A Hampshire head chef will go head to head with two other talented contestants as he battles to be named Masterchef: The Professionals champion on TV tonight.
Luke Emmess, from award-winning Winchester pub The Wykeham Arms, is hoping to emulate Southampton chef Shelina Permalloo, who won the home cooks version of the popular BBC TV show in 2012 and has since become a prominent culinary figure.
Luke, who previously appeared in the Daily Echo's meet the chef column, will take on Mark O'Brien, chef patron at Willy's Margate, and private chef Gareth Baty in a bid to take the coveted trophy.
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The early rounds of the show saw Luke, who has been at the 2 AA rosette Fuller's pub since 2020, move comfortably through skills tests and invention challenges, before he hit his stride in Knockout Week and beyond, where judges including Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti praised his calmness under pressure.
His challenges have included creating demanding dishes such as a goat's cheese mousse and a molten chocolate tart with oat crumble, which requires a precise 5-6 minute bake.
This week has seen the three chefs left standing head off for an Italian culinary adventure in South Tyrol, where they helped prepare a lunch service at the three-Michelin-starred Atelier Moessmer.
33-year-old Luke, who hails from Portsmouth, said: "The whole challenge has been a great opportunity to grow and learn. In the latter half of the show, as you progress, the challenges come at you hard and fast and finding practice space proves very difficult.
“I want to keep pushing myself and not just settle with what’s comfortable or enough. I like to push myself out of that comfort zone, as that’s when I grow and develop the most. I’m still at the Wykeham Arms and I’ll keep pushing my food there and hopefully elevate our dining experience even further. I’ve no grand plan, I’ve definitely not got it all figured out. Let’s see what comes next."
The Masterchef: The Professionals 2026 final is scheduled to air at 8pm on BBC One.
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