Kitchen spy: Ben O'Donoghue

By Stephanie Clifford-Smith
Updated May 25 2014 - 10:08am, first published April 15 2014 - 5:51pm
Ben O'Donoghue in his home kitchen. Photo: Harrison Saragossi
Ben O'Donoghue in his home kitchen. Photo: Harrison Saragossi
Ben O'Donoghue in his kitchen in Brisbane. Photo: Harrison Saragossi
Ben O'Donoghue in his kitchen in Brisbane. Photo: Harrison Saragossi

Having worked overseas in high-end restaurants including London's River Cafe for most of his career, Ben O'Donoghue settled in Brisbane in 2008. Last October he opened a suburban cafe, Billykart Kitchen, with his wife De-Arne. He'd developed a celebrity profile through several TV series, including Surfing the Menu which he made with Curtis Stone. The new casual dining venture is a manageable lifestyle move as he and De-Arne raise their children Ruby 11, Herb, 9, and Cash, 7. He attributes his love of cooking to his culinary savvy grandmother who lived with the family when he was a child, and the decision to become a chef to a Eureka moment making his first bearnaise sauce at 18. He'll reveal some of Singapore's best-kept food secrets with friend Tom Williams in Tom & Ben's Singapore Sling on April 15 on Seven.