Australians long ago fell in love with chef Gary Mehigan and his playful, TV persona.
But away from the cameras, the British restaurateur, who co-owns Melbourne restaurant The Boathouse, is family man at heart and a dedicated husband to his wife Mandy and their teenage daughter Jenna.
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Little is known about Gary and Mandy’s relationship, but the couple have been going strong for almost three decades, after tying the knot in 1992.
Mandy and Gary prefer a life out of the spotlight, rarely attending media events, and Gary prefers to keep personal family snaps off his public Instagram account, which mainly features photos of him at work or alongside his Plate of Origin co-hosts Matt Preston and Manu Feildel.
That’s a conscious decision the 53-year-old has made to keep his family live private, ensuring his huge public profile doesn’t impact his precious time with his wife and daughter.
“They didn’t ask for [fame], so we have to be careful about that and I’m still very conscious,” Gary told TV WEEK in 2017.

He tries to limit his interactions with fans in public, who often come up to say hello or ask for photos.
“As [Jenna has] gotten older, it’s a bit different. If you take them skating or to the pictures, people come and take photographs and you try to be polite.
“But I remember Jenna saying once, ‘Dad you’re supposed to be spending time with me, stop having photographs’.”

At home, Gary and his family love to cook delicious, but quick and easy meals together.
“I’m frustrated if I’m in the kitchen for more than 30-45 minutes,” Gary previously told Home Living magazine.
“I think, ‘I’m a professional chef, why am I still in here?’.”
Daughter Jenna has already picked up some of her father’s culinary talents and is a whiz in the kitchen herself.
“For a girl who says she doesn’t like cooking, she knows a lot about food,” Gary revealed.
“I catch her making little concoctions. Her techniques are good — I see her using a hot pan and caramelising, but I’m not allowed to say anything.”

Since his departure from MasterChef, Gary has switched networks to Channel Seven and will star alongside his former MasterChef co-host Matt, as well as ex-MKR judge Manu, in Australia’s new reality cooking show Plate of Origin.
Teams are assigned countries and will compete in a “World Cup” style cook-off, for the chance to be crowned the winner and snag themselves a whopping $100,000 in prize money.
