MasterChef Australia is known to be a competition for amateur home cooks, however, for this year’s season of Fans and Favourites, two incredibly skilled women made it to the very end.
Last night, now two-time winner Billie McKay went head-to-head with world-renowned chef, Sarah Todd. Both had gotten their start on the reality show close to a decade ago, but this year, the skills they brought to the kitchen were unmatched.
Related: MasterChef Winner Billie McKay Shares How She Will Spend Her $250,000 Prize Money
Despite being one of the most successful people to come out of MasterChef Australia, Todd still doubted herself, and wasn’t sure just how far she’d go.
“I definitely did not think that I would make it that far. I had a lot of other work commitments, which I kept pushing back thinking, ‘Surely I’ll get eliminated this week’,” she admitted.
“Then my team was like, ‘We want you to be here right now, but we don’t want you to get eliminated!’.
“It’s a crazy thing going through the whole process, but every step, I set myself little goals to reach, and it was amazing to get that far.”
McKay and Todd forged a close friendship during their time in the competition, so going into the finale together was bittersweet.
For McKay, she had been in a MasterChef finale before — and managed to win it — so Todd knew she was going to be tough to beat.
“Billie definitely had an advantage, but I think in life, experience always has an impact for sure, no matter what you do,” said the chef.
“But at the same time, there would have been other challenges where I would have had an advantage, and that’s just the nature of the competition.
“We had a really positive mindset going into the cook, and I felt really happy to be standing next to her.”
She may not have won, but Todd isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Just today, she announced her new family business venture, Hot Toddys, which she created with the help of her brother.
The range of sauces took 18 months to create, and Todd couldn’t be happier.
Related: Sarah Todd’s 11-Year-Old Son Phoenix Pushed Her to Take a Crack at MasterChef Australia Again
“I had a realisation that I want to start investing in my own brands and products, and it is a huge labour of love,” said the entrepreneur.
“It’s like when you first open a restaurant, and you think, ‘this is easy!’ but when you delve into it, you realise it’s not just about food. So it’s been really interesting working on this for the last 18 months.”
Todd is booked and busy, and placing runner-up on MasterChef Australia has only added more to her calendar.
“I’m flying back to India to film another TV show,” she revealed, before getting into her ultimate food dream.
“My main goal is to open a smaller restaurant, that is specifically my style. That’s the end goal. Lots of things happening and a lot on the way.”
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