Although this event has now finished, if you’d like to know more about Sussex Masterchef winners and fine dining, you may also like:
Sustainable & Creative Dining at etch. in Hove
Fine Dining at Heritage in Slaugham, West Sussex
Fine Dining in Sussex at Ockenden Manor
MasterChef: The Professionals Winners to cook at etch.
We love our food in Sussex and the one thing that kept many of us going through the long, dark nights of lockdown, was Masterchef! Now, MasterChef: The Professionals winner 2013, Steven Edwards, is giving restaurant lovers something to be excited about by inviting fellow MasterChef: The Professionals winners to take over the kitchen at etch. his Hove restaurant. And you might (just might) get the chance to be there!
Steven won Sussex Young Chef in 2010 and was the youngest winner of MasterChef: The Professionals. Formerly at Camellia Restaurant at South Lodge near Horsham, Steven opened etch. in 2016 a 12-table British tasting menu only restaurant. Between them, Steven and etch. have since accumulated a host of other awards.
etch. will host three exclusive, socially distanced dinners where each guest chef will take over the kitchen and give guests a taste of their own award-winning food.
The dinners will kick off with Alex Webb, winner of the 2020 competition on 28th June. Alex is looking forward to bringing the modern cookery that saw him labelled “the future of the industry” by chef judge Marcus Wareing to etch. The dishes that won him the final included scallop ceviche with an artichoke and pickled pear tartare and a watercress oil and lightly cured pan seared trout and a mussel, caviar and cream sauce with crispy parsnips and a mini fish pie made from crispy potato skins filled with trout belly and mussels.
Laurence Henry will take to the pass on 29th June, Laurence scooped the title in 2018 when working for the two Michelin-starred Sat Bains in Nottingham. Dishes such as his signature “mackerel three ways” received top praise from the judges throughout the competition. He has since run a series of pop-up restaurants and launched Snobby Burger, in partnership with “Snobby Butcher” Jonny Pusztai, this year. The pair share a passion for serving restaurant-quality dishes using ingredients sourced exclusively from local farms and markets. Laurence’s plans for a permanent restaurant are also underway with the opening due early next year.
The second ever MasterChef: The Professionals winner, Steve Groves will join Steven in the kitchen on Wednesday 30th June. Steve took part in the competition in 2009 with one aim in mind – to impress then judge, Michel Roux Jr. His ambition paid off and Steve joined Michel as a sous chef at Roux at Parliament Square in 2010. He was made head chef in 2013 and remained at the helm cooking for loyal diners for seven years until the restaurant sadly closed in December 2020, following the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Examples of Steve’s dishes included dry aged duck, cherries, peas and grelot onions and apricot, meadowsweet and thyme brioche doughnut.
Steven Edwards says, “Winning MasterChef: The Professionals was a career-changing moment. Not only did it push my creativity and determination to the limit but it gave me the opportunity to showcase my skills and receive feedback from some of the world’s most respected chefs. 2020 devastated our industry but we have to believe that we will rise again. With the MasterChef: The Professionals dinners I want to give the chefs a new platform to show off their amazing food and to bring back the joys of discovering new food styles to our guests.”
The MasterChef: The Professionals’ dinners are priced at £85 per person for seven courses with opportunities to meet with each guest chef. They are currently fully booked but there is a waiting list so don’t despair because this is a treat that’s worth hoping for! Visit: https://www.exploretock.com/etch/experience/247878/masterchef-the-professionals-guest-chef-series?date=2021-06-28&size=2&time=12%3A00.
