Billie McKay

Billie McKay
Born (1991-07-11) 11 July 1991 (age 33)
Bowraville, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationTelevision cook
PredecessorBrent Owens (series 6)
Justin Narayan (series 13)
SuccessorElena Duggan (season 8)
Brent Draper (season 15)
Spouse
Haydn Suridge
​
(m. 2021)​
[1]
Children1
AwardsWinner, 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.

Early life

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]

Career

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.

References

  1. ^ "Billie McKay". popsugar.com.au. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ^ Ramsey, Britt (7 May 2015). "Bowraville's Billie McKay to cook for chefs". nambuccaguardian.com.au. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Macksville High School Magazine 2009" (PDF). macksville-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ^ Broome, Hamish (11 May 2015). "Ballina cook will make Masterchef final 22". northernstar.com.au.
  5. ^ "MasterChef winner scores cash, car, column AND a new job with Heston Blumenthal". news.com.au. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ^ Houston, Melinda (25 April 2019). "'The anxiety's still there': Former MasterChef Contestants Return". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 July 2019.