one daughter, Evie (age 1). He works as a Supply Chain Specialist for a large pharmaceutical company.

Shane remembers being a young child helping his mother making queen cakes, and licking the bowl after and has cooked as long as he has been able. He says his mother made cooking a way of life for him and it is because of her that he explores food. Shane was a vegetarian for 16 years, during four of which he was vegan. He says that this broadened his skills and palette, encouraging him to explore different recipes and cultures for vegetarian ideas. Now, he loves to eat meat, though he is careful as to how he sources it. Shane thinks that taking part in MasterChef would be a great learning opportunity and hopes that through taking part his desired career in food will begin to take shape.

The dish he cooked to make it into the audition stage was Seville orange tart with crème fraiche and almond brittle. His audition dish was Smoked Eel Potato Cake with Pea Chowder.