Local chef appears in Masterchef The Professionals

The chef who works at 36 On The Quay in Hampshire reflected on his time in the Masterchef kitchen. He was able to reach the second heat of the competition but fell short in the second skills test involving making a sweet or savoury dish using nuts.

Dara Ryan said: For me personally, it was an amazing experience. It was also great to meet people, everyone I got to meet and speak with and I got to work with was absolutely amazing.

"Everyone was so lovely. When I first got there, I was really, really nervous, but everyone was so welcoming. I was thinking: am I actually here to be filming today?

The off-camera moments bonding with everyone was lovely. What was amazing is that everyone was contending against one another yet everyone, everyone was so kind.

“It was weird how well you get along with everyone. Before today, I'd never met any of them, I don't know who they were. By the end of the day, we were all friends.”

In episode one, Dara had his first skills test: prepare brill with a turnip garnish and a coconut sauce. It didn’t quite go to plan, with Dara saying: It’s one of them things that you envision in your head and prepare.

“Once you're put in that high-pressure position, your mind goes blank, it just switches off. You have to try and overcome it and adapt it.

"I thought at the end of the test that I’d done alright, but I didn't do too well. I was one of the lucky few that's able to kind of bring it back in the second part of it, I was very happy with that.”

When it came to the second skills test that let Dara down, he said: “I knew after I should have done more, but in the moment I didn't know at all.

"When I was in the moment I was thinking, ‘Oh, this this is good. This is enough’. Unfortunately, it wasn't. But look, it wasn't to be on the day.”