Dan Merriman has been announced as the winner of the 2024 series of MasterChef: The Professionals, as Gregg Wallace possibly made his last appearance on the BBC in tonight's nail-biting final. The 29-year-old overcame competition from 31 other chefs to become the 18th winner of the BBC cooking show, impressing restaurant critics, top chefs, and judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti and Gregg.
Gregg praised champion Dan, 29, for preparing "dish after dish of absolute beauty". Throughout the contest, Dan has consistently impressed the culinary trio, as well as impressing restaurant critics and some of the country’s leading chefs – delivering outstanding, innovative food and skilful cookery.
Reacting to his victory, an overjoyed Dan exclaimed: "To walk away as MasterChef Champion, it means the world to me. There's not been that many times where I've been proud of myself in my life, but I've hit the pinnacle! This whole competition has changed my life. I'm forever grateful."
A highly impressed Marcus stated: "We have a star. I see Dan's cookery as fine dining at its very, very best. His food is precise, technical, it's incredibly creative. I think it's outstanding. This guy is shining. I can't wait to see what this chef is going to do in the future."
Monica also applauded Dan's talent by saying: "From the moment he walked in, he let his cooking do the talking. I don't think Dan realises how good he is. The kind of cooking he's been doing takes years to get right."
Gregg was equally enamoured, sharing: "Dan's food has been blowing us away, not just in this Final but for round after round. Dish after dish of absolute beauty. Watching this chef grow in stature has been a wonderful thing to witness. I think this has been a turning point in Dan's life."
In Thursday’s episode, Dan and runners-up Chiara Tomasoni and George Birtwell, were challenged to make three courses in three hours.
Dan’s menu started with barbecued scallop glazed in a sumac, chilli, paprika and Turkish red pepper paste, before moving on to ex-dairy beef cooked in beef fat and smoked butter, served alongside a beef hash brown for his main.
The chef’s dessert was a blackcurrant cassis mousse topped with a yuzu curd, wood sorrel and honey tuille dusted with a blackcurrant and sherbet powder and grated macadamia nuts, finished with frozen clotted cream pearls, which had been inspired by his grandfather.
The final comes after the Christmas specials of MasterChef have been pulled from the BBC's schedules amid allegations about Gregg's behaviour. BBC bosses previously said the corporation will not “tolerate behaviour that falls below the standards we expect” and will continue to champion “a culture that is kind, inclusive and respectful," reports the Mirror.
Regarding the Christmas specials, a BBC spokesperson shared: "As we have said, MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the chefs taking part and the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned. The celebrity Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show and in the current circumstances we have decided not to broadcast them."
Gregg announced he was stepping away from presenting the cookery show after producer Banijay UK announced it would be launching an external review into historical allegations of misconduct.
Gregg's lawyers said “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.
