Declan Cleary joins The Fishing Podcast, hosted by Lee Rayner and Joel Ryan, to talk MasterChef, seafood and the move from the job site into food. Released on 15 September 2026, the episode brings a cook’s perspective to a show usually concerned with what happens on the water.
It’s a natural crossover. An angler thinks about where a fish came from and how it was caught. A cook starts asking what to do with it next. Declan’s interest in both gives this conversation its starting point.
Fishing was part of Declan’s story before MasterChef
Network Ten’s original contestant profile introduces Declan as a qualified carpenter with his own business and a particular interest in fish and seafood. It also recalls fishing with his grandfather, including annual trips to Sussex Inlet in New South Wales.
That background gives listeners something useful to know before pressing play. The food connection has roots in fishing and family, alongside the television experience that made his name familiar.
Ten’s profile for his return to MasterChef describes how he had broadened his cooking, spent time in Josh Niland’s kitchen and taken on cooking demonstrations and content work. It records a growing commitment to a career in food.
Where the episode takes the conversation
The episode begins with Declan’s MasterChef application story and moves through his experience in the kitchen. Later, the discussion turns to seafood, cooking and food education. The show’s published notes also flag hunting and beer-battered gummy shark.
For listeners who know Declan through television, it’s a way to follow his interest in food beyond the competition. For regular Fishing Podcast listeners, the guest changes the starting point: there’s a cook at the table as well as the anglers.
You can use the episode’s published audio chapter guide to find the part you’re interested in:
| Audio chapter | Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:45 | The MasterChef application story |
| 06:10 | Kitchen mishaps during MasterChef |
| 18:38 | The callback and reflections on the experience |
| 56:59 | Beer-battered gummy shark and Victorian food culture |
| 58:33 | The discussion turns to sustainable seafood and cooking |
These markers follow the published audio notes. Timing can vary between listening platforms.
A way into The Fishing Podcast
The Fishing Podcast covers fishing techniques, tackle, species and the stories people bring back from the water. Lee Rayner and Joel Ryan host, with guests adding their own experience to the conversation.
Declan’s episode is an easy place to begin if your interest runs from fishing to food. You don’t need to know the earlier episodes to follow a guest’s story, and the chapter guide lets you start with the part that caught your attention.
For something more focused on offshore fishing afterwards, try the show’s 8 September 2026 episode on trailer-boat tuna, marlin and trips to northern Australia. The two conversations give you different entry points into the same show: one through food, the other through time spent chasing fish.
Hear the full conversation with Declan.
Watch Declan Cleary on The Fishing Podcast, or choose Spotify or Apple Podcasts from the show page.
Next listen: The Fishing Podcast’s offshore fishing episode.
