Who is chef Andrea Ruszel on MasterChef: The Professionals 2026?

MasterChef: The Professionals 2026 continues on BBC One next week, and private chef Andrea Ruszel is one of the six chefs fighting for a place in the next round in the third heat.

The 25-year-old, who grew up in Sicily and now lives in London, faces Abigail Smith, Connor Wilson, Dominique Ogunlowo, Isabel Almeida Da Silva and Jim Foster-Grundy in the third group of this year's MasterChef: The Professionals 2026 series, which features 24 chefs competing in groups of six.

Age at start of filming

Job role

Private chef

Chef background

Andrea studied at Istituto Alberghiero Federico II in Enna, Sicily, but said: "My real education in food started much earlier. I grew up surrounded by cooking and hospitality and began helping in my family's restaurant when I was around 11 years old."

He names Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Milan, as the most memorable place he has worked.

He said: "It was one of the hardest and most formative experiences of my career. It completely changed the way I looked at my own cooking."

He now runs Andrea's Table, his own private dining, events and food consultancy business, while also working as a sous chef at the Embassy of Italy in London, "alongside a team of incredibly talented chefs".

On his career highlights so far, he said: "One of the proudest moments of my career was being part of the management team behind the Guinness World Record for the longest tiramisu in London in 2026, measuring over 440 metres. Bringing together hundreds of people around one of Italy's most iconic desserts was incredibly special.

"Being named Best Italian Chef in the UK in 2024 was another defining moment for me. Also representing Italian food through institutional masterclasses for the Italian government and collaborations in the UK, including working alongside Gennaro Contaldo."

Andrea Ruszel cooking in the MasterChef kitchen — Andrea Ruszel

Who or what inspired you to become a chef?

"Food has always been part of my life. I grew up in Sicily in a family where the kitchen was the centre of everything. My father is a chef and restaurateur, so from a very young age I saw the energy, sacrifice and passion behind this profession.

"But one of my biggest emotional influences is my grandmother Nunzia. Her cooking represents everything I love about Italian food: simple ingredients, instinct, generosity and the ability to bring an entire family together around a table.

"I started cooking when I was very young and quickly realised that it was the way I expressed myself best. I was fascinated by how a plate of food could carry a memory, tell somebody where you came from and make complete strangers connect with you.

"As I became older, that childhood passion turned into ambition. I wanted to take the flavours I grew up with in Sicily and see how far I could push them technically without ever losing their soul."

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How would you describe your style of cooking and influences on it?

"My cooking is contemporary Italian, rooted in southern Italian cuisine with a strong Sicilian identity.

"Most of my dishes start from something personal: a childhood memory, a family recipe, a flavour from home or an ingredient with a story behind it.

"I also care deeply about where ingredients come from, and I'm very passionate about protecting traditional Italian products that are slowly disappearing or becoming harder to find.

"I always joke that I'm an old Italian grandmother in a young chef's body. I'm very protective of tradition, but always looking for a modern way to express it."

Three ingredients you can't live without?

"Extra virgin olive oil, wild fennel and Sicilian sheep ricotta."

What do you eat when you get back from service?

"After spending hours cooking elaborate food for other people, I normally want something ridiculously simple!

"A plate of pasta aglio, olio e peperoncino is probably my perfect post-service meal with lots of garlic, chilli and really good extra virgin olive oil. Chefs can spend all day creating complicated plates and then go home and eat the simplest food imaginable!"

Why did you want to take part in MasterChef: The Professionals?

"I wanted to put myself in a situation where there was nowhere to hide. I'm very comfortable cooking Italian and Mediterranean food, but I wanted to know what would happen if you took all of that comfort away.

"What if I was given an ingredient I had never cooked before, or had to create something completely outside my world? That challenge really excited me.

"More than anything, I wanted to tell my story through food. I wanted to bring memories from Sicily, family traditions and some forgotten Italian ingredients into that kitchen and give them a new life."

Outside of cooking, what are your passions?

"I love travelling, going to the gym and running: fitness is where I release a lot of the stress that comes with work, and it keeps me grounded.

"I also really enjoy creating content for social media because it lets me be creative in a completely different way and show more of my personality outside the kitchen."