Who is chef William Rocks, MasterChef: The Professionals 2022 quarter-finalist?

Ahead of MasterChef: The Professionals 2022, which airs on BBC One every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2 november, we find out more about the chefs taking part.

Introducing William Rocks, chef patron at Tigh an Truish, in Oban.

William took on the incumbent role as chef patron in April 2021, and helped the Tigh and Truish earn a second AA rossette and five star status. 

NAME

William

AGE

24

Where are you from/where do you live?

Originally from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire

What type of a chef are you?

Head Chef

Do you have a favourite type of cuisine?

“My cooking style can be described in one word, tasty. I look to create big flavours where I can. It’s a big mix. I use flavours from all over the world in my cooking and use my classic training as a good base background for all that I do. I’m quite adventurous in what I cook. I’m not scared to push the boundaries. I take influences from my mother, big chefs before me and what’s around me.”

How did you become a chef?

"I got into cooking because my mother was and still is, a very good cook. From a young age I used to swing off my mother's leg and ask a thousand questions about what she was making and why she made it a certain way. From there it just grew and grew and I began cooking all the time. What I love about cooking is every time I turn on the stove, or pick up a knife, I can create something completely new. It’s a forever-changing art and I continue to grow as does my food. That is what I truly love."

Where have you worked?

Trained at Bentley Hotel, Lanarkshire Catering School; Commis Chef and then Chef De Partie at Howlin Wolf, Glasgow; Junior Sous Chef in Redhurst Hotel; Head Chef at Boclair House Hotel.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

What has been the highlight of your career to date? “My biggest achievement has to be owning my own restaurant at the age of 24 or achieving Head Chef at 19."

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

“I always watched the series and thought ‘the pressure can’t be that bad’. Oh, how silly I was. It was a test for me. I never feel pressure even in the hardest heat of service, I’m just always so calm. But wow, MasterChef was such an experience. I can’t put into words what the pressure in there does to you. It’s like nothing I have ever experienced before - but very good for any chef to go and give a bash. I wouldn’t change a second of it.”

 

 

 

 

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