Who Is Billie McKay? First Woman To Win MasterChef Australia Twice; Creates History

Billie McKay, the winner of season 7, made history by being the first cook to win the MasterChef competition twice. Alongside renowned cuisine expert Sarah Todd, who skillfully displayed her love for Indian food, standing strong in the Grand Finale. MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites, which is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, was narrowly won by Billie by two points.

Billie amazed the judges by enduring two gruelling rounds of pressure tests from British celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, earning her a total score of 58 out of 70—just topping Sarah's final score of 56.

Who Is Billie Mckay?

Billie, reportedly, re-tried numerous components of the divine meal to raise her standards in order to ensure that her rendition of Heston's Taffety Tart was not only flawless but nearly better than the original. This year, Billie, the Season 7 winner, returned to the MasterChef kitchen. She likes experimenting with various cooking techniques and is consistently receptive to novel ideas.

Her talent to produce exquisite dishes and novel flavour combinations won both the judges and spectators at home. She may have encountered some pressure tests during the show, but her audience never saw her fear. She is known for maintaining her composure under pressure, which is important in the MasterChef kitchen.

While growing up on a dairy farm in Bowraville, New South Wales, McKay attended Macksville High School. Prior to competing in the MasterChef competition, she managed restaurants in Ballina, New South Wales. Her victory in the seventh season of MasterChef Australia stands out as her greatest achievement. In addition to an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a monthly column in the Australian food magazine Delicious, she received a $250,000 prize. After the contest, Heston Blumenthal, a guest judge, made her an employment offer at The Fat Duck.

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McKay returned to MasterChef Australia's eleventh series in 2019 as a coach together with the eighth-season runner-up Matt Sinclair and the first series' runner-up Poh Ling Yeow. In 2022, for the program's fourteenth season, which featured both returning contestants and new talent, she won the tournament again by defeating Sarah Todd in the championship match.