Billie McKay | |
---|---|
Born | Bowraville, New South Wales, Australia | 11 July 1991
Occupation | Television cook |
Predecessor | Brent Owens (series 6) Justin Narayan (series 13) |
Successor | Elena Duggan (season 8) Brent Draper (season 15) |
Spouse | Haydn Suridge (m. 2021) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Winner, MasterChef Australia 2015 , 2022 |
Billie McKay (born 11 July 1991) is an Australian cook, known for winning the seventh and fourteenth series of MasterChef Australia.
McKay was raised on a dairy farm in Bowraville, New South Wales [2] and attended Macksville High School. [3] Prior to competing on MasterChef, she was a restaurant manager in Ballina, New South Wales. [4]
She is best known as the winner of the seventh series of MasterChef Australia . Her prizes included $250,000, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and a monthly column in Delicious., an Australian food magazine. Following the final, guest judge Heston Blumenthal offered her a job at his restaurant The Fat Duck, [5] which she accepted.
In 2019, McKay 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. [6]
In 2022, McKay 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.
Bowraville is a small town in the Mid North Coast hinterland of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. The town is known for tourism with attractions such as a folk museum, a war museum, a historic theatre, and other historic buildings.
Heston Marc Blumenthal is an English celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. His restaurants include the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, a three-Michelin-star restaurant that was named the world's best by the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2005.
The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England, owned by the chef Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building, the Fat Duck opened on 16 August 1995. Although it originally served food similar to a French bistro, it soon acquired a reputation for precision and innovation, and has been at the forefront of many modern culinary developments, such as food pairing, flavour encapsulation and multi-sensory cooking.
Macksville High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Macksville, in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston served as the show's main judges until 2019, when they were replaced by Series 4 winner and chef Andy Allen, food critic Melissa Leong, and restaurateur and chef Jock Zonfrillo.
Matt Preston is an English-Australian food critic, writer, food journalist, television and radio presenter.
Poh Ling Yeow is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, artist, actress, author and television presenter. She has hosted multiple cooking shows including ABC's Poh's Kitchen and SBS's Poh & Co. She has also published multiple cook books. She was the runner-up on the first season of Network 10's Masterchef Australia behind winner Julie Goodwin. Since appearing on season 1, she has made multiple comebacks to the series as a guest judge/mentor, returning as a contestant on the twelfth season in 2020 then a judge in 2024.
Julie Goodwin is an Australian cook, author, radio and television presenter. She came to public attention when she won the inaugural season of MasterChef Australia in 2009, defeating artist Poh Ling Yeow in the final.
Marion Grasby is a Thai-Australian cook and food entrepreneur. She is also a television presenter, cookbook author and food journalist. Marion married Tim Althaus in 2013 and the couple have two children. Althaus is CEO of Marion's Kitchen.
MasterChef is an American competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010. Based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, the series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of 'MasterChef'. The current line-up of judges consists of Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Aarón Sánchez.
Adam Liaw is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, television presenter and author. He was the winner of the second season of MasterChef Australia, defeating student Callum Hann in the final. Liaw has produced, written and hosted his own cooking programs, including the Destination Flavour series and the talk and cooking show The Cook Up with Adam Liaw on SBS Food.
Alana Jane Lowes is a writer, presenter and actress. In 2011 Lowes competed in Series 3 of MasterChef Australia. She eventually finished third, behind Kate Bracks and Michael Weldon.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is a restaurant in London, England, created by Heston Blumenthal. Menu items are based on historical British dishes, which were researched by food historians and through the British Library. The restaurant's décor resembles antique British periods. Dinner's opening drew interest within the industry, and reviews have been positive. Particular dishes have received praise, including the Meat Fruit, a chicken liver mousse created to look like a mandarin orange.
The fourth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on Sunday, 6 May 2012 at 7.30pm on Network Ten. Judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston returned from the previous series. After the first week in Melbourne, the competition took the contestants to places nationally, such as Kangaroo Island and Tasmania, as well as the international destination, Italy. It also featured a number of guest chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein and Buddy Valastro.
The fifth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered Sunday 2 June 2013 on Network Ten, with replays airing at 11am the following day.
The seventh series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 5 May 2015 on Network Ten.
Diana Chan is a Malaysian-born Australian cook. She is the winner of MasterChef Australia for 2017, having defeated Ben Ungermann by one point in the grand finale.
The twelfth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia, also known as MasterChef: Back to Win and MasterChef Australia: Back To Win, premiered on 13 April 2020 on Network 10. It is the first series to feature series four winner Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo serving as judges, after the departure of Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston in the previous season. This series involves former high-achieving contestants from the past eleven series of MasterChef Australia, returning for another chance at the title of 'MasterChef' and a prize of A$250,000.
Sarah Todd is an Australian celebrity chef, model, restaurateur, and cookbook author. She first earned recognition after appearing on MasterChef Australia in 2014.
The fourteenth series of the Australian cooking game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 18 April 2022 on Network 10. The format for this season is Fans & Favourites, and features 12 new contestants and 12 former contestants. Andy Allen, Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo returned to the show as judges from the previous season.