With his quiet confidence and humble nature, he tells Mitchell Hageman about the highsand the lows of his remarkable journey (including a battle with leukaemia), and what it takes to win the grand standard of culinary competitions.
It was Ben Macdonald’s family who encouraged him to heed the producer’s call to return to the show he’d previously put his blood, sweat, and tears into.
The 47-year-old father of two finished sixth last time he was on MasterChef Australia in 2014 and has since thrived in his respective culinary and IT career roles.
But he admits there was always a sense of “unfinished business”.
Ben Macdonald with his daughters Layla (L)and Lexi (R). He credits his family for inspiring him to return to the MasterChef kitchen again.
Following season six, Macdonald worked in Brisbane restaurants before returning to New Zealand in 2017 where he continued to manage kitchens, including a stint at Westhaven’s Buoy.
He also set up a catering business with Ben’s Kitchen and a successful food delivery service during the Covid-19 pandemic, eventually returning to his IT roots.
“Now I’m running my own payroll software company, which I’ve done for the last couple of years, mainly for family reasons, to be honest, so I can see my kids, because hospitality is hard”.
There has been no shortage of trials and tests in Macdonald’s life, something the Whangārei-raised Aucklander openly believes helped him grow as a person and helped in his career path.
Before he appeared on season six of MasterChef, Macdonald was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, spending six months in and out of hospital followed by a further three years of treatment before entering remission.
“It’s a big part of who I am, for sure. I think in general that gives me a quite a calm disposition in terms of I don’t get so worried about little things.
“I find it relatively easy to focus on what’s important and let the small stuff go away. When cooking in the kitchen with huge amounts of pressure, being focused is massive, and so I think it really helps”.
He recalls early culinary memories of making baked apples and baked flounder with his grandma, and also memories of his dad, who encouraged him to see the world through a love of food.
“It probably started with my dad being a great cook. He was always cooking food from other parts of the world, be it, you know, paella or a curry or something.
“There was always this interest in food and travel, because there’s a way you could travel without having to get on a plane: to eat things from other places”.
Ben Macdonald previously came sixth in the sixth season of MasterChef. Now, he's back for some unfinished business.
Macdonald has since travelled the world, sampling various cuisines and refining his culinary tastes while working.
“I was just always allowed to [cook], and I was encouraged to do it, and I think that just continued on into life. I spent pretty much 20 years travelling and working overseas from when I finished university until when I got back to New Zealand”.
Back home is somewhere Macdonald also credits for his growth as a chef.
“We’re just spoiled in New Zealand with the quality of the produce and the fact that all those places do different things.
“I guess it’s nice too to see lots of new openings too, particularly in the city, and the food scene is definitely kind of on the up at the moment”.
Analysis, thought processing, and planning were things Macdonald said have helped him in his software career and, in turn, helped him in the grander scheme of the MasterChef competition.
“I think having a clear mind, being able to think fast, and having a strategy is a big advantage,” he said.
And this season, quick thinking will be especially handy as he’s up against other past contestants. Some are even back for round three.
“There’s no time to, you know, jump in with the training wheels on and get used to it. Everyone’s right on the deep end right from the first day,” Macdonald said.
“I’m just trying to cook the best thing I can cook every single time, no matter what the challenge is. There’s no time to save dishes for later, or to sort of coast through because you’ll end up going home”.
But as the nation watches, it’s not the pressure or the intensity that Macdonald believes is the ultimate key to success.
“Have fun. I think that’s the main thing. You’ve got to try and enjoy the experience, and there’s no point doing it if it’s just cooking. Cook food that you love to eat and cook food that represents you.
