Peter-John Macharoen

Peter-John Macharoen | Pinchos Catering

PJ grew up in the small town of Tumut NSW and moved to Wodonga at the age of 18 and has been a local now for 9 years.

PJ began his career at Pinchos Catering as an apprentice baker, where he was nominated for Tafe Wodonga's Apprentice of the Year in 2023, and has now become a self-described ‘Jack of all Trades’. 
You can find him on the floor at events, cooking up in the prep kitchen, running the socials and all other kinds of behind-the-scenes activities.

In his free time, PJ loves cooking and eating above all else but does also enjoy other activities such as playing tennis badly and being the occasional knitter– though he hasn’t finished a project but loves to start new ones.

PJ’s inspiration for becoming a star was that he wanted to be more involved in the community and he also loves dancing; with Stars he can do both at the same time!

Some interesting facts about PJ, his husband and himself have a small coconut farm in Thailand, he has never had a curried sausage before and doesn’t plan on changing that, and that he has travelled to Ethiopia and South Africa in collaboration with the Australian and American Embassies for fundraising and workshops.

PJ is looking forward to learning a new style of dance with his partner while hopefully raising $100k, “Go big or go home!” PJ 2026.