'I feel really honoured': Passionate chef secures spot in MasterChef finals after wowing judges

Raised in Leigh Park, Luke Emmess has spent the best part of his adult life perfecting his culinary skills - and it has not gone unnoticed as he reaches the MasterChef finals, which will air on Thursday (March 26).

The competitive cooking show, broadcast on the BBC, sees 32 professional chefs from across the country pitted against each other to prove they are a cut above the rest.

The 33-year-old, who now lives in Bedhampton with his wife and children, discovered his love for cooking as a teen after enrolling at South Downs College, where he completed a catering course.

Luke said: “I was born in Portsmouth, grew up here and, I’ve been here my whole life.

“When I left school, I did full-time catering. My first job was at Jamie’s Italian and I was there for four years before moving to Still & West. I then moved to Winchester to chase the rosettes and do more fine dining.

“I’ve always enjoyed the job, and it’s starting to pay off.”

Now the head chef at Fuller’s restaurant, The Wykeham Arms, in Winchester, Luke has proven he can take the heat after impressing judges Matt Tebbutt, Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing.

He continued: “I’ve done other competitions in my career, but this is by far the biggest. In 2016, I entered Fuller’s Chef of the Year. I’d only been in the company about a year, but I won - After a few years, I wanted to get back out there and I was looking at the other opportunities and I thought ‘why not, let’s have a go’.

“The competition has been huge. You’ve got to put a lot of time into creating recipes, there’s a lot of travel involved going to and from the studio but it’s all part of the experience. When you’re in it, it’s quite intense but it’s been great. You definitely get as much as you put in.

“When you’re up against such different chefs, you just have to believe in your skill and stick to what you are good at to create good food but there were some great chefs there and we got on really well. It was a great bunch.”

In the latest stage of the competition, the final five chefs vying for a spot in the final were asked to construct a dish with a personal meaning.

Inspired by his wife Catrina’s love of goat’s cheese, Luke delivered a visually stunning and highly original plate - Goat’s cheese mousse encased in honey truffle jelly, with a tartlet of honey cake and truffle honey, finished with a golden beetroot sorbet.

The chef was highly commended by Marcus Wareing, who delivered a standout verdict, saying: “When we talk about next level cookery, this is it. I can’t speak highly enough about this dish. I think I could be sitting in a top two or three Michelin-star restaurant in Europe — that’s how good this dish is.”

Luke added: “For me, I’d have to say the best bit has to be the goats cheese dish. I did it for my wife but the feedback for that was beyond what I was expecting. It was incredible.

“It was amazing. You can’t get that kind of experience anywhere else. No one would normally get to spend the time with those types of chefs and I feel really lucky and honoured to be part of it.

“I’m sure I’ll get an itch and want to do it again - there are lots of competitions out there.”

With the competition reaching the final, the remaining chefs will cook one last time to battle it out for the coveted MasterChef title.