MasterChef finalist Elly Wentworth talks to DENISE BARKLEY about the ups and downs of the popular competition

YOUNG chef Elly Wentworth took a gamble when she entered for the BBC’s prestigious cooking contest Masterchef: The Professionals. Succeed and her name would be in lights with her future assured. Fail, and it could blight her career.

Elly rose to the challenge – she may have been nervous but it didn’t show as she produced dish after dish of exquisite food and received the highest praise from Masterchef’s intimidating judging trio of Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace.

She made it all the way to the final, only to be pipped at the post by Scottish chef lecturer Gary Maclean. But the 24 year-old junior sous chef, who works in the Michelin-starred kitchens of Lucknam Park hotel in Colerne, was undaunted and bursting with pride when I caught up with her to find out what’s been happening since the final aired just before Christmas.

“It’s been crazy!” laughed Elly, “But it’s brilliant – everyone’s been congratulating me and talking about it. Twitter went mad! And this month a special six-course menu of my Masterchef dishes is being served in the Michelin-starred Park restaurant at the hotel, which is really exciting, and I will be personally introducing each course to the diners.”

And no-one is more proud of Elly than her boss, Lucknam’s executive head chef Hywel Jones, who encouraged her to enter for the competition, driven by her previous successes which included being named South West Chef of the Year at the tender age of 22.

“Hywel said he reckoned I should go for it, so I had a really good think about it because I knew a good outcome could set me up, but failure could have the opposite effect – so it was a big decision,” said Elly.

“In the end I got my entry in just two days before the closing date, and they got back to me straight away. I did a Skype interview and the following week I was in the Masterchef kitchen filming – I had no time to get nervous!”

The contest was gruelling, but Elly showed her mettle.

“It’s one of the hardest things I have ever done,” she grinned. “It’s so stressful because you are being bombarded all the time, thinking of recipes on the spot, trying to remain calm and produce fabulous food, and all under the glare of the cameras. But I really went for it, because I knew this was a golden opportunity to get my name across to every other chef in the UK and I had to succeed.

“The judges were tough and critical, but I took it all on board and moved on. I gained so much confidence throughout the competition too.”

The most demanding round, said Elly, was cooking for 28 of the world’s most celebrated chefs. She was tasked with cooking the fish course.

“It was really hard, but I loved it, it was my best round.

“I was rushing around a strange kitchen trying to find pots and pans, and we only had five hours, so I had to prep the brill, mussels and clams really quickly – I did it in 35 minutes, which is unheard of – Hywel said to me, don’t you ever to that here!”

Hywel has been bowled over by her achievement. He said: “I was absolutely delighted but not at all surprised to see Elly do so well on Masterchef: The Professionals. She is a huge talent and has a huge career in front of her.”

Elly, in turn, has the highest praise for her head chef. She enthused: “Hywel is an amazing chef, the best in the country in my opinion. He has been at Lucknam Park for 13 years and every chef he has trained has gone on to gain accolades and run their own restaurants. He is not only a good chef, but a good manager too – he respects his team and gets it back in return.”

Elly’s steely determination, as shown in the Masterchef contest, is refreshing in someone so young, and she is firmly focused on the future. She has an enviable CV, but her immediate plan is to progress to sous chef at Lucknam Park. In the longer term, she is aiming to be head chef of her own restaurant by the time she is 27.

She has also been trailing the way for young female chefs, who are still in a minority in professional kitchens.

“I would love to see more women entering professional kitchens and people like Monica Galetti, Angela Hartnett, Lisa Allen and Claire Clark are women I have long looked up to. If any small way my appearance on Masterchef helps, I’ll be delighted,” Elly said.

“It is tough being a girl in such a male-orientated environment, and it can be intimidating. I just got in there, got my head down, and proved my worth. Now I’m one of the guys, I join in the banter and we have a good laugh.”

Elly’s first venture into the catering world was at the age of 13, washing the pots in the kitchen of a pub near her home in Plymouth. One day they were short-staffed, so Elly helped with the cooking. She enjoyed it so much that she went on to do her catering training and progressed through some highly rated kitchens including Tanners in Plymouth, The Elephant in Torquay and The Manor House at Castle Combe.

Elly lives in Chippenham with her partner James, who works in admin. She grinned: “Thank goodness he isn’t a chef, I can come home and chill out and not talk about food!”

She has a twin sister who is a trainee nurse in Inverness, and her father and stepmother, who live in Dorset, are very supportive.

Elly works long hours but she and James like to eat out when they can, and when funds allow. Her current favourite is The Pig, near Bath.

“The trouble with Michelin-starred restaurants is that they expensive, the bill can easily run to £500 for two people, but it’s worth saving up to go somewhere really special.”

At home, Elly forgoes gourmet food for tasty and traditional favourites. “There is nothing nicer than a roast dinner – I do the cooking and James clears up, that’s fine by me!”

Elly’s mouthwatering triumphs

Wild salmon two ways, citrus, watercress, cucumber – starter in the final

Ravioli of brill, caramelised fennel, sea vegetables, Cornish shellfish – fish course for 28 elite chefs

Roasted duck, turnip puree, pistachio, wild mushrooms - main course in the critics’ round

Honey roast peach, almond financier, Sauternes – the dessert which saw Elly through to the finals

Liquid chocolate tart, salted almond ice cream, pickled cherries – dessert in the critics’ round