Andy Allen (chef)

Did You Know?

• Allen originally worked as an electrician.
• He played basketball for the Maitland Mustangs.
• His father was a teacher at Bolwarra Public School and primary cricket convenor for the NSW Primary Schools Sports Association.

Career

Andy Allen made his name in hospitality and now co-owns the restaurant group Three Blue Ducks, which operates five locations across Australia in Rosebery, Byron Bay, Nimbo, and Bellingen in New South Wales, plus Melbourne in Victoria. In 2018, that restaurant earned a Chef's Hat, making Allen the first former MasterChef Australia contestant to receive that prestigious award. He later co-hosted a 2021 cooking show also called Three Blue Ducks, which travelled around Australia to find ideas for dishes that ended up on the permanent menu.

Allen won the fourth season of MasterChef Australia, beating Audra Morrice and Julia Taylor in a three-way final before defeating Taylor 76 to 68 in the last two rounds. He appeared on a MasterChef Australia All-Stars episode in August 2012. During the eleventh season, he returned as a professional Secret Chef and lost to Sandeep Pandit, who scored a perfect 30 in an Immunity Pin Challenge; Allen's own score was later revealed on Facebook as 24. In October 2019, he was named one of three new MasterChef judges, replacing George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and Matt Preston. In May 2023, he served as a pallbearer for Jock Zonfrillo alongside Laura Zonfrillo.