MasterChef: The Professionals is about to hit our television screens once more, 16 years on from its debut.
With Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and presenter Gregg Wallace returning to head up the show, some of the country’s top chefs are preparing to battle it out for the winning title.
But what are the past winners up to now? Did the exposure from the programme change the course of their careers? We caught up with some past champions to find out…
Derek Johnstone
The very first winner of the show, Derek Johnstone, was a junior sous chef in Scotland when his head chef convinced him to enter in 2008.
Speaking about how he felt when he won, he said: “I was delighted to be the first MasterChef: The Professionals winner. It all happened so quickly that it took a while to sink in.”
Over a decade on from taking the MasterChef: The Professionals crown, it’s no surprise Derek has been up to a lot. When the show aired, Derek met renowned chef Michel Roux Jr in London, along with one of the directors of MasterChef. They expressed their high hopes for him to work in one of the best restaurants in the country and it was not long until he bagged a job working with Michel at Le Gavroche.
“I ended up working for both Michel and his father Albert for six years,” he said. “During my time with the Roux family, I was sent on stages to gain knowledge and experience around Europe in one, two and three-Michelin star restaurants.”
Derek decided to return home to Scotland in 2010 to take a head chef role at Chez Roux at Greywalls Hotel. In 2014, Derek became the chef proprietor for The Golf Inn, Gullane. The restaurant was taken over in 2018 by Tom Kitchin and now goes by the name The Bonnie Badger.
In 2018, Derek was appointed as head chef at the Exclusive Borthwick Castle near Edinburgh. During his time there, Derek was twice runner-up in Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year.
Then in 2021, he was named executive head chef at Rusacks St Andrews, where he launched the F&B offering across three concepts: 18, The Bridge and One Under Bar.
As of 2024, Derek is executive head chef of Archerfield Estate in East Lothian, where he is responsible for the food offering across the entire 550-acre estate.
The second series of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2009 snagged a BAFTA award, fending off competition from Heston Blumenthal’s ‘Heston’s Feasts’ TV series.
After winning, Steve stayed at then Michelin-starred Launceston Place in South Kensington, before leaving to commit himself to various restaurants including Noma, The Ledbury and finally Le Gavroche, where he took on a permanent role.
Series two winner Steve was the head chef at Roux at Parliament Square from 2013 until it closed in December 2020, the same year he took The Craft Guild of Chefs' title of National Chef of the Year, as well as appearing on the BBC's televised cooking competition, Great British Menu. Since April 2021, he has been executive chef at Sussex opera house, the Glyndebourne. He is also executive chef at Restaurant Associates, a chef-driven hospitality company.
In an interview with The Staff Canteen, Steve said that his main goal when entering the MasterChef: The Professionals competition had been to land a job with Michel Roux Jr.
He said: “It was always in the back of my mind that I would come and work for him. Initially I thought that would be in Le Gavroche but the opportunity presented itself to work (at Roux at Parliament Square), and I thought it was a really good opportunity.”
Asked what advice he’d give to other hopeful contestants, he said: “Cook things you know, that you’ve tried plenty of times. There are times in the competition that you really need to push the boat out to set yourself apart from others and there are times when you just need to stick to what you know."
Steve believes MasterChef: The Professionals accelerated what was an already upwardly bound career path. “It gives you contacts and opportunities,” he said, “but it’s up to you as an individual to make the most out of it. You have to grab the bull by the horns. I think I would have achieved what I wanted to achieve in the industry without it, but it definitely helped and getting noticed by chef Michel presented its own opportunities.”
Claire Lara
The Merseyside-born 2010 winner - and the first woman to win the competition - was at a different stage in her career when she entered MasterChef: The Professionals. Teaching catering part-time at Liverpool Community College, Claire felt that she needed new challenges and a boost to her confidence. Winning MasterChef allowed her to get out of the classroom and back into the kitchen, moving back to become head chef and partner in The RiverHill Hotel and Restaurant, where she served her YTS apprenticeship years before.
The chef then worked at Llanrhaeadr Springs in Denbigh, Wales, until it closed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. After working as a development chef alongside her husband at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel restaurant, Koukash, in Liverpool, Claire is now head pastry chef at Merseyside’s popular multi-venue restaurant, LEAF.
Heading up the pastry offering at all four-LEAF sites – Bold Street, West Kirby, Smithdown, and Little LEAF at One Fine Day – Claire is also responsible for creating bespoke cakes for customer orders. She also runs the LEAF restaurants’ Pudding Club, where diners are treated to five courses of delicious desserts, all expertly paired with tea.
2012 saw joint winners for the first time in the franchise’s history with Anton Piotrowski and Keri Moss both coming out on top. Sharing the crown didn’t dilute the attention and knock-on benefits to Anton though, who went back to running a much busier kitchen in the pub where he was executive chef, The Treby Arms in Devon.
He told The Staff Canteen that the benefits for younger professionals competing on the show go beyond just having a full restaurant. “It’s all about the contacts you make,” he said. “If I want to go and work for the Roca brothers I can do that or if I want to go and work for Tom Keller again I can do that too.”
The chef took a risk when he entered the competition, as he had only bought his business six weeks prior. Before entering MasterChef: The Professionals, Anton tried his hand at the Roux Scholarship, but was rejected after finding out he was just over the age limit.
He then received a private message from the competition hosts with a suggestion that he try and enter the MasterChef: The Professionals competition instead.
While at The Treby Arms, Anton received a Michelin star. Reflecting on the MasterChef experience, he said: “It’s watched by quite a lot of people and it’s a platform, so people notice you. MasterChef has helped massively.”
In the summer of 2017, Anton set up a crowdfunding site to finance his new restaurant, Röski. Despite not raising as much as he'd hoped, the chef opened the Liverpool venue in December 2017, taking more than 1,000 bookings in 24 hours.
It has been praised by famous food critic Jay Rayner - who said the food at Röski was "serious, bourgeois cooking, with no interest in the restrained" - and received several mentions in the BBC Good Food Guide.
As well as continuing with his award-winning restaurant, in the wake of the pandemic, the chef now offers his services for private dining.
Meanwhile, Keri went on to become the executive chef at The Patch Pub, East Dulwich, in 2013, before opening her own cafe, called Keri's Kitchen, in 2016. With the backing of Smart Hospitality, she also opened her own restaurant in Selfridges called The Corner Restaurant. She now works as a freelance food designer and menu developer for corporate clients and event companies.
Ash Mair
Before entering MasterChef: The Professionals, series 4 winner Ash Mair was working for a catering firm by day and studying web programming at night.
He was becoming disillusioned with the chef trade until he competed in the 2011 competition, reigniting his passion for the industry.
“I was actually in the middle of a crisis, feeling uncertain as to whether I wanted to stay in the industry or not," he said. "After participating in MasterChef though, I was thinking to myself, 'What am I doing? I love food, I love cooking, and I love the industry as a whole.'"
Since the show, Ash said that he was flooded with offers to take part in various projects. “The day after the final went out, my email went nuts,” he said. “I was getting some hundred emails a day, from people congratulating me, to different offers and I had to say no to most of them - except the book one - so I could just concentrate on getting that out.”
He went back to Australia to spend time with his family and wrote his book, entitled 'My Basque Cuisine', before a short stint helping Spanish group Bilbao Berria open a restaurant in Lower Regent Street.
Since then, Ash has been working as a development chef and consultant to restaurants and manufacturers, partnering with companies such as Cucina Catering and Scratch meals.
He has also spent time on food development for restaurant Chick'n'Sours, which has locations in Haggerston and Seven Dials in London.
“Since winning MasterChef it hasn’t really stopped,” he said, “but I’m just glad to be kept busy.”
While taking part in the show, 2013 winner Steven Edwards was the head chef at The Camellia Restaurant in the South Lodge Hotel, a role he returned to after winning the programme.
“I stayed with my employers because I worked at South Lodge for six years leading up to the show and they had been hugely supportive. I worked there for almost a year after winning MasterChef: The Professionals to show my gratitude,” he said.
Winning the competition ultimately gave Steven the courage to venture out on his own. “It definitely gave me the confidence and self-belief to want to chase my dream of setting up my own restaurant," he explained.
After leaving The Camellia Restaurant in South Lodge, Steven spent a year and a half doing pop-ups around the country, honing his cooking style and culinary identity. He opened etch. in Hove, Brighton in the spring of 2017, a casual fine dining restaurant with three AA Rosettes, offering seasonal tasting menus.
From 2020 until 2023, he also spent an extended residency at the Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond-upon-Thames, and he continues to cook for weddings and special events there.
When the property next door to etch. came onto the market in 2021, Steven took the decision to refurbish and expand the restaurant. etch. By Steven Edwards reopened in the October with 45 covers, a reception space, wine room and Ink, a stylish subterranean speakeasy bar.
In 2023, Steven was appointed to run the restaurant at the Tunnel Club, Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club’s immersive hospitality experience. Tunnel Club members enjoy a changing three course à la carte menu with snacks served at half time and at the end of the match. Diners can also watch the players enter and leave the pitch from the one-way glass walled restaurant.
Reflecting on winning the sixth series of MasterChef: The Professionals, Steven said: “The journey since MasterChef has been an incredible experience. I’m really happy with what we’ve achieved with etch., despite the challenges. We have a great team and guests here in Hove and it is a real privilege to be part of the experience at Albion’s Tunnel Club.”
As Steven did, 2014 winner Jamie Scott also returned to the restaurant that supported him whilst he battled it out on the show. The chef stayed at the three AA rosette restaurant, Rocca Bar & Grill in St Andrews, for a further six months before leaving to pursue his own endeavours.
He ran eight pop-up restaurants in six months before opening his restaurant, The Newport, in 2016.
The restaurant with rooms has earned multiple awards, including 2 AA Rosettes, a mention in the Michelin Guide and the AA Restaurant of the Year award 2018-2019.
Prior to the pandemic the chef opened a sister bakery to the restaurant called The Newport Bakery, which was a great asset to the local community during lockdown, making 500 deliveries a week. This led to the launch of a production facility to meet retail demand.
The chef also owns two branches of The Daily Grind Coffee shop, one in Arbroath and one in Dundee.
In October 2021, Jamie added to his Scottish portfolio with a new Doughnut shop, Wrecking Ball Doughnuts, in Dundee.
At the time of winning the competition, the chef said that the boost in publicity offered by MasterChef is what gave him the confidence to spread his wings and go his own way.
"Your friends and family all tell you that you’re good at your job but they’re never going to say you’re bad, so to have that peer recognition is a massive confidence builder,” he said.
In March 2024, Jamie announced the closure of The Newport restaurant, posting on social media: “This decision has not been taken lightly. Unfortunately, in the current climate, we can simply no longer afford to be within our beautiful building. The rising costs of all utilities have contributed to this decision, and we have tried our best to overcome or find another way forward to no avail.”
He continued: “The Newport Bakery & Sandbanks Brasserie will continue, and you’ll find many familiar faces within these businesses going forward. We want to thank our team massively. They have been compassionate, kind and supportive as always.”
After winning MasterChef: The Professionals 2015, Mark Stinchcombe remained in his role as head chef at Eckington Manor in Worcestershire for three years, living and working with his wife and co-head chef, Sue, until 2019 when they both moved to Gloucestershire and took over the food offering at The Severn & Wye Smokery, alongside culinary director Greg Nicholson.
Prior to Eckington both Mark and Sue worked for some of the most talented chefs in the UK. Namely, Mark worked at Michelin-starred Lucknam Park, Ston Easton Park in Somerset and Driftwood in Cornwall, and completed stages at The Fat Duck and Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Sue worked at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London and the French Laundry with Thomas Keller in California.
Before appearing on the show, Mark had toyed with the idea of taking part and was encouraged to enter by his friends and family. After seeing a link to the application through Facebook, he couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
Upon his victory, he said: “I can’t believe it. I’m massively proud of what I’ve achieved; it’s been such a long journey. It’s been phenomenal.
“My ambition is to run a highly-acclaimed restaurant in Britain, and to one day have a Michelin star.”
The 2016 MasterChef: The Professionals Glaswegian victor Gary Maclean was a senior chef lecturer at the City of Glasgow College when he took part in the competition.
Prior to this, he owned and operated his own restaurant, and headed up the kitchen at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art and the Burrell Collection. He also worked at Ferrier Richardson’s Yes restaurant in Glasgow as head chef, as well as at October in Princes Square.
In 2021, Gary opened Creel Caught, a seafood restaurant located at The Bonnie and Clyde marketplace in Edinburgh St James'. In 2023, he wrote his own cookbook, The Scottish Kitchen, which features more than 100 traditional and contemporary recipes from Scotland.
Reflecting on winning the competition, Gary said: "It's taken my career to a degree that's really quite surreal", Gary explained. "I was at ScotHot for The Staff Canteen Live and after I got off the stage, I was there for two hours taking selfies with members of the audience!”
Craig Johnston
In 2017, Craig Johnston became the youngest winner of the show. He went on to work as sous chef at The Berkeley - MasterChef: The Professionals judge Marcus Wareing's Michelin-starred
