Cast of MasterChef: The Professionals 2024

MasterChef: The Professionals returns this week for its 17th season.

Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace are back, ready to test 32 more aspiring chefs during a seven-week, 21-episode marathon to become the 2024 champion.

Airing three times a week, the show kicks off with multiple rounds of elimination rounds and quarter-finals, including a fast-paced skill test and signature menu, followed by a new invention test and a challenging critics’ challenge.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new season of the series. MasterChef: The Professionalsincluding the line-up of competing chefs and the timing of the show on television.

Chloe

Junior sous chef Chloe, 26, is from Hayes, west London.

The youngest of four siblings, she studied vocational cooking at Kent College before returning home to work in the city, as well as working several ski and summer seasons in the French Alps and Alderney.

After graduating, she worked in restaurants including the Michelin-starred Glasshouse, Duck and Waffle, The Georgia House and Kitchen W8, before moving into the kitchen at The Tin Shed in Notting Hill.

Chloe describes her cooking style as “very mixed”, combining classic French methods with more modern techniques, and says she also has a love of baking and desserts, which stemmed from baking with her nanny and watching cooking shows when she was growing.

Gaston

Gaston grew up in Normandy and Burgundy, attended culinary school in the latter region and began working in France before moving to London, where he lived for 10 years.

The 29-year-old has run his own private chef and luxury events business for the past eight years, and on top of that he enjoys exploring art and fashion exhibitions.

He has traveled a lot over the past few years and says he draws inspiration from the places he visits, describing his style as “old school French with a modern twist.”

Nkosi

Nkosi, a 25-year-old sous chef, was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK at the age of three with his mother and three sisters.

He grew up in Colby, Northamptonshire and Liverpool before settling in London, where he currently lives and studied culinary arts at the University of West London.

After graduating, Nkosi worked as a chef at the Michelin-starred Goring Hotel, worked for a year in South Carolina after winning a competition in college, and now, after working as a chef at the Michelin-starred La Trompette restaurant, works at the Lanesborough Hotel in The Grill Kitchen restaurant, awarded 3 AA rosettes.

“Modern British with European influences” is how he describes his cooking style, with an emphasis on “presentation and finesse”.

Outside the kitchen, Nkosi enjoys modeling, supporting Manchester United and enjoying other sports including swimming and the UFC.

Toby

Rounding out the front row is sous chef Toby, 40, who was born and raised in Coniston, Cumbria, but now lives in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, with his fiancée Laura, stepson Josh and daughter Olivia.

Having tried several jobs, from gardening to volunteer firefighting, Toby entered the culinary world at the age of 27, studying professional cooking.

Three years later he took a job at two-Michelin-starred restaurant Raby Hunt and now works at Spanish tapas restaurant El Castillo as part of the Auckland Project, a charity regenerating the Bishop Auckland area.

Toby says his passion for food developed during his travels in Asia and Australia, and in his own cooking he favors small plates with simple ingredients but bold flavor profiles.

Besides cooking, he enjoys hobbies including cycling, watching football and beekeeping.

Beth

Beth, 29, senior sous, grew up in Doncaster and lives in Rutland with her partner Ruth, whom she met while working in the same hotel.

After catering college, she began her culinary career at Bluebells in Ascot, then moved to a 3 AA Rosette hotel before moving to the Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall, where she has worked since 2015.

Beth, whose passion for food was inspired by her pub-owning mum and grandma, started out baking and has now worked in every part of the kitchen, taking pride in “delicious” food.

Callum

The veteran of the second run is 37-year-old Callum, who worked as a chef for 22 years.

He was born in Cambridge and gained a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Professional Cookery at Cambridge Regional College, followed by an apprenticeship at The Pink Geranium restaurant.

Having worked at restaurants including Le Gavroche in London, Northcote in Blackburn and The Oak Inn in Ledbury, Callum is now head chef at The Bookshop in Hereford.

A father of four, he lives in Ledbury and describes his cooking as “brasserie style” with lots of meat, fish and seasonal dishes.

Gareth

Another chef, Gareth, 30, from Bridgend, runs the kitchen at Heaneys after first working with Tommy Heaney (of Great British Menu fame) in 2017, followed by Michelin-starred Danesfield House and Roots in Norfolk.

Having left college at 16, the Cardiff-born youngest son of four was faced with two options: get a job or join the army.

He chose the former, starting a culinary apprenticeship and never looking back, starting out as a pastry chef but now hoping to open his own gastropub offering “good, honest food, but with Michelin star recognition.”

Gareth, a self-proclaimed “avid” Cardiff City football fan, lives with his fiancée and two children, aged eight and four.

Rohit

Thirty-four-year-old sous chef Rohit was born and raised in New Delhi, India, with his mother, father and sister, before moving to the UK to complete his studies in computer engineering.

That was 14 years ago – he now works at a private membership club in London and has a six-year-old son.

Rohit first entered the industry as a waiter at Ferrari’s Italian restaurant in Bexley Village after graduating from university and then moved on to other Italian restaurants in and around London, as well as Le Caprice and Scott’s in Mayfair.

He says he tends to take a “less is more” approach to food, with a cooking style that ranges from classic to modern European, Italian dishes inspired by his past restaurants, as well as dishes he grew up with back home in India.

Rest of the cast

Information about the remaining participating chefs will be posted each week before new episodes are released.

So be sure to check back every week to learn more about who’s in the kitchen.

When will MasterChef: The Professionals be shown on TV?

MasterChef: The Professionals The first episode of 2024 airs on BBC One tonight, Tuesday 29 October at 8pm.

Season 17 will then continue in the same time slot on Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1, followed by episodes every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

For the first four weeks, the weekly schedule includes one four-chef heat on Tuesday, another four-chef heat on Thursday, and the top of each week’s groups competing in the quarter-final rounds on Friday’s episode with a knockout spot. -The week is at stake.

Including qualifying matches, quarter-finals, elimination rounds and the final, a total of 21 episodes will be aired over seven weeks.

You can also watch the series on demand weekly via BBC iPlayer, where the first batch of episodes are available to stream now.