Final set of chef participants revealed for MasterChef: The Professionals 2024 

The names of eight chefs participating in the final set of heats for the 2024 series of MasterChef: The Professionals have been revealed.

 

The 17th series of the cooking competition started airing on 29 October on BBC One, with returning judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace.

 

Over the course of the series, 32 chefs will battle it out to secure the 2024 title.

 

Competitors will be tasked with completing a skills test set by judges Galetti and Wareing, as well as producing a two-course signature menu.

 

They will also be required to cook with a mystery ingredient and impress restaurant critics in the infamous critics’ challenge.

 

Who is on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2024?

Lauren, 36, head chef, the Tailor’s House, Ballygawley

 

Northern Irish chef Lauren grew up in Bangor and went onto do a Level 2 NVQ in Professional Cookery at Newtownards Technical College. After a first kitchen job at Jenny Watts in her hometown, she worked her way up into a head chef position at Groomsport Inn. Over the past two years, she has been based at the Tailor’s House.

 

Michael, owner, Brewhouse Project restaurant, Arundel

 

Michael dropped out of his Chemical Engineering degree to enrol in a nine-month intensive culinary course. Having spent two years working at Emile’s in London’s Putney, he moved to 64 Degrees, the Dairy and Bistro Union, later returning to 64 Degrees in 2017 as head chef. In October last year, he launched his own restaurant within the Brewhouse Project as a joint venture with Arundel Brewery.

 

William, 26, junior sous chef, Hakkasan Hanway Place, London

 

William grew up in Indonesia before studying a three-year Chinese cookery course at the Sichuan Tourism University in China. Having interned at Intercontinental Century City in Chengdu and the Bridge by Chef Andrew, he started working for Hakkasan group in Jakarta in 2019. He worked at their Dubai restaurants before moving to London in 2023.

 

 

Chiara, 24, sous chef, River Cottage, Devon

 

Chiara grew up in Bologna and moved to the UK aged 16. While studying journalism at Sussex University, she established her own catering business, which led her to work as a private chef. She then joined an organic farm at River Cottage in Devon, where she made her way up from commis to sous chef.

 

Peter, 27, senior sous chef, Askr, Edinburgh

 

After finishing school at 16, Peter joined the kitchens of the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Falkirk, where he spent four years. He then went on to work at AA-rosette restaurants across Scotland, including the Balmoral hotel, Gleneagles Townhouse and most recently Askr.

 

Remi, 37, chef-owner, Smoke & Salt, London

 

After studying Chemistry at Imperial College London, Remi moved back to America to do a Masters in Culinary Arts. He then worked at a catering events company in Nigeria and Boston. In 2013, he worked as a junior sous chef at the Shed in London before setting up his own venture Smoke & Salt in 2014.

 

Sophie, private chef, west London

 

Born-and-raised Londoner Sophie completed her diploma in Food and Wine from Leiths School of Food and Wine and has gone onto work as a private chef at restaurants such as Kitchen W8 and the Brown Dog. She also trained to be a lawyer and ran a corporate intelligence business before deciding to cook full-time.

 

 

Cristina, 22, chef de partie, Fenchurch Restaurant Sky Garden, London

 

Cristina was born and raised in Rome before moving to Nigeria aged six. She spent a further five years in Italy before moving to the UK in 2020 to start her career as a chef in Manchester, where she worked for restaurants such as San Carlo and Gusto. In 2022, she headed down to London to work for the likes of Bancone, Smiths of Smithfield and City Social.

 

Ian Brunsdon, 33, head chef, Bolney Wine Estate, West Sussex

 

Ian completed his NVQ Level 3 in Professional Cookery at Crawley Community College. During his studies, he was a kitchen porter at the Dorset Arms in Withyham and later worked as a chalet chef in France before moving to Australia to work at Aqua Blu and the Blue Monkey in Nelson Bay, New South Wales. In 2015, he moved back to the UK to work at the then two-AA-rosette Jeremy’s Restaurant  in Haywards Heath. He has been based at Bolney Wine Estate since 2019.

 

Pippa Lovell, 31, freelance chef, Sheffield

 

Since 2016, Pippa has worked her way up various kitchens, staging at Michelin-starred restaurants such as Noma and L’Enclume. She developed her own sustainable restaurant, Versa on the Isle of Man, which she ran for five years. She is currently based in Sheffield for research and development purposes.   

 

Rachide, 31, senior sous chef, Morchella, London

 

Rachide was born in Lisbon and moved to the UK aged two. He has worked in a number of Michelin-starred kitchens, firstly as a commis before being promoted to demi chef de partie at Galvin La Chapelle in the City of London. In 2018, he moved to Singapore for two years to work in Bayswater Kitchen and the Michelin-starred Cure. Since moving back to London, he has worked at Perilla in Newington Green and is now based at sister site Morchella, which opened earlier this year.

 

 

Dairo Lopez, 40, Compass Group, London

 

Dairo grew up in Columbia and trained as a PE teacher before moving to the UK in 2009. He then completed his NVQ Level 3 at Westminster Kingsway College and worked as a chef at Selfridges department store for four years before moving into contract catering at BaxterStorey, where he was made sous chef. He has worked for Compass Group since 2022 and also owns a private event catering business.

 

Dani Heron, 32, Osma, Manchester

 

Dani has been a chef for 13 years, having completed her NVQ Level 3 in Professional Cookery at Manchester College. She became a commis chef at the two Michelin-starred L’Enclume in Cartmel, where she worked for two years. She moved to Oslo to cook at the likes of Maaemo and Piscoteket. In 2020, she returned to the UK to set up Osma with her partner Sofie.

 

Evan Holliday, 21, junior sous chef, Simpson’s, Birmingham

 

Evan left school at 16 to train as a chef and completed his NVQ Level 3 in Professional Cookery through his work placement at Simpson’s. He also worked at the two Michelin-starred Moor Hall in Sutton Coldfield for six months before returning to Simpson’s.

 

George Birtwell, 26, senior sous chef, the Black Swan, Oldstead

 

George finished his NVQ Level 3 through an apprenticeship at the Michelin-starred Northcote Manor in Blackburn before moving to the Three Fishes in Whalley, the two Michelin-starred Ynyshir in County Durham and food manufacturer Truefoods. He has been at the Black Swan since 2022.

 

 

Jordan Johnson, 20, junior sous chef, Simpsons, Birmingham

 

Jordan moved to the UK from Jamaica in 1999 and completed a catering course at University College Birmingham. After graduating, he worked at the Ritz in London for six months. He then returned to Birmingham to continue his career at the Michelin-starred Simpsons, where he has been based for the past three years.

 

Kirsty Langschmidt, 38, catering business owner, London

 

Kirsty attended culinary school in South Africa prior to moving to the UK. She worked as a pastry chef for Soho House before moving back to South Africa, where she worked her way up in kitchens across Johannesburg. She then worked at corporate caterer Eclectic Catering for six years before setting up her own business, Happy Plate, in 2021.  

 

Steve Andrews, 33, chef patron, Fish & Forest, York

 

Steve’s first hospitality role was working front of house at his parents’ restaurant. He then moved into the kitchen and worked as a chef for 10 years while studying catering at college. In 2016, he left to go travelling, which included stints at Little Jeans restaurant in Sydney. In 2019, he opened his own restaurant, Fish & Forest, which started as a pop-up.

 

Gail Li, 35, senior chef de partie, Dinings SW3, London

 

Gail worked as a Mandarin teacher for eight years before embarking on her career in hospitality. After training at Le Cordon Bleu in London in 2019, she was offered a job at modern Japanese restaurant Dinings SW3 in Chelsea.

 

 

Alin Stoica, 33, head chef, Jacobean hotel, Coventry

 

Alin moved to the UK from Romania aged 14. After finishing school, he went onto study catering at Coventry College, where he completed his NVQs level 1-3. He then started as a commis chef at the Jacobean hotel in Coventry, where he is now head chef.

 

Dan Merriman, 29, senior sous chef, The Blackbull Inn Old Langho, Lancashire

 

Dan started working as a kitchen porter in his teens and was inspired to pursue a career in hospitality under the encouragement of his head chef at the time. He completed his NVQs and has worked at Michelin-starred Plas Bodegroes in Gwynedd, the three-AA-rosette Cottage in the Wood in Malvern, and Fishmore Hall in Ludlow. He was also based at Northcote in Blackburn for a year.

 

Paule Béké, private catering company owner

 

Paule lived in the Ivory Coast until she was 14 before moving to France. In 2011, she came to the UK. She studied for a business degree and embarked on a corporate career as a project manager before retraining as a chef a decade ago. She currently runs her own private catering company, Douceurs D’Ivoire.

 

Ritchie Stainsby, 33, No. Twelve, Nottingham

 

Ritchie was born and raised in Nottingham and has worked as a chef for 10 years, including six years at Jamie’s Italian. He specialises in plant-based cuisine at his own restaurant, No. Twelve, which he opened with his wife Lauren in 2017.

 

 

Chloe McCoy, 26, junior sous chef, the Tin Shed in Notting Hill, London

 

Chloe studied Professional Cookery at Kent College and has worked at restaurants across London such as the Michelin-starred Glasshouse, Duck and Waffle, the Georgian House and the Michelin-starred Kitchen W8.

 

Gaston Savina, 29, private chef

 

Gaston studied at culinary school in Burgundy and started his career in Paris, working under chefs such as Franck Graux at Le Dôme and Christophe Langrée at Le Faust. He moved to London in 2014 and worked at Cepáge[s] wine bistro in Notting Hill before launching his own private cheffing business in 2016.

 

Nkosi Sibanda, 25, sous chef, the Grill Kitchen at the Lanesborough hotel, London

 

Nkosi studied Culinary Arts at the University of West London before working as a commis chef at the Michelin-starred Goring hotel. He has also worked as chef de partie at the Michelin-starred La Trompette in London’s Chiswick.

 

Toby Hodkinson, 40, sous chef, El Castillo at the Auckland Project, Bishop Auckland

 

Toby did not enter the hospitality industry until he was aged 27. After studying professional cookery, he went on to work at the two Michelin-starred Raby Hunt in Darlington. He has also worked at the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa in Yorkshire with Paul Leonard and Samuel’s Restaurant at the Swinton Estate in Ripon.

 

 

Beth Hipwell, 29, senior sous chef, Hambleton Hall, Rutland

 

Beth has stayed in the industry ever since she took part in kitchen work experience aged 14. She went to catering college and started her career at Bluebells in Ascot before moving to the Michelin-starred kitchen at Hambleton Hall, where she has been based for the past nine years.

 

Callum Mcdonald, 37, head chef, the Bookshop, Hereford

 

Callum did a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Professional Cookery at Cambridge Regional College and completed an apprenticeship at the Pink Geranium restaurant, formerly in Royston. Over the years, he has also worked at Le Gavroche in London, Northcote in Blackburn and the Oak Inn in Ledbury.

 

Gareth Crimmins, 30, head chef, Heaneys, Cardiff

 

Gareth dropped out of college at 16 to work in kitchens. He has cooked at the Michelin-starred Danesfield House in Buckinghamshire and Roots in Norfolk. In 2017, he started working with chef Tommy Heaney, owner of his eponymous restaurant in Cardiff.

 

Rohit Chhetri, 34, sous chef, private members’ club in London

 

After graduating from university, Rohit worked as a waiter in Ferrari’s in Bexley Village. He learnt his kitchen skills at Westminster Kingsway College before honing his craft in Italian restaurants in and around London, including Le Caprice and Scott’s in Mayfair.

 

 

Image: BBC/Shine TV