As the 16th series of MasterChef: The Professionals came to an end with the final episode, Nikita Pathakji has been crowned the 2022 champion.
Competing against 31 other professional chefs all trying their hardest to claim victory across six weeks of challenging and demanding tasks, it was ultimately Nikita who came out on top.
Alongside resident MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace, Nikita was awarded the prize by guest judges acclaimed chef Anna Haugh and Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing.
Reacting to her win, Nikita said: “This is incredible and I can’t put it into words. It surpasses every achievement of my life. I don’t know how I’m going to top this. This is the peak, I think I’ve reached it!”
Marcus Wareing had to say about the new winner: “She’s a chef that has grown right in front of our eyes. Her food has been sublime and she’s always come up with an amazing twist.”
Anna Haugh added: “Nikita is on the road to creating a very unique cuisine. And that is why she’s our champion. As soon as Nikita walked into the kitchen I could see she had class.”
Gregg Wallace commented: “Nikita is using food that she fell in love with from her own travels around Asia. That chef is completely and utterly in love with the food she’s producing. She opened up the larder of the world and brought us stunning dish after stunning dish.”
The challenges for the final of MasterChef: The Professionals saw the chefs cooking for 20 culinary heavyweights at the Chef’s Table. Held at the five-star Lanesborough Hotel in London, the guest list was nothing short of intimidating.
The next obstacle saw the chefs tasked with creating a show stopping dish for some of the UK’s leading food critics including Jay Rayner, William Sitwell, Leyla Kazim, Jimi Famurewa, and April Jackson.
And the last challenge saw the final three professional chefs asked to create a three course menu in just three hours judged by Marcus Wareing, Anna Haugh and Gregg Wallace.
Nikita’s winning menu began with sea sass cured in a citrus dressing, accompanied by smoked aubergine purée, spicy red pepper purée with pomegranate, preserved lemon, parsley oil and a side of aubergine crisps.
After tasting the starter, Marcus commented: “This sings what you’re all about.”
Nikita’s main course was inspired by her travels around Asia.
A take on her favourite Thai dish, Khao Soi, Nikita served crispy chicken thighs, tortellini filled with chicken, mushrooms and coriander and coriander oil, topped with handmade sev (a popular Indian snack food), finished with a coconut curry sauce and a side of crispy chicken skin dusted with chilli powder, topped with a mango, cumin and onion purée.
Anna told Nikita: “When I’m eating this, I’m excited and delighted. To see you developing a dish like this is remarkable.”
Nikita’s final dish was a cardamom and custard tart with apricot poached in honey syrup and topped with a honey tuile and an apricot, honey and lemon sorbet. Gregg said of the dessert: “The whole thing is delightful.”
Anna added: “You have changed so much since the beginning of the competition. Now what we see before us is a stronger and incredibly capable chef. I’m incredibly proud of you.”
Previous MasterChef: The Professionals winners include Derek Johnstone; Steve Groves; Claire Lara; Ash Mair, joint winners Keri Moss and Anton Piotrowski; Steven Edwards; Jamie Scott; Mark Stinchcombe; Gary Maclean; Craig Johnston; Laurence Henry; Stu Deeley, Alex Webb and last year’s winner, Dan Lee.
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