Junior MasterChef’s Vienna reveals how a life-threatening health battle led to her love of cooking

She’s only 13, and already Junior MasterChef’s Vienna has dealt with her share of hardship, having previously been diagnosed with lymphoma.

But during an appearance on The Project on Tuesday, Vienna revealed her devastating cancer diagnosis actually led to her love of cooking.

‘I think anyone going through a hardship or an illness like that can agree it helped me discover my passion,’ she revealed.

She said overcoming the illness also gave her the ‘courage’ she needed to apply for this year’s Junior MasterChef. 

‘The courage that it took to go through [it] also helped me apply for Junior MasterChef in the first place, which I am glad I did,’ she added.

Speaking about her illness on MasterChef, Vienna revealed her nine-year-old brother Luca had donated bone marrow to save her.

She said she would bake at home every day during her recovery, and spent lots of time watching MasterChef, which inspired her to apply for the kids’ version.

But Vienna admitted nothing could prepare her for actually appearing on the hit cooking show.

She said the pressure of the cooking challenges was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

‘Under the clock is so stressful. It is really hard to describe looking up at the clock and rushing to get things done,’ she confessed. 

‘I don’t think anyone could prepare you for that level of stress.’

But speaking to 10play, Vienna confessed she’s still not sure if she wants to work in the food industry when she’s older, and said she’d also love to work with animals.