Though she’s widely known for her role on three seasons of the wildly popular show, The Real Housewives of Melbourne, there’s a lot more to Chyka Keebaugh than reality TV. In her 20s, she studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in London, as well as floristry at the Constance Spry Floristry School, whilst holding down a part-time job at Laura Ashley. These early experiences ignited in Chyka a passion for food, styling and decorating – interests which went on to inspire the launch of The Big Group, which she later co-founded with her husband Bruce.
After starting out cooking boardroom lunches in their Mums’ kitchens (!), today, The Big Group employs 1,600 people, manages four exclusive events venues across Melbourne, as well as the National Gallery of Australia events space in Canberra, alongside operating Capital Kitchen at Chadstone, and The Design Depot events styling business. On top of all this, in recent years as Chyka’s own profile has grown, she has launched a beautiful blog full of inspiring content around food, home decorating and events, and she has just published her first book – Chyka Home, with Hardie Grant. It’s a gorgeous and very heartfelt book, filled with advice and practical ideas on all the things Chyka is passionate about: cooking, floristry, decorating and, of course, hosting a party!
In person, Chyka is SO lovely, warm, candid and at times, totally hilarious! Being Mum to two grown-up kids, she has lots of reassurance for working Mums, and a few gems to share on what it’s really like juggling a business, with family, and reality TV fame!
Links + Further Reading
Find out more about Chyka Keebaugh and read her inspiring blog posts at Chyka.com.
The businesswoman has starred in three seasons of the wildly popular show, The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Chyka and her husband Bruce founded The Big Group in 1990.
Last month she released her first book, ‘Chyka Home‘.
As a student, Chyka worked part-time at Laura Ashley.
The Design Depot is Chyka’s event styling business.
Witness Chyka’s flair and passion for cooking, floristry, decorating, and party hosting on her Instagram.
