MasterChef: The Professionals crowns 2022 winner

Virgin Radio

12 Dec 2022, 10:55

Credit: BBC

The winner of MasterChef: The Professionals has finally been crowned - but who survived the heat in the kitchen?

Nikita Pathakji landed in first place in series fifteen ahead of competitors Charlie Jeffreys and Sagar Massey after winning over judges Marcus Wareing, Anna Haugh, and Gregg Wallace.

Totally bowled over by her big win, the talented chef said: “This is incredible and I can’t put it into words. It surpasses every achievement of my life.

“I don’t know how I’m going to top this. This is the peak, I think I’ve reached it!”

Many of her dishes were inspired by her travels, and it was something judge Gregg was certainly impressed by. 

He shared: “Nikita is using food that she fell in love with from her own travels around Asia.

“That chef is completely and utterly in love with the food she’s producing. She opened up the larder of the world and brought us stunning dish after stunning dish.”

Nikita started alongside 31 other professional chefs, who were whittled down to three after six weeks of intense challenges and culinary tasks. 

The winning menu was enough to get the mouth watering, with a starter of sea bass cured in a citrus dressing, smoked aubergine purée, spicy red pepper purée with pomegranate, preserved lemon, parsley oil and a side of aubergine crisps.

The mains was inspired by her home in Thailand, crispy chicken thighs, tortellini filled with chicken, mushrooms and coriander and coriander oil, with a coconut curry sauce and a side of crispy chicken skin dusted with chilli powder, topped with a mango, cumin and onion purée.

To end the culinary experience, Nikita made a cardamom and custard tart, apricot poached in honey syrup, with a honey tuile and an apricot, honey and lemon sorbet.

Speaking about her time on the series, Nikita explained: “MasterChef is always something I’ve thought about, but never felt ready for. My family always wanted me to do it, especially mum. So I entered partly just to get her off my case!”

Restauranter Anna told the winner: “You have changed so much since the beginning of the competition. Now what we see before us is a stronger and incredibly capable chef. I'm incredibly proud of you."

Catch up with MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC iPlayer. 

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