MasterChef: The Professionals semi-finals - who is still in the contest?
MasterChef: The Professionals is reaching the end of the 2023 competition, with the winner's trophy in sight.
As semi-finals week gets underway, what do we know about the chefs still in the contest and the challenges they will face?
The semi-finals begin with the remaining eight chefs being asked to showcase salt and pepper in a dish they have created, before moving on to a plant-based challenge.
Two chefs will be sent home, before the remaining six are split into two groups who will have to get through a busy shift at a central London restaurant, before producing their best main course and dessert back in the MasterChef kitchen.
When are the MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 semi-finals?
Semi-finals week begins on Monday, 27 November at 8pm on BBC One.
The semi-finals then continue at the same times on Tuesday and Wednesday as we find out who has made it through to finals week.
MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 semi-finalists
Kyle
31, North Shields
Kyle has worked at some prestigious restaurants around the north of England and during the contest, he has had the chance to show off his love of Asian cuisine with English and French cooking techniques.
He said: "Food has always been my escape and now I get to do that every day for a living.
"In cooking I like the freedom to be creative, the only limitations are my own and if I get stuck with anything, I know I have a talented team around me that works together to achieve what we like to achieve."
Philippe
33, London/Paris
French-born Philippe is now working in London as a private chef and has introduced the judges to his inspirations from his French and African backgrounds.
He said: "As a young child, I spent countless hours in the kitchen with my mother, tasting ingredients and spices at each stage of my mum’s recipe. I was always eager to taste what she was cooking and was constantly asking questions about the flavours and ingredients.
"My mother was born in Benin and went to France when she was only 20 years old. She instilled in me a love for both French and African cuisine, so I knew from a very young age that I wanted to become a chef."
Lauren
29, Mitcham, London
Lauren has drawn on her Jamaican heritage to show off her skills at cooking dishes with big flavours and is currently working for an events catering company after deciding against a law degree at the last minute.
She said: “I applied to MasterChef: The Professionals before but didn’t make it past the audition stage. In hindsight I’m glad, as six years later I feel more than ready. I’ve matured, I’m far more confident in my skills in the kitchen and believe all in God’s timing."
James
29, North London
James might have trained as a fine dining chef, but he now runs his own street food company serving up hash browns which stood him in good stead for the pop-up restaurant challenge earlier in the series.
He said: "I cook food I want to see on a plate. It’s fun and funky and isn’t taken too seriously. I want people to feel joy when they eat, which reflects the street food side of me but then also clean and technical which comes from my fine dining training. I want people to be interested and intrigued.
"There is nothing worse than a forgettable meal."
Kasae
29, Bristol/Australia
Australian-born Kasae has worked in restaurants all over the world before taking up her current role in Bath, and has impressed the judges with her grasp of all aspects of the restaurant business.
She said: "Describing my food is really tricky. I think at 29, in an industry that is always moving so fast, it is hard for me to have my own ‘style’.
"If I had to answer, I would say playful, generous, ‘diet be damned’ and refined. If all of those things can even exist together, that would be what I would describe as my style."
Tommy
27, Bristol
Restaurant head chef Tommy is still refining what his own style as a cook is, so has had fun trying out different ideas in the competition.
He said: "I wish I had a romantic story about growing up wanting to be a chef but I don’t. I lacked a bit of direction when I was 16 and worked in a kitchen as a kitchen porter. It was at that point that my life changed.
"I found the theatre of the kitchen magical and I knew then I wanted to be a chef. I love the buzz of a restaurant, the way food makes people feel and being part of a team. It’s the best job I could ask for."
Charlie
22, Liskeard, Cornwall
He might be the contest's youngest chef, but Charlie is already working as a head chef and has shown off some of Cornwall's finest produce during the challenges so far.
He said: "I’m really ambitious and have lots of big plans for the future. I’d love my own restaurant as part of a boutique hotel and farm, where everything is grown and cooked on-site. Doing a huge competition like this allows me to test myself against other chefs and hopefully gets me closer to making these big plans a reality."
Tom
24, Horsham, West Sussex
Tom currently works in a hotel restaurant alongside his mum and dad, who are both chefs there too, and has impressed the judges so far with his grasp of classic dishes.
He said: “My journey into cooking was mostly through my dad being a chef. I think a big part was him not wanting me to do it which made me even more interested!
"If I’m being serious I do think cooking is in my blood. My dad is an exec chef and my mum is a pastry chef and we are all obsessed with food and cooking."
MasterChef: The Professionals continues on Monday, 27 November at 8pm on BBC One.
Read more: MasterChef: The Professionals
This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/masterchef-professionals-semi-finals-154450449.html
