Ben O’Donoghue

Ben O’Donoghue first discovered that he had a talent in the kitchen as a young school leaver in Perth. Since then, cooking has become a passion that has never ceased to give him pleasure or stimulate his imagination.

After qualifying as a chef, Ben began his career working in a number of top Australian restaurants including Tribeca and Goodfellas in Sydney and Jessica’s in Perth before moving to London. For four years he worked at The River Café and then joined his mate Jamie Oliver at the exclusive Monte’s Club as Executive Chef.

Ben then worked as Executive Chef at the famous ‘Atlantic Bar & Grill’ and helped Oliver Peyton win the contract to open the ‘National Dining Room’ at the National Gallery with his creative and seasonal menus. Ben also became the creative director of food for ‘The Great Australian Pie Company’ in the UK.

Following a stellar career in the UK, Ben is now a well-known chef and successful cookbook author and television presenter back in Australia.

More about Ben O'Donoghue:

Ben’s first foray as a restaurateur (Co-Owner and Executive Chef) for Brisbane restaurant and bar South Bank Surf Club gave him the opportunity to embrace a quintessentially Australian virtue – the love of a good old Surf Club! The restaurant was awarded ‘Best Casual Dining’ in the prestigious Courier-Mail Queensland Food & Wine Guide Awards after only four months of opening.

Ben was one of the chefs in the original series of The Best, which produced a book of the same name. His television credits also include four series of the internationally acclaimed food and travel program, Surfing the Menu, a journey to source and cook with the finest, freshest ingredients from all over Australia and New Zealand. The popular series screens in Australia and the UK and has also been sold to over 30 other territories.

Ben’s passion for the Australian countryside and love of local produce is displayed in Channel Seven’s Drive thru Australia series which aired February 2011. In his decked out 4WD/SUV, complete with a state-of- the-art foldout barbeque kitchen, Ben takes in some of the country’s most amazing destinations and indulges in some of its finest gourmet offerings.

He was the food judge for Lifestyle Food’s Great BBQ Challenge series, starred in three series of The Best In Australia and appeared on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and on US Food Channel’s Planet Food. Ben also appeared on the first season of Channel Ten’s top-rating MasterChef as a guest celebrity chef.

Ben has written for Delicious Magazine and other food publications. He is also the author of several cookbooks including Outdoor, Ben’s Barbeque, Surfing the Menu, At Home and The Best.

In 2011, Ben was a brand ambassador for Wilshire and Variety Queensland.