Ben Bayly

Benjamin 'Ben' Bayly is a New Zealand chef. Bayly is known for judging My Kitchen Rules NZ alongside Gareth Stewart. He appeared as a VIP guest during a challenge in MasterChef New Zealand season seven, episode 16.

Background Ben Bayly grew up in Te Awamutu, his dad's side full of dairy farmers and his mum's full of Irish Catholics. He attended Te Awamutu College.

Career In September 2020 Bayly opened the restaurant Ahi, meaning fire in Māori, in Commercial Bay. A few weeks later Tip Top the restaurant sent a “cease and desist” letter for the restaurant's usage of the name Trumpet as a dessert.

The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes In 2023, Bayly, partnered by dementia expert Lynette Tippett, embarked on opening a pop-up fine dining restaurants staffed by eight volunteers all suffering from Parkinson's disease or dementia and Alzheimer's. In 2024, Bayly expanded the group to 10 working-age volunteers all with early onset dementia in his new restaurant - Origine Restaurant at InterContinental Hotel on 1 Queen Street, a walking distance from Ahi restaurant, Commercial Bay. He embarked on becoming an advocate for degenerative diseases after his maternal grandmother died in 2022 from dementia.