MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA: FANS VS FAVES
Series return
Monday, 7.30pm, Ten

With her proven skill and reticence towards fame, Billie McKay could be the Ash Barty
of MasterChef. After winning the seventh season with the most difficult dessert
the series had seen – a 55-step botrytis cinerea – the restaurant manager from
Bowraville took up Heston Blumenthal’s offer of a job at his London
establishment, The Fat Duck. After eight months honing her skills for “fiddly”
degustation dishes, homesickness drove her back to the family dairy farm on the
NSW mid-north coast, where she has been ever since, making cheese purely for
pleasure. McKay just wasn’t interested in opening a restaurant or having her
own cooking show. But she still loves food, and can’t wait to enter once more the
pressure cooker that is MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites.

“I never did MasterChef the first time around to [be famous],” McKay says. “I have no interest in the television side of it. I might be out on my own in that respect, but I did a cooking competition, which it absolutely is, and to be honest, when I did the first season in 2016, I tried my hardest to forget about the cameras in my face and focus solely on cooking, which probably helped me get through it.”

McKay mentored on the 11th season, but this is her first time on the show as a
mother. Her two-year-old daughter, Ada, and husband, Hayden, are only able to
occasionally visit her Melbourne apartment throughout what could be a months-long shoot.

“Last time, I had no responsibilities, really, so it’s a little bit harder.” This 14th season is her first under the scrutiny of the new judges, Melissa Leong, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen.

“Gary (Mehigan), Matt (Preston), and George (Calombaris) were excellent judges, and I had a great time with them. But I think it’s just the progression of the food world, and the knowledge that Mel has just doesn’t compare to anyone I’ve ever come across. And Jock is at the top of his game, and Andy’s been through the competition, so he understands what we’re all going through. I think it’s a great trio.”

Mackay will be up against some stiff competition from other “favourites”, including: inaugural winner, Julie Goodwin; season seven rival, John Carasig; Sarah Todd from season six; and last season’s Minoli De Silva and Tommy Pham. She feels equally threatened by the “fans”.

“When I first started, I was pretty hopeless. I did a lot of work to get myself up to speed with all the different cuisines and techniques, but these fans are already well ahead of where I started. I can only imagine being in this kitchen and learning so much every day, how much they’re going to progress.”