MasterChef winner Billie McKay dishes truth about judges

Billie McKay - who also won the 2015 title - has revealed the major difference she noticed in the competition after returning this year.

Two-time MasterChef winner Billie McKay has revealed the major shift she experienced this season after returning to the reality franchise with a trio of different judges.

The 31-year-old first appeared on the Ten cooking show in 2015, which was then helmed by Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. They were replaced in 2020 by Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.

Speaking to news.com.au, Billie, who lives in the regional NSW town of Bowraville, explained she noticed there was a shift in focus when it came to scoring this season.

“The new judges, they don’t tend to worry too much what the food looks like,” she said.

“But I felt that the other judges, when I first did it, they really appreciated a very good-looking plate of food. So I had to sort of undo that in my head and realise that I didn’t have to make it look really good, I had to make it taste really good.

“I think that was a pretty big lesson to learn.”

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Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo. Picture: Ten

George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan. Picture: Channel 10.

During last night’s nailbiting grand finale, Billie edged out Victorian chef Sarah Todd – who placed ninth on the sixth season of MasterChef – to become the first person to ever win two seasons of the show.

But it wasn’t an easy ride to the winner’s podium (and $250,000 prize money), and Billie admitted she’d thought she’d blown it after serving up pannacotta that hadn’t fully set in the first round.

It was a tight race between the final two.

“I definitely thought (I was going to lose) after the judges revealed the scores for round one, and I had sevens across the board, which was pretty ordinary,” she told news.com.au.

“But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that those negative thoughts hold you back in those challenges so I quickly pushed that aside.”

She added: “It was very stressful, because I knew it was going to take a lot of work to make up those points.”

However, Billie did manage to claw back the points and take the crown thanks to her sensational replication of celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s epic dish, taffety tart.

She described taking home yet another massive prize cheque as “mind-blowing”, and revealed what she planned to do with the extra money.

“It’ll definitely go towards opening up a little venue of my own. I’ve definitely realised after doing MasterChef again that that’s what I want to do – or at least try anyway – so it’ll be a huge help,” Billie said.

“I’d love to do a little restaurant, the town where I live is quite small and regional but it’s where I grew up and where I’m living now, so I’d love to do something there.”

Originally published as MasterChef winner Billie McKay dishes truth about judges