Colin Fassnidge

May 9, 2024 Off By Chloe Lee

Colin Fassnidge (born 2 August 1973) is an Irish-Australian chef, author and presenter. He is best known as a judge on My Kitchen Rules.

The celebrity chef presents the food segments of the home lifestyle program Better Homes and Gardens. His culinary career dates back to the ’80s when he worked as an apprentice chef in England.

Colin Fassnidge
Colin is a regular contributor to Delicious Magazine.
Quick Facts
Name:	Colin Fassnidge
Born:	2 August 1973 (age 50 years old)
Place of birth:	Dublin, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Nationality:	Irish-Australian
Occupation:	Chef, author, television personality
Spouse:	Jane Hyland
Children:	Lily, Maeve
Parents:	Tony, Collette
Siblings:	Andrew, Elaine

Table of Contents

Early Life

Colin Fassnidge was born on 2 August 1973 in Old Bawn in Tallaght, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. His father, Tony, owned a shoe shop in Ireland – Tony Fassnidge Footwear, while his mother, Collette, was a florist. He has younger siblings, Andrew and Elaine.

His parents split when he was 17 years old. As a teenager, Colin drummed for the rock band Medicine Man. He fell in love with cooking at 12 after watching French chef Raymond Blanc on TV.

Training

Fassnidge completed his training under Raymond Blanc at England’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. He studied catering at Cathal Brugha Street.

Career

Colin Fassnidge My Kitchen Rules — Colin Fassnidge chatting with Toni Street. He joined Channel Seven’s cooking show *My Kitchen Rules* in 2013. First, he landed a guest slot before eventually becoming a judge and remained until its final season in 2020.

After studying catering, his lecturer, Kevin Thornton, picked him to work in his Portobello restaurant. He cut his teeth working as a pot washer and burger cook at the Dublin Horse Show.

Colin started to work at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in 1994. He had completed his apprenticeship under Raymond Blanc at the hotel restaurant in Great Milton. He spent five years in London, United Kingdom, before moving to Australia in 1999.

After arriving in Australia, Fassnidge worked at some acclaimed restaurants in Sydney. He worked for the Dublin-born Chef, Liam Tomlin, at his restaurant Banc.

Colin was a judge on the Australian cooking show My Kitchen Rules for eight years (2013 to 2021). At first, he was a guest slot on the cult cookery show and eventually became a judge.

The seasoned Chef entered and placed fifth in the seventh season of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Australia in January 2021. Following an announcement in March 2022, he was to host the Australian adaptation of Kitchen Nightmares on Channel 7.

Seven Network announced that Colin would join Better Homes and Gardens as a food presenter in January 2024. It was not his first presenting gig, as he hosted Kitchen Nightmares Australia in 2022.

Colin began as a contributor to MasterChef, Australia’s acclaimed cookery show. He was Executive Chef of two-hatted restaurants, The Four in Hand Dining Room (2005-2016) and 4Fourteen (2011-2018). He is Executive Chef of Banksia and operates The Castlereagh by Fassnidge bistro at City Tattersalls Club.

Books

Apart from being a seasoned Chef, Fassnidge is an accomplished author. His first cookbook, Four Kitchens, was published by Random House.

In late October 2020, Colin released his second book, The Common-sense Cook. It promises to eliminate the stigma that cooking is hard, and it is simple and easy to follow for the daily home cook.

Personal life

Colin Fassnidge family — Colin and Jane have been happily married for over 15 years. The couple has two daughters and lives in Sydney.

Colin Fassnidge married Jane Hyland in 2006. He met Jane at Est. restaurant in Sydney in 2000, where Jane worked as the assistant manager. He liked her and asked his friend, the manager, to set them up on a date.

Fassnidge and Jane have two daughters – Lily and Maeve. He and his family live in Sydney.

His father has dementia, and his mother, who lives in Wexford, southeast Ireland, goes to Dublin to look after him. His maternal grandmother, Anne Smith, died when he had moved to Australia.

Fassnidge replaced his natural teeth with porcelain veneers. He admitted to getting veneers during a discussion about body image in an episode of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

His throwback photos reveal how different his teeth used to look before his dental transformation.