Winchester Chef Luke Emmess Reaches MasterChef: The Professionals Final After ‘Next Level’ Cooking Performance

Winchester chef Luke Emmess, Fuller’s Head Chef at The Wykeham Arms, has powered into the finals week of MasterChef: The Professionals, following a remarkable run of performances that saw him praised for delivering “next level cookery” by the judges.

In the latest stage of the competition, the final five chefs travelled to the prestigious The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, where they were put through their paces by renowned chef Mark Donald. Known for his exacting standards, Mark challenged the chefs to recreate one of his intricate lunch dishes.

Luke was tasked with the technically demanding lobster toddy, a dish celebrating elements of the whisky-making process. Featuring lobster consommé, a crispy lobster sandwich, and lobster tail with turnip variations and a spiced sauce, the dish pushed Luke to demonstrate precision, creativity, and control under pressure.

Mark commented that it was a difficult dish, but praised Luke for rising to the challenge and delivering under intense scrutiny.

In the next challenge, chefs were asked to create a dish that held 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.

Judge Monica Galetti described the dish as, “A beautiful looking plate of food… just ooffff! It blows you away.” Matt Tebbutt praised the boldness of the dish, particularly the sorbet, calling it “really out there” and “really brave.”

But it was Marcus Wareing who delivered the standout verdict, “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, visibly delighted, said, “I was not expecting such high-level compliments.”

At the end of the round, Marcus described the overall standard as some of the best cooking he had seen in the competition, with Luke also being named Monica’s Chef of the Day.

Luke now progresses to finals week, where the remaining chefs will cook for a room of culinary giants at the prestigious Chef’s Table, before battling it out for a place in the final three.  Reflecting on his journey so far, Luke said “It’s an overwhelming feeling to be through to the finals.”

From bold flavour combinations to refined technical execution, Luke’s journey through the competition has been defined by a relentless pursuit of perfection and with the final now in sight, the Winchester chef continues to raise the bar.

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