Marion Grasby

Early life and education

Marion Grasby was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, on 29 September 1982. At age four, she moved with her family to Papua New Guinea, where she attended primary school. She later moved to Brisbane and boarded at Somerville House. Her mother Noi, a professionally trained Thai chef, inspired her natural love of food. After high school, Grasby studied law and journalism at the Queensland University of Technology, completing a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 2005.

Culinary career

After university, Grasby worked as a journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Adelaide from 2006 to 2008, filing reports for radio and online services including The World Today AM and ABC Rural, and producing for Stateline. In 2008 she left journalism to study for a Master of Arts in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide. She paused that course in 2010 to compete in the second series of MasterChef Australia, where she won a celebrity chef challenge against Movida's Frank Camorra and was named best performer by Heston Blumenthal during a UK challenge—her proudest cooking achievement.

After elimination, she signed with Masterchef Magazine and founded Marion's Kitchen, which makes meal kits (Pad Thai, San Choy Bow, Thai curries), stir-fry sauces, marinades, and salad dressings. In 2015, Marion's Kitchen products launched in US supermarkets, switching to a US direct-to-consumer subscription service in 2019 called Marion’s Kitchen All Access USA. In early 2017, a studio opened in Bangkok, Thailand, to create food and lifestyle video content, followed by a second filming studio in Noosa, Australia, in 2020.

Grasby and Tim Althaus later launched CookDineHost.com, MAKO Performance Cookware, Marion’s Kitchen Media, Oriana Press, and Asoke Homewares. She appeared on MasterChef All-Stars and Nine's Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, and was nominated as a campaign ambassador for American Express Australia's 'Realise Your Potential in 2013' competition.

Television series

In 2013, Grasby's series Marion's Thailand debuted on Lifestyle Food for Foxtel. The 10-part series was shot on location in and around her traditional family home in Thailand, highlighting authentic Thai meals. In August 2020, Wok vs Pot, a three-part series, aired on SBS Food. Each episode featured Grasby using a wok to cook an Asian-style dish and chef Silvia Colloca using a pot for traditional Italian dishes.