Craig Johnston on his new role at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

The Staff Canteen

MasterChef: The Professionals 2017 winner Craig Johnston has joined the team at two Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.

Craig started in his new role as senior chef de partie at Marcus, Belgravia on Monday, April 9 2018. Previously, he was working as a sous chef at The Royal Oak Paley Street. Aged 21, Craig was the youngest winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017. He fought off fellow finalists Louisa Ellis and Steven Lickley to win the title in December last year.

After the show, Craig was approached by Marcus to come and work at his restaurant at The Berkeley. Craig then spent the day working alongside Mark and Shauna Froydenlund, joint chef patrons of Marcus and decided that it was the right place for him to be very quickly.

 

On Monday, April 9, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley tweeted an announcement that Craig would be joining their team as senior chef de partie:

 

Craig said: “It’s a pretty exciting time for me at the moment. I’m looking forward to what’s about to come. I’ve got a great opportunity from someone that knows my abilities, who’s got a great reputation in the industry and I think it’s a good move for me to take that next step up, to a two-star restaurant like Marcus.”

He added: “It’s another level from what I’ve done before so I’m looking forward to learning more - a different style, different techniques. That’s my key goal for these next couple of years, is to learn as much as I can.”

Craig grew up in Maidenhead, and first found his love for cooking whilst studying food technology at Furze Platt Secondary School, Maidenhead. After he left school, Craig worked at two AA-Rosette Boulders restaurant, under chef Daniel Woodhouse. Whilst working there, Craig achieved his NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Professional Cookery from Henley College. He also worked at Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social for a few months before joining Sir Nick Parkinson’s Michelin-starred pub, The Royal Oak Paley Street in Maidenhead.

During MasterChef: The Professionals, Craig cooked for some of the world’s best chefs including Mauro Colagreco, chef patron of two Michelin-starred Mirazur. Judge Marcus Wareing said: “You don’t come across cooks like this very often. We’ve just found a star of the future. What a fabulous talent. Twenty one years old, amazing.”

By Jenna Lloyd

@canteenjenna

 

 

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 12th April 2018

Craig Johnston on his new role at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley