Self-taught chef wins MasterChef: The Professionals 8 hours ago Federica BedendoNorth East and Cumbria Spoiler warning. This article contains details of series 18 of MasterChef: The Professionals. A self-taught chef has been crowned winner of the latest series of the BBC's MasterChef: The Professionals.

Three finalists - Luke Emmess, Mark O'Brien and Gareth Baty - made it through a series of culinary challenges, impressing not just judges Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing but also high-profile Michelin-starred restaurateurs.

The winning three-course menu was "faultless", Galetti said.

Carlisle-born winner Gareth Baty, who now lives in Greater Manchester, said he had been "cooking from the heart" and was "over the moon" with his victory.

Baty, who runs private dining business The Wandering Cumbrian, took on 31 ambitious professionals from a variety of backgrounds and locations in the televised section of the competition.

He said his winning menu was an ode to his family.

The starter was inspired by his mother and consisted of a langoustine and green apple tartare, with a kefir and caviar sauce and tomato powder.

"If I've learned anything through this competition, it's cooking food you believe in and cooking from the heart can take you a long way," he said.

Baty's main course was inspired by his father, who died while his son was at university, and consisted of a chicken breast roulade wrapped in truffle mousse with king oyster mushroom and an accompaniment of chips.

To finish, he served a dish dedicated to his wife's family - a twist on the Brandy Alexander cocktail.

Baty's food was "flavoursome and it's from the heart", Wareing said.

Co-judge Galetti thought he had "got better and better" with every challenge.

"His final three dishes showed that - they were faultless," she said.

New judge Matt Tebbutt said Baty was the champion because he "cooks with love and he cooks with passion".

Host of BBC One's Saturday Kitchen, Tebbutt joined Wareing and Galetti on the programme after the departure of presenter Gregg Wallace.

Wallace and MasterChef co-presenter John Torode were sacked last year, after a report upheld complaints against them.

Baty, who is 40, has a son and daughter with his wife, Katherine.

He said being self-taught often led him to question his ability as a chef, but he had felt proud to stand side-by-side with fellow contestants "with my head held high".

He learnt his skills from his mother Barbara and "everything traces back to her kitchen", he said.

"She showed me that cooking for people is one of the most generous things you can do, that you can make someone feel genuinely looked after through what you put on a plate. "

Baty started hosting supper clubs from his East London flat before heading to New York to work in restaurants. He then returned to his native Cumbria to work on a Lake District farm, cooking with their products, before becoming a self-employed private chef. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Related internet links

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