Let’s Get to Know the Charities the Finalists are Playing For on Celebrity MasterChef

Cooking royalty Tilly Ramsay has made it all the way to the finals, but is anyone really surprised? The English contestant is competing for UK-based charity Great Ormond Street, a children’s hospital that aims to give young, seriously ill kids the best chance to reach their full potential.

“I’m playing for Great Ormond Street charity, a children’s charity. It’s very close to all of us, Mum and Dad have had a foundation there. All my siblings ran the marathon to raise money for them… I was sad to not be able to raise that money (because of COVID),” she said.

Every day, 619 children from across the UK arrive at Great Ormond Street Hospital for treatment, and if Tilly ends up winning the $100,000, it will certainly be life-changing for both the organisation and the patients.

After the devastating passing of his sister Maddie in 2015 from complications of a Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome called Aplastic Anaemia, Nick started his own charity in her honour. Diagnosed at the young age of 21, Maddie put up a brave fight for five years before passing at the age of 26.

Nick, who has really shown just how hard he is willing to work for the $100,000, will be competing for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, an organisation that fights for better outcomes and cures for people with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes.

During his appearance on Celebrity MasterChef, Nick told viewers that Maddie was “a big part of the motivation for coming on MasterChef because she passed away in 2015 from bone marrow failure. She was 26. She was a huge advocate for change in that space and we’ve picked up that challenge in her name.”

“I’m going to be super determined to do her proud on this show,” says Nick.

Fashion designer Collette Dinnigan is passionate about providing food to those in need, which is why she’s representing the Hope Delivery Foundation, a charity started by chef Neil Perry.

Launching last year at the onset of the pandemic, the foundation caters to vulnerable and underprivileged people, including refugees, international students, unemployed hospitality workers and the homeless.

In 2020, Hope Delivery provided over 300,000 meals, and with Collette’s contribution, we’re hoping that number can grow further.

“I’m cooking for the Hope Delivery Foundation (which) one of our great chefs Neil Perry started. They need all the support they can to get food out to families. It saddens me, people not getting good food and this is a great place to start,” said Collette.