The MasterChef 2024 finalists have been announced ahead of the grand final on Wednesday, where they will compete to become champions.
After seven weeks of battle in the kitchen, the 58 chefs have been reduced to just four, but only one can win.
Competing for the final time are Abi Kempley, Brin Pirathapan, Chris Willoughby and Louise Lyons Macleod.
And adding an extra level of excitement is the fact that it marks MasterChef’s 20th finals week, after the show debuted in 2004.
Monday’s episode kicks off with the finalists flying to Singapore and visiting one of the buzzing hawker markets, packed with street food classics.
The MasterChef 2024 finalists have been announced ahead of the grand final on Wednesday where they will compete to become champions (John and Gregg pictured)
After seven weeks of battle in the kitchen, the 58 chefs have been reduced to just four: Chris Willoughby, Louise Lyons Macleod, Abi Kempley and Brin Pirathapan (LR)
However, the chefs can’t rest for a moment as John Torode and Gregg Wallace will put them straight to work on their first challenge.
Led by the godfather of Singaporean heritage cuisine, Chef Damian D’Silva, they will work in teams to prepare traditional dishes for locals to review.
The Final Four then heads to one of Singapore’s most renowned restaurants, Pangium, where they must prepare one of Chef Malcolm Lee’s dishes for an exclusive lunch service.
Their final chance to impress is to cook a VIP lunch at a five-star hotel, creating their own menu inspired by their experiences so far.
In Tuesday’s episode, the chefs return to London to give it their all, as judges John and Gregg choose the final three.
First, they are given the honor of taking charge of one of the last ever restaurant services at Le Gavroche, led by Michel Roux Jr. yourself.
On top of that, they will serve these dishes a dining room with respected chefs also grafted into this kitchen, including Pierre Koffmann, Monica Galetti and Michel’s daughter, Emily.
Back in the MasterChef kitchen, their final challenge asks them to deliver one exceptional plate of food that has special meaning, relates to something or someone they love, and comes straight from the heart.
Brin, 29, said his love for cooking developed while studying veterinary medicine at university and wanted to prepare delicious meals on a student budget
Louise, 44, praised her family for her culinary skills and explained she had decided to sign up for MasterChef to mark her five-year anniversary following her cancer diagnosis
John and Gregg will then face the difficult decision of choosing who will go home and who will compete for the trophy.
In Wednesday’s nerve-wracking Grand Final, the final three must then deliver a three-course meal, demonstrating their progress in the competition, and the judges will crown the 2024 MasterChef champion.
Coming from four very different walks of life, this year’s winner will be vet Brin, farmer Louise, saleswoman Abi or circus artist Chris.
29-year-old Brin says that his love for cooking developed when he studied veterinary medicine at university and wanted to prepare delicious meals on a student budget.
He said, ‘That’s right when I realized I had a passion for cooking, and not just for food!’
He added that cooking runs in his family, with his parents both growing up in Sri Lanka and being great chefs.
Brin explained: ‘The cooking areas I love are really a fusion of my Tamil Sri Lankan heritage and my British upbringing. I have a passion for creating dishes with bold flavors, but refining them to high standards using European techniques. I enjoy pulling flavor combinations from all over the world and creating balanced dishes.”
He said he has been watching MasterChef “as long as I can remember” and said it was “one of the reasons I am the chef I am today.”
Youngest finalist Abi, 22, said she started cooking during lockdown in 2020 after becoming frustrated at not being able to go to restaurants and food markets
Chris, 44, says lockdown has also helped him develop his love of food as his gig was cancelled, giving him ‘time to think and eat’
Louise, 44, praised her family for her culinary skills, saying: ‘I’ve been cooking since I could walk!’
She said her parents taught her to experiment with food and that running a 25-acre farm has given her a passion for sharing home-grown food and wanting it to be as sustainable as possible.
She explained that she had decided to apply for MasterChef to mark her five-year anniversary following her cancer diagnosis.
Louis said: “I was diagnosed when my daughter was 18 months old and our world imploded. It took a lot of time to come to terms with my diagnosis and intensive treatment and it changed me. A positive change was that we tried to take full advantage of all opportunities in life.’
The youngest finalist Abi, 22, said she started cooking during lockdown in 2020 after becoming frustrated at not being able to go to restaurants and food markets.
She said her strength is Asian flavors and French techniques, and admitted her dream would be to cook in Japan.
Abi added that she was nervous about applying for the show, but her mother encouraged her to give it a try by believing in her.
She admitted: ‘I really can’t believe I’ve made it through to the final. I have I’ve worked so hard for so long and it just feels like a sense of tremendous achievement and gratitude.”
Chris, 44, said lockdown also helped him develop his love of food as his gig was cancelled, giving him ‘time to think and eat’.
He called his love of cooking “an obsession” and called his boyfriend of seven years, Kim, “so supportive” during his MasterChef journey.
Chris said he wanted to be ‘tested’ by the competition and his desire to win has grown with each stage.
Thanks to his circus artistry skills, he is passionate about presentations and flavors in particular and hopes to write cookbooks ‘based on food and its concepts, theater and home entertainment’.
MasterChef continues on Monday at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer with the Grand Finale on Wednesday at 8pm