A Catch-Up with MasterChef Favourite Ben Macdonald

Returning to MasterChef Australia for a second time, Kiwi Ben Macdonald has fast become a fan favourite — not just for his culinary skills, but for his calm, unflappable demeanour under pressure.

Ben first appeared in the show in 2014, and at that time came sixth. Despite having parted ways with cooking as a career, and subsequently running his own payroll software business (UpSheets), Ben leapt at the chance to have another crack in the famous MasterChef kitchen. Ben and 23 other MasterChef alumni have returned for its ‘Back to Win’ season, gunning for the title that remained tantalisingly out of reach first (or in some cases, second) time round. As the competition heats up, we caught up with Ben to talk kitchen challenges, surprise mentors, and what he’s most looking forward to once the cameras stop rolling.

When asked about his favourite moment on the show so far, Ben doesn’t hesitate.

“The most amazing experience was cooking along with Gordon Ramsay, a chef of that calibre, with no idea of what the dish is supposed to look like at the end and just having to go for it. It was incredible.”

That high-pressure challenge ended up being even more momentous — Ben won the one and only coveted immunity pin. For the uninitiated, the pin allows a contestant to skip an elimination cook, a game-changing advantage. At the time of writing, Ben has only just used it, in episode 24.

And was Gordon the swearing, fire-breathing despot we’ve been led to believe? “No,” says Ben, quite the opposite, “he was so supportive, positive and friendly!” Having already worked with legends Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal in his first series, no doubt Ben was less intimidated by the man, and more focused on trying to keep up with his blistering pace in putting his two dishes together.

With so many challenges and different dishes to cook all the time, choosing a favourite dish isn’t easy, but one stands out to Ben. During the Italian Challenge, featuring Italian comedian trio Sooshi Mango (Joe and Carlo Salanitri and Andrew Manfre, as their Ethnic Mum alter egos), Ben created his Salt Cod Croquettes with Sugo and a Basil Emulsion. We are so thrilled that Ben has allowed us to share his recipe, using kahawai in place of the salt cod, as salt cod isn’t available in New Zealand.

This season’s fresh-but-familiar format has brought changes off-camera, too. These days the accommodation set-up is very different to how it has been in past years. During Covid, communal living wasn’t an option, and contestants were housed in separate apartments in the same building. This ended up working well so the ‘semi-communal’ living has been maintained, and not only do contestants have their own space, but relatives can come and visit and stay.

Ben’s partner, Sandy, has visited from New Zealand several times, and he reckons it isn’t only easier on the contestants, but on their relatives too, as they get to see more of what they experience in putting the show together. Ben has even been able to return to his home in Auckland’s Mt Eden a few times along the way, which he says creates a completely different experience to the first time when he was on the show.

He says that with contestants aged from 18 to mid-60s the constant sharing of space was a little more testing for some, although having spent many years in shared flats, he was pretty laid-back about it.

While the living environment keeps everyone relaxed and free to socialise (or not), as much as they like, one aspect of the show that is uniquely challenging for Ben is the produce. As he says, the quality is just amazing — “the produce is next-level” — but oftentimes branded differently to what is available in New Zealand, so Ben has to read every label rather than grabbing for a familiar package or logo.

Similarly, the breadth of produce is stunning, from the salt cod Ben enjoyed working with in the Italian challenge, to pigeon, and seafood that is distinctively Australian such as barramundi and coral trout. Ben finds just walking into the pantry inspirational given the breadth of options available — which isn’t always a good thing as it can get a little overwhelming. He’s regularly found himself going into the pantry with a firm idea of what he was cooking, then changing his mind based on the amazing ingredients on offer: “there’s so much choice!”

On the topic of group challenges, Ben admits he would have loved to take the lead during the famous blind-tasting ‘cube’ challenge — but had full confidence in Laura Sharrad, who had completed it in a previous season. “That experience really counts,” he says. “This ‘Back to Win’ format meant the standard was incredibly high right from episode one. Even excellent dishes could send someone home.”

Despite the pressure, Ben says the camaraderie among contestants has been a highlight. “Everyone’s been so generous — there’s no gatekeeping. We share techniques and support each other both on set and off. That said, it is still a competition, and we’re all here to win!”

As an aside he talks about the pace of the show, and while a lot of time is spent off camera, hanging around and waiting, once they are cooking on set “time evaporates”, and the allotted cook time just seems to disappear.

When asked what he is most looking forward to cooking when he gets home, Ben laughs and says he’s actually looking forward to not cooking for a few nights, and he’s hanging out for his partner’s Hainanese chicken rice dish.

Asked if any of the judges or guest judges on the show had left him star-struck, Ben talks warmly about Kirsten Tibballs, a leading Australian pastry chef and chocolatier. During the pressure test set by Tibballs — replicating a realistic-looking edible caviar tin, complete with pearls, an edible spoon, and melba toast — Ben thought it would be impossible, especially as he had never tempered chocolate before. But Kirsten was very supportive and Ben found, “that is when you really learn to trust the process, and keep following instructions and the results will follow.”

Ben finds being surrounded by so many accomplished cooks and chefs incredibly inspirational, and is energised by everyone’s generosity of spirit. “No one is protective of their recipes.” They are all sharing and learning from each other, during filming and cooking on set, but also when they choose to get together after hours, which he says is pretty frequent.

Ben has found the sharing of knowledge such a boost to his own skill set, and that is something he is keen to encourage in home cooks: “A few techniques can level you up in terms of what you can cook — if you can make pasta dough you can then make noodles and dumplings.” He’s also keen for home cooks to take the pressure off when entertaining, by concentrating on one key dish and not trying to do too much — spending time with guests is why you invited them.

Reflecting on his return to MasterChef, Ben describes the experience as: “everything I could hope for and more”. While he initially thought his first season was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, being back has exceeded expectations. “The show just keeps getting better and better.”

At the time of our interview, the season was still filming and the outcome under wraps — but one thing is clear: no matter how far Ben goes in the competition, we’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.

Instagram:@foodie_ben