Varsha Anjali talks to Ben MacDonald about his experience on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win after his elimination on Thursday.
Ben MacDonald sounds as cool-headed off-screen as he appears on-screen.
“People often comment on that, and ... I do have quite a cool head, but I think I probably am a little bit more stressed than I look a lot of the time,” the Kiwi MasterChef Australia: Back to Win contestant calmly tells the Herald over the phone.
“I take plenty of risks, calculated ones usually, I’m not reckless.”
And take plenty of risks, he did. The 47-year-old father of two was eliminated from the show on Thursday, finishing fifth – fairing better than the last time he was on in 2014, when he placed sixth.
“I went there to win, there’s no doubt about that. Certainly got pretty close, disappointed that I didn’t make it all the way – but also [I’m] really proud of how far I went and happy to be home,” he says with a laugh. “It was a very long season.”
In his bid to join Depinder Chhibber in the final four, along with contestants Laura Cassai, Jamie Fleming and Callum Hann, McDonald had to create what the judges called a “spectacular one-bite wonder”.
Setting the scene, guest judge and top Kiwi chef Vaughan Mabee of the globally acclaimed Amisfield restaurant in Queenstown showed off his fantastical selection of one-mouthful winners that looked like they came straight from the world of Harry Potter.
MacDonald then created his own magic: chicken wings stuffed with whitebait mousse. The wings sat on top of a seaweed and parmesan tuille, with chicken liver parfait underneath. Topping it off was a drizzle of chive oil emulsion and some caviar. As a bonus, the whitebait was local; Mabee brought it with him from New Zealand.
But, compared to the other creations, it failed to charm and was criticised as having “too many things going on”. The Whangārei-raised Aucklander was sent packing.
On the show, MacDonald admitted small bites weren’t his style.
“You can only squeeze so much flavour into one mouthful ... whilst the whitebait was in there, it was never meant to be a whitebait dish. It was just supposed to add sweetness and a bit of a change of a layer of texture as well. I think the other dishes on the day were just more concise and better.”
Mabee says he was gutted about it, too.
“Ben had a huge amount of talent and his dish was great – it just had too many elements and the focus went away from being a great dish,” he tells the Herald.
“[It was] tasty, yes, but it just wasn’t the best dish that day. I was sad to see the Kiwi leave. What an amazing guy.”
But MacDonald isn’t fazed by the defeat, perhaps because he doesn’t view it as such.
“At the end of the day, my life’s not going to be measurably worse if I don’t win MasterChef.
“I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself right from the start. I was there for the experience. I was there to learn. And I just knew that if I went in and did my best every day, I would never be disappointed.”
The highlight of the experience was winning the immunity pin and cooking along with Gordon Ramsay in the second episode.
“It was just a crazy challenge because you had no idea what you’re making, you’re just following along with Gordon Ramsey as best as you can.
“So stressful, so busy, and just doing it all and mine ended up coming up the best.”
He says the biggest thing he learned from the experience was “how much you can learn from other people”.
“It was such a collaborative kind of supportive environment, and it was just really surprising where you could pick things up from,” he says, adding how at one stage Chhibber taught him how to make paratha “properly”.
“If you’re open to listening and sharing, I think it’s just quite amazing what you can take on.”
MacDonald has no hesitation when asked who he wants to win. .
“I think Jamie would do the most with it, and I think it would really change his life,” he says.
As for what’s next, MacDonald says there are a few things in the works. As well as preparing for and competing in his first marathon in Queenstown in November, he’s focused on sharing with foodies “delicious dishes people can cook themselves” on his social media.
“I’m going to try to put some personality into it and make it relatable and most of all achievable,” he says.
MasterChef Australia: Back to Win airs on TVNZ and TVNZ+.
Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, travel and more.