Sarah Todd – Master Chef & Master Mum

It’s been 12 years since model-turned-MasterChef Australia alumna Sarah Todd first appeared on the reality cooking show — making four series returns including her most recent in 2025. She’s since opened and closed restaurants overseas, written two cookbooks, and met her new life partner Declan Cleary on the same TV show. Together, they welcomed twins in December.

The busy entrepreneur mother is now ready to dial up the next chapter of her business life, with a big year planned for her premium chilli sauce range, Hot Toddy. Sarah launched Hot Toddy in 2022 with her brother, Matt — an opportunity to mix business with pleasure and to manufacture a premium product that’s proudly made in Australia.

Todd, who grew up in the small country town of Walkerston, near Mackay in Queensland, now lives in Melbourne. She relocated back in 2014 but continues to travel extensively for work. Now there are plans to roll out Hot Toddy to national supermarkets and other gourmet food stores — raising its hot and spicy profile.

“Hot Toddy has been a constant thread in my life, even during my pregnancy with the twins. It’s another little baby — a product I created with my brother and something that is ours,” says Sarah Todd. Hot Toddy is all about adding flavour rather than overwhelming dishes; it’s for those who like to heat up their meals — from the sweet to extra-hot varieties. Perfect for winter!

“What has always resonated with me when I cook is: how can I add flavour without adding nasties?” she says. Todd, who moved to London in 2012, shares a 14-year-old son, Phoenix, with her previous partner. She has often credited Phoenix for reigniting her passion for cooking and her love of Indian cuisine.

“Travelling the world has allowed me to try some of the best chillies there are to taste, and I have observed how people like to layer flavours when eating,” explains Todd. “Starting Hot Toddy isn’t about overthinking it; it’s about creating a sauce that’s full of flavour for those who like to add a bit of oomph to their dish.”

It took Todd more than 18 months to create the recipes for the sauces, from the 7-spice Sriracha to Ghost Chilli (yep, that’s hotter than hot with a pineapple element). “It’s been nice to come home after expanding businesses overseas and really focus on what I can do here and why Australia really is home,” says Todd. “It was also important for us to have a manufacturing base in Queensland and present a product in a beautiful glass bottle, crafted in a shape that’s unique to us.”

Before welcoming their twin girls, Claudia and Charlotte, on Christmas Eve 2025, Todd and her partner, Cleary, took a road trip with Phoenix, packing the hot sauces and the family dog for the journey from Melbourne to Cairns. “We all got in the camper van and visited our families who are dotted from Victoria up to Queensland, giving them a Hot Toddy kit to try,” says Sarah.

“My mum will put a whole bottle of the Kashmiri Tomato Sauce into a Bolognese to give it a really smoky, delicious flavour profile,” she says. “The Sriracha is perfect on any sort of meat, while glazed pork and pineapple skewers go perfectly with the Ghost Chilli.”

While MasterChef Australia opened culinary doors abroad, Todd is all about earthing herself down under. She attended Le Cordon Bleu where she trained in classical French cuisine, and did a stint in the kitchens of Tonka and St. Crispin in Australia and Merchant’s Tavern in London.

“I think no matter what I’ve done overseas and where I have worked internationally, it’s all about settling back in Australia now,” she says. “I have a cookbook I am working on and I’m really focusing on the home and meals that we love to celebrate in Australia. Having the girls has really allowed me to take the time to soak up all there is to offer in Australia. It began with that road trip taking in the landscapes and it’s truly reignited my love of Australia. I might have spent the last decade overseas, but now I’d love to focus on Hot Toddy and other exciting Australian projects that I have coming up.”

When it comes to cooking at home, Todd is all about nailing a recipe in 20 minutes. And yes, there’s always a jar of Hot Toddy to be added. “At this stage of my life journey with two babies, I can still be creative but I need to be quick about time in the kitchen,” she says. “We’ll get a large chicken thigh and marinate it on the BBQ and add stir-fried vegetables. It’s great because there is little to no clean-up, and it means I get to still be part of the kitchen, but being time-poor with twins doesn’t mean we have to miss out on delicious food.”