Jamie Scott wins MasterChef: The Professionals 2014
Scott, a sous chef at St Andrews restaurant Rocca, was named the winner last night after impressing judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace in the final cook-off.
Scott beat off tough competition from fellow finalists Brian McLeish and Sven-Hanson Britt in the final week of the show, which saw the chefs design and prepare a Michelin-standard dish for some of the world’s top chefs and critics, cook with Andoni Luis Aduriz at Spanish food mecca Mugaritz and prepare a three course meal for Wareing, Galetti and Wallace.
His final winning menu consisted of consisted of a starter of Picked East Newt Crab with pickled cucumber and raw Granny Smith apple, served with an Arbroath smokie veloute and savoury doughnuts filled with flaked smokies and Tobermore Cheddar with a crunchy topping of burnt Parmesan and chives, a main course of Glazed Short Rib of Beef topped with beef dripping fried croutons and onion, smoked beef sirloin, salt balked turnips and burnt shallot puree, served with watercress puree and a beef jus, and a dessert of Brillat Savarin and Lemon Cake topped with Italian meringue with lemon macarons almond crumb, lemon curd and salted almonds served with a basil sorbet.
Commenting on his win, Scott said: “I want to cry a little bit I’m so happy! It’s not settled in yet, I wasn’t expecting to win! The blood, the sweat, the tears - it’s hard to fathom how much emotion goes into cooking and I hope I’ve showed that.
“To get the approval of Marcus and Monica and for them to decide I was the best chef on the day is just absolutely incredible. I will never have to doubt my cooking again!”
Marcus Wareing said: “Jamie is a fantastic chef that has a personality and a big, big heart. That goes a long way in food and this is reflected in his plates – you can see it. I know we have found a true champion, we’ve found one of the future chefs of the country.”
Monica Galetti added: “Jamie has always given us delicious food, food that he enjoys eating. Wow! I am going to be so happy to follow this chef’s career!”
