Chris Badenoch first came to fame as the hat-wearing, meat-loving, beer-drinking contestant on Season 1 of MasterChef Australia in 2009. Serving up his famous roasted pig’s head, duck neck sausage and “beeramisu” to the judges, Chris placed third, cementing his place in Australian TV history.
Determined to make his mark in hospitality, the former graphic designer opened the successful Melbourne restaurant Josie Bones in 2010, with his partner Julia Jenkins. His debut cookbook, The Entire Beast, combined his love of beer and meat and focused on his nose-to-tail cooking philosophy: honouring the whole animal and minimising food wastage. He also launched his beer brand, Boneyard Brewing. In 2012, he took part in MasterChef All Stars and was runner-up in the contest.
Chris moved to Europe in 2016, settling in Bornholm, a small Danish island in the Baltic Sea. There he returned to brewing beer, made sausages for a local farm butcher and became a roving barbecue chef. He also project managed a new torvehal (market hall), featuring the best producers from around the island. Discovering a talent for making furniture and barbecues, he sold his creations across Bornholm and in Copenhagen.
Chris and Julia recently returned to Australia. Based in Perth, he’s become acquainted with the local food scene, its small businesses and producers. Still an avid member of the “maker generation”, he splits his attention between his food, beer and barbecue obsessions, as well as design, illustration and building projects, often exploring intersections between the two.
Chris’s food, brewing and design work have earned him great respect and credibility across these industries. He is in demand to present at food and brewing shows and corporate events, communicating his passions with his trademark dry wit and dark sense of humour. Now rarely be-hatted, Chris is planning a return to television. He is also collaborating with fellow MasterChef alumnus and Entrée talent Aaron Harvie on a series of graphic novels and other projects, through their company, Bad Harvie.