Growing up in Bangladesh’s bustling capital Dhaka, Rashedul says his childhood was vibrant, fun and noisy, raised in a family compound with all of his uncles, aunts and cousins. He says his fondest memories are family arriving from different areas of Bangladesh for feasts and family dinners, with often up to 100 guests celebrating together. 

A passionate and talented cricketer, Rashedul gave up on his ambition to play professionally to care for his sick mother, whom he describes as one of the most influential people in his life. It was when she passed away at home in Bangladesh in 2009 that Rashedul felt compelled to move to Australia with his wife Ayesha and seven-year-old son Aiman.
Working as an IT program director, Rashedul was encouraged as a child to pursue a career as either a doctor or an engineer. But he now wants to teach his own son to follow his heart and is taking that advice on board himself, hoping to open his own degustation restaurant or dessert bar.

Inspired by his father, who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen; Rashedul says cooking is a welcome stress relief after a busy day in the office. He looks up to chefs and cooks such as Curtis Stone, Adam Liaw, Gary Mehigan, Reynold Poernomo and Tapos Singha.

A self-described experimental dessert cook, Rashedul says he is at his strongest in the kitchen when presenting dishes and has a good intuition for balancing flavours. He admits his knife skills and fish filleting need practice.

Away from the kitchen, Rashedul enjoys watching and playing cricket with his son, cooking and taking photographs of nature, landscapes and food.

Recently, Rashedul was being interviewed by f NTV Online.
 

Who inspire you?
 

I am inspired by lot of things not necessarily only related to cooking. From cooking perspective I was inspired by my father, who liked experimenting with food. Later on as I have researched more about the industry I am inspired by world renowned chefs like Massimo Bottura and Francis Mallmann. Reynold Poernomo from Masterchef Season 7 has also been inspirational as his desserts captured my imagination. I love what Tapos Singha, Head Chef/Owner at Bang Street Food at Sydney Surry Hills has done with Bangladeshi cuisine.

What's your future goal?

My future goal is to open my own restaurant which can be a dessert bar or a degustation restaurant presenting refined Bangladeshi food. Main reason to join Masterchef Australia is to gain more knowledge about food industry and find my own style of cooking. I am doing work experience at Reynold’s Koi dessert bar in Chippendale and I plan to experiment with food especially with Bangladeshi cuisine to define a more refined stream which the rest of the world can discover.

Which part of Bangladesh are you from?

I have grown up in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. My childhood was vibrant, fun and noisy, raised in a family compound in Paribagh with all my uncles, aunts and cousins. My ancestors reside from Bikrampur Munshiganj and my mother was born and brought up in Ishwardi, Pabna.

Have you cooked food your home?

Both me and my wife, Ayesha, cook at home. For me cooking is a stress reliefer after a busy day in the office and a bonding time with my son. Both Ayesha and I like to entertain guests during weekends and cook new dishes.

Tell about you professional and educational background 

I am currently working as an IT & Cloud Program Director in Telecommunication industry. I finished my SSC from Govt. Laboratory High School, HSC from Rifels Public and Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology. 

Tell us about your family

My wife Ayesha works for Local Government Procurement and we moved to Australia in 2011 with our son Aiman, who is now 7 years old. My father Bahauddin lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh was General Manager at Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, now retired. My mother Nafisa passed away few years back and she has been very big influence in my life.

And anything, you like to share NTV.

I played Premier Division cricket in Dhaka for Dhanmondi Cricket Club and currently I play Sydney Grade cricket for North Sydney Cricket Club and part of club committee. I was Club’s highest wicket taker for season 2015-16 playing Grade 2 and 3.