Back with yet another season is Masterchef: The Professionals, with competition more fierce than ever. We don’t think any other reality competition series has had half as many variations and spinoffs as Masterchef itself, but hey, we are not complaining.
While the foodie in us feels satisfied just by looking at the wide variety of delicacies the participants cook up, it is this battle between the professional chefs that we anticipate the most. Back with a sixteenth season, the season has been airing episodes since 23rd October 2023, and the tensions are as high as ever.
A new list of professional chefs have joined the season to get their hands on the precious trophy. Those who have been following the show and its previous season would know already how it all unfolds. This season is finale will air sometime in December of this year.
The two judging panel members, who you may remember from the previous seasons, Greg Wallace and Marcus Wareing, are on the show once again and have been joined by Monica Galetti as the judge, who had been away from the show the last year.
The show holds around four “heat weeks,” Knockout week, semi-final week, and finals week. Over these heat weeks, new batches of professional chefs are introduced who compete with each other and, in the end, also get eliminated.
By the time the semi-final week rolls around, the remaining chefs from the heat weeks compete with each other till the finale, and finally, one of them bags the prize and the title. The season has already dropped a bunch of its episodes, and if you have not kept up with them, then let us tell you all that you need to know about the contestants of the first heat week of the show.
Masterchef: The Professionals Contestants
Cameron
The twenty-five-year-old has been working at The Cornerstone in Mallaig, where he was the head chef. He decided he was going to pursue cooking as a career when he was only seventeen. Finally, after gaining years of experience, he took up the task of running his family restaurant.
He has worked for the Restaurant Gordan Ramsey and The Kitchen and has trained under his respected masters, Donald Mclean and Gary Phillips. With the start of winter and his place being closed for the time being, Cameron is here on Masterchef to learn and grow some more.
Catrin
This Sweden-born chef moved to London to secure her dreams back in 2013. After graduating from Orebro University and their Culinary Arts and Meal Science program, she moved around to finally settle with a catering company in London City. Calling Masterchef: The Professionals a challenge, Catrin is here only to win.
Himanshu
With work experience in all sorts of high-end restaurants, including Five Palm in Delhi, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Dubai, and finally, Annabel’s in London, this Delhi boy has a special love for food. Here, to show the world just what they might be missing out on, Himanshu applied for the competition as soon as he heard about it and is here to make his family proud.
Dara
Chef Dara, from Ireland, moved to New Forest with a dream of kickstarting his career at the young age of sixteen. His entire family is involved in the hospitality business, and his one goal is to make them proud of him. Dara managed to reach where he is thanks to his efforts, and he wishes to use the push of this platform to move toward his dream of setting up his restaurant.
Tommy
Starting off at Thornbury Castle, twenty-seven-year-old Tommy has a sparkling resume. He has worked for the best restaurants out there and has finally decided to pay a visit to his favorite show of all time. Here to make his son and wife proud, Tommy is confident that he’ll do well in the show and that he is excited for the upcoming challenges.
Charlie
Aged only twenty-two, Charlie hails from Liskeard, Cornwall, and has been in love with cooking since he was fourteen. He has found work in Devon and Cornwall and has been there for eight years. He has worked at The Elephant and Paul Ainsworth’s The Mariners and has expressed his wish to not just set up his own place but also grow his food on-site.
Rosie
Starting her journey as a chalet chef in the French Alps, thirty-four-year-old Rosie hails from Romney Marsh in Kent. She learned work and brushed up her skills all by working in small local restaurants and has finally moved to Rye to set up her place, a cafe where she serves people the warmest food.
She is here at the sets of Masterchef: The Professionals to test herself and force herself out of her comfort zone.
Jeany
Hailing from the Isle of Man, Jeany revealed that she got into cooking because of her mother’s food, which seemed to have such magic. After getting cookbooks for Christmas, it was only a matter of time before she fell head-first in love with the art of cooking. Having worked at The Merchant Hotel and Haslam Hotel, Jeany trusts her skills and style.
Ola
Thirty-one-year-old Ola moved countries in hopes of pursuing his dreams. He shifted to London almost thirteen years ago and has gained experience by working for fine diners and restaurants. He is here to fight and win, knowing that the final title of Masterchef: The Professionals will not come easily.
In hopes of getting together with people who are like-minded, he hopes to learn from his fellow chefs as well.
Leuan
With over ten years of experience, Leuan has worked in all kinds of places, going from local spots to expensive restaurants. Currently working as a sous chef, Leuan has taken a liking to making pub food. In love with the British style of cooking, he is here to prove his skills, not afraid of big, intense flavors in his food either.
James
With eight years of experience under his belt, James is twenty-nine years old and has worked for Michelin kitchens and even as a private chef. While he may not have studied food in his early student years, he has enough experience and learning from the real world to stand tall against other professional chefs.
He currently is the CEO of a widespread street food business, though he continues to play private chef for some of his clients.
Gabrielle
From Wandsworth, London, Gabrielle has been in the kitchen for eleven years now and is currently working as a private chef for a family. She calls her cooking a relaxed refinement, which suits her considering she has worked at several high-end places, including playing ched for yachts.
Feeling like work has not been intriguing enough, Masterchef: The Professionals is a space for her where she wishes to find the passion that brought her here in the first place.
Kasae
Currently working in Bath for a contemporary Japanese cuisine restaurant as a head chef, twenty-nine-year-old Kasae has joined the competition all the way from Australia. Wanting to meet more people from her field who share her values and are like-minded pushed Kasae to fill out the application for the show, and she finally got her chance to be on the show and connect with more chefs.
Giovann
Hailing from Malta, Giovann is a thirty-three-year-old chef who is currently put up in London, where he moved eleven years ago. After completing his studies and gaining the required experience, Giovann has now found a place for himself in Central London. In love with Mediterranean-inspired dishes, Giovann loves his job and the fact that it never gets boring or goes out of style.
Kyle
Lastly, we have thirty-one-year-old Kyle from North Shields, who started work only to help his family and earn some money but eventually found himself more and more in love with cooking, using it as an escape. He is excited he gets to indulge in his passion every waking day.
