Billie McKay
Two-time MasterChef Australia winner and former Fat Duck chef.
Billie McKay grew up on a dairy farm in Bowraville, New South Wales, and went to Macksville High School. Before appearing on MasterChef, she managed a restaurant in Ballina. In 2015, she won the show’s seventh season, earning $250,000, a car, and a magazine column. That victory also landed her a job at Heston Blumenthal’s three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck in the UK. She later returned as a mentor for the eleventh series in 2019. In 2022, competing in the Fans & Favourites season, she beat Sarah Todd in the final to become the first contestant ever to win MasterChef Australia twice.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 11 July 1991
- Birthplace
- Bowraville, New South Wales, Australia
- Occupation
- Chef
- Predecessor
- Brent Owens (series 6); Justin Narayan (series 13)
- Successor
- Elena Duggan (season 8); Brent Draper (season 15)
- Spouse
- Haydn Suridge (2021)
- Children
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Background
Billie McKay grew up on a dairy farm in Bowraville, New South Wales, and went to Macksville High School. Before appearing on MasterChef, she was a restaurant manager in Ballina. Her first win came in the seventh series in 2015, where her prizes included $250,000, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and a monthly column in Delicious., an Australian food magazine. After the final, guest judge Heston Blumenthal offered her a job at his restaurant The Fat Duck, which she accepted. In 2019, she returned to MasterChef Australia's eleventh series as a mentor, sharing the position with season eight runner-up Matt Sinclair and the first series' runner up, Poh Ling Yeow. In 2022, she returned to compete on the show's fourteenth season, which featured a mix of returning contestants and new contenders. She won the title for the second time defeating Sarah Todd in the Grand Finale.
More in Australian Television Chefs
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced