Chef Steve Groves of London restaurant Launceston Place has been named the winner of the BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals 2009.
Groves won the competition after a gruelling final under the watchful eyes of judges Michel Roux Jr and Gregg Wallace in which he beat fellow competitors private chef Marianne Lumb and agency chef Daniel Graham.
The judges praised Groves for his innovative style of cooking. “Steve has got what it takes, he oozes talent and really pushes the boundaries,” said Roux.
Groves said: “This is the proudest moment of my life. To achieve this is unbelieveable.”
The final of Masterchef: The Professionals comprised four days of challenges. These included a patisserie task hosted by London restaurant Sketch and judged by a panel including Michel Roux Snr, chef-patron of the Waterside Inn and holder of the coveted Meilleur Ouvrier de France for patisserie.
Another challenge saw the contestants create a three-course menu for a dinner held at London’s Browns hotel for some of the UK’s most acclaimed chefs with more than 40 Michelin stars between them. They included Pierre Koffmann, Alain and Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caines, John Campbell and Phil Howard.
The Masterchef: The Professionals final culminated in a cook off during which the chefs each created a three course meal.
Groves’s winning menu comprised a starter of roast quail with morels, asparagus and quail’s Scotch egg; followed by roasted venison with potato rosti, watercress purée, roasted beetroot and red wine jus; and mille feuille of raspberry and bitter chocolate sauce and honey lavender ice cream.
Last year's winner of Masterchef: The Professionals was Derek Johnstone, who went on to complete a stage at Roux's two-Michelin-starred Le Gavroche.
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