The battle to become MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 Champion is coming to a head, as the series has whittled down the very best from 32 ambitious chefs – all vying to come out on top.
Meet the MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 finalists cooking this week from Wednesday 6 December from 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
CQ
Meet the Finalists
Charlie
Region: Liskeard, Cornwall
Age: 22 during filming and now 23
Profession: Head Chef
Personal: “I got married six weeks prior to filming, but since the competition I’ve had some much needed time with my wife, Leah. She is our Restaurant Manager where we work and is an integral part of my support circle. Mum and Dad are massive parts of my life. They are both remarried and have new spouses who support me 100%. I also have a brother in his 30s, who lives in Spain and I’m really close to him.”
Cooking background: “I was born in Cornwall and carry that with pride. I love everything about being Cornish. It’s something I hold dear and I love to show this through my food. I trained at Saltash Cornwall College, where I had some amazing lecturers who pushed me to do competitions from a young age. I first found my love for being in a kitchen when working for a family friend as a KP (Kitchen Porter). My first year was in 2015 and I still mark it as the best year of my life. I did well at school but never settled on where best to apply my full efforts until finding my place in the kitchen.”
Influences: “I spent a short time at The Elephant in Torquay, where I found a love and appreciation for great food. My biggest influence came from The Mariners by Paul Ainsworth, where I learnt some amazing skills. Paul Ainsworth, I love the guy. I love the food he cooks and the ethos he passes on to his chefs. He’s a top bloke!”
Food passions: “I love cooking fish but my main focus is having something for everyone. No one should feel excluded at a meal and I want every diner to feel at home and warmed.”
On MasterChef: The Professionals: “My wife Leah and best friend Max have been nudging me to enter the competition and one day, I came home from a good service at my restaurant and applied at about midnight. Getting to the finals is a massive achievement. It’s really a testament to my family - for all the hard work they’ve put into make sure I got where I needed to be. They also gave up a lot for me to be here now. So becoming a MasterChef: The Professionals Finalist has made it all worth it. The most challenging part has been coming up with knock-out dishes consistently with time constraints.”
Cooking ambitions: “My ambition is to one day have my own restaurant, which will eventually lead to two more. I envision a whole experience with several spaces, using land and different dining experiences. I’m currently still at The Sardine Factory as Head Chef and I’m also looking for my own place!”
Kasae
Region: Yate, near Bristol, originally from Australia.
Age: 29
Profession: Head Chef
Personal: “My partner, Vincent, is also a chef. I have an older brother, Jayke and two younger sisters Julia and Dani. ️I live in Bristol, but I grew up in a small town in Australia called Mildura. It was such a great place to grow up because it was a big farming community, so we always had the freshest fruits.”
Cooking background: “Cooking has always been a big part of my life. My family aren’t chefs but we’ve always loved food. Whether it’s sweet or savoury, everyone has their thing that they love. We would pull out all the stops for special occasions and Christmas dinners – cooking together and making a real event of it. I went to primary and secondary school in Mildura, then I completed my three-year culinary apprenticeship in Melbourne, where I also spent my first years in the kitchen. After secondary school I studied at Holmesglen Waverley in Melbourne, at the same time as doing my apprenticeship in the kitchen. They were some of the most influential years of my cooking career. I still have such a close connection with the owners of the restaurant - Mercers restaurant in Eltham.”
Influences: “I think more than anything, travelling and living in different countries and cooking there, has really shaped the way I look at food. Also, my partner Vincent has heavily shaped the way I look at food and combine things to create something new.”
Food passions: “I love curing, smoking and barbecuing ingredients. I also love making desserts that are a little bit different. At the moment, I love discovering new flavour combinations and new ways of cooking something familiar, but changing it and making it something else.”
On MasterChef: The Professionals: “I knew that in the not too distant future, me and my partner would be opening our own restaurant. So I wanted to try and get myself out there as much as possible. I really wanted to push myself and do this amazing competition before we opened our restaurant and life gets little bit more crazy! I spent the first half of the competition doubting myself and then I had a mental shift, where I knew I had to believe in myself or I’d never make it. Then I started to enjoy it, which made it a lot easier to be proud of how far I’d come. I didn’t know how far I would get - it’s a really tough group of chefs to cook against. But I’m more than proud that I’ve made it to finals week and have the chance to cook not just against, but alongside these chefs.”
Biggest challenges: “The second skills test has definitely my toughest round yet. I really struggled with it. I was expecting to be given parameters to work within, so when it was just an open invention test, I had a total blank and couldn’t manage to pull myself back from that. It was rough.”
Cooking ambitions: “I'm working at Robun in Bath but recently also took on a restaurant opening with the same company, and am managing that as well as Robun. I’ve also opened my own private dining company with my partner. So there really hasn’t been a breather at all since my last day of the competition. It’s just been go go go! But that’s how I like it. Next, I’ll be looking for the perfect restaurant with my partner to make our private business boom, while still chasing flavour by eating out at restaurants and working with other chefs to keep pushing and learning as much as we can.”
Tom
Region: Horsham, West Sussex.
Age: 24
Profession: Sous Chef
Personal: “I live at home with my parents and my brother Charlie, and a sister Beth. Charlie and Beth are both students. I have a lovely girlfriend called Megan.”
Cooking background: “I grew up in Horsham and still live there now. I first became interested in cooking because my mum and dad worked late so I would cook me and my siblings dinner from about 12 or 13 years old. My dad is a Chef and his attempt to convince me not to be a chef made me want to do it even more! After a few months of doing Saturdays, I started to take it very seriously, as I realised it could be something I was good at. After finishing school I went straight into an apprenticeship aged 17 at Westminster Kingsway College, once a week, in London.”
Influences: “From a young age, my parents have been influential in terms of my interest in food and cooking. My mum is an excellent baker as well as my dad being a chef, so I do think cooking is in my blood, and it’s nice that we can work so close by each other at South Lodge Hotel. Outside of that, Matt Gillian at South Lodge was very inspirational. Ian Swainson, Matt Worswick and also Jean Delport. During my time at Michelin restaurants, I really tried to soak in as much information as possible and learn from amazing chefs whose footsteps I hope to follow in.”
Food passions: “I love anything that tastes good! I love the jobs that take a lot of time and care. When you finish a good sauce or nail a perfect tuille, there is nothing more satisfying. I love using good quality ingredients and really making the flavours shine. Well-balanced dishes takes a lot of skill and patience to get right, which I really enjoy.”
On MasterChef: The Professionals: “My girlfriend and dad wouldn't stop trying to convince me to enter! When I got the call saying I made it into the competition I was absolutely terrified and almost dreading it. I didn't believe I was good enough. But during the competition I learnt to have more trust in my abilities. How differently things have turned out! I'm so relieved to be in finals week. Now it’s at the point where win or lose, I can hold my head up high and appreciate how far I have come. Saying that - I'm going to give it my all and hopefully still be there at the very end.”
Cooking ambitions: “I'm currently still at South Lodge, trying to learn and keep up delivering great standards. I'm still young, so feel like I'm working out my ambitions every day. I just want to have a successful career, maybe a restaurant with a Michelin star, maybe more TV! I’m up for anything that allows me to progress and become a better chef and person.”
Tommy
Region: Bristol and Somerset
Age: 27
Profession: Head Chef
Personal: “I grew up with my three sisters and my mum. So a household of girls, which definitely came with its challenges! I live with my girlfriend of eight years, Courtney, and our little boy. I was born in Bristol, then moved to a small town called Thornbury at when I was eight or nine where I spent most of my upbringing and I now live in Worle, close to Weston Super Mare.”
Cooking background: “I’ve always loved food, but cooking wasn’t something I was interested in until I got my first job in a restaurant washing up. I quickly learnt how hands on and exciting working with food could be! The reward of making something from scratch felt amazing. I started my training at Thornbury Castle and learnt my basic skills, then spent a year at Ronnies in Thornbury before moving to London, which was a major goal of mine. In London I worked at some great restaurants such as Chapter One, Five Fields and the Frog by Adam Handling.”
Influences: “In the early years of my career, the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing and Tom Aikens were a huge influence for me. Now, there are so many chefs and also different cultures, locations and feelings that all go into how I approach my food and style.”
Food passions: “My cooking passions are constantly evolving and bettering myself is a task I focus on daily. Food is so diverse and I believe no one could ever know everything and that’s what I find fascinating. I love big flavours and using every part of each ingredient to prevent wastage. Too much good produce gets wasted.”
On MasterChef: The Professionals: “I decided to enter the competition for mixed reasons. I’ve been a huge fan of the show from a very young age and I wanted to push myself to set an example for my son. Getting to finals week is something I am extremely proud of. The competition has been such a learning curve and I’ve enjoyed each and every round. It feels like a bit of a dream! The competition has come with many challenges and one that sticks to mind is the pop-up round. To cook for that many people in a new environment is something I’ve not had much experience in!”
Cooking ambitions: “My number one ambition is to take on the reigns of my own restaurant and serve food that I love to eat, as well as cook. I’d like to keep bettering my skills and take on new opportunities to the best of my ability. My plan is to do something that I can really drive everything into. What that is, I’m not too sure yet, but I’m excited for a new challenge.”