MasterChef 2025 contestants - Meet the Heat 3 hopefuls

BBC News

2 days ago

MasterChef is back uncovering the country's best amateur cooks as they battle it out in the MasterChef kitchen.
Who will be the 2025 Champion? Let's meet the Heat 2 contenders...
Please note this information is accurate at the time of filming; certain aspects may have since changed but this represents the contributors as the competition starts.
Watch MasterChef Heat 4 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from Wednesday 13 August at 8pm
Read more: Meet the MasterChef 2025 contestants - Heat 4
GM
Aileen
School Admission Assistant, Aged 51
Aileen lives in Cheshire with her daughter and son. She was born and raised in Hong Kong where she's lived for most of her life. She has also lived in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and went to university in Canada.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
I would describe my style of cooking as versatile. I like to make classic Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, French but I also like to twist things to make them fusion.
How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory?
My mum and grandparents taught me to cook. I have always loved food since I was very young. It's only natural that I would want to learn to cook when I was old enough. I also learned to cook by following well known chefs - Nigella Lawson, Jaime Oliver, Martin Yan and Kylie Kwong.
The first time I ever tasted a foreign cuisine was when my grandad cooked cauliflower in milk and cheese. This was a big novelty dish for me at eight years old. We didn't have many chances to taste 'Western' food at that time. My grandad worked as a chef on a cruise ship, and he introduced me to Western-style cooking. My earliest cooking memory was at eight, when I helped my grandpa and grandma to cook on their farm in Hong Kong when I spent my summer holidays there.
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
My favourite ingredients are seafood, steak and duck, simply because I love eating them.
Why did you enter MasterChef this year?
I entered MasterChef because it's something I always watched growing up. There was no such competition in Hong Kong and when I moved here, I thought, 'why not'? I was new to the country and thought this is an exciting opportunity to start a second life and to do something I could only ever dream of doing before. I also really want to see if I'm really that passionate about food and see if there's a possibility to turn it into a new career path. I perform best under pressure, and I want to see how far I can reach on my creativity.
Do you have a dream of working in the food world? What is it?
My food dream is to run a B&B with a farm to table bespoke meal prepared by me.
Hazel
Home Maker, Aged 32
Hazel lives in London with her partner and daughter. She was born in London and grew up in Essex.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
My style of cooking definitely varies but I like to cook delicious, relatively healthy meals that don't scrimp on flavour. I like to rotate flavours from Mexican, Asian, Middle Eastern and Italian influence. Nutritious and healthy comforting food that fills your belly and gives you a hug is what I like to do.
How did you get into cooking?
From very young, as young as I would have been able to stand on a small step and reach the kitchen countertop, my mum would get me and my brother in the kitchen. She would have us baking bread, making biscuits and other treats. I've been cooking ever since. Being able to make something delicious when I'm craving something delicious is what I live for.
Earliest cooking memory?
My mum used to make a fish pie with a cornflake topping when I was very young and I remember that so vividly and how much I loved it! Then my dad would make a pasta bake dish every Friday. It was so simple, filled with olive oil, mozzarella and tomatoes but it came out with a crispy top and I just loved it. It was comfort and I've tried to recreate it ever since.
I remember always making Christmas biscuits to hang on the tree, cutting out Christmas shapes and piercing a hole in the top with a pencil to thread the string. All the biscuits never made it to Christmas day; they got picked off the tree way before that!
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
My favourite cooking ingredient is garlic! I put four cloves of garlic in everything as a minimum and I don't know if that's just become a habit, but I do love garlic. Maybe I'm even immune to garlic now I have so much of it.
Why did you enter MasterChef this year?
I entered MasterChef to do something for myself, to regain something that was mine, just mine! I had just had a baby, and it was coming up to a year and honestly, I was feeling very out of sorts. I wasn't sure who I was anymore, I had completely lost my flow in the kitchen and sometimes didn't even know how or what to cook so I suppose it was me trying to regain or take back a part of myself. I have watched MasterChef for years and have been cooking for so long. I've always thought I was a decent cook and when I cook for friends and family, they always enjoy it but I want to know how good I am. I want to show my baby girl that you should go for what you desire. I'd like to think I've got a really good shot so I'm going for it.
Do you have a dream of working in the food world?
I hadn't a food dream before MasterChef, but now I'd like to help post-partum mums heal themselves with food. I don't know what that looks like but whether it's teaching, cooking for them or sharing how I cook nutritious, family-friendly meals as a mum, that's my first port of call.
Marcella
Global Development Director, Aged 39
Marcella lives in Brighton. She was born and raised in West Sussex and then moved to London.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
Hosting for my friends and family is what inspires my food. I love a dinner party, garden party, summer party. I love most kinds of meet ups where food brings people together. My house has become the hub of our social gatherings, and this gives me the chance to try new things or just whip together some good old classic crowd pleasers. My style is definitely hearty, wholesome, flavourful. Everything has to be delicious or it's not worth having! I'm inspired by my Persian/Mauritian roots, but I love the classics too. Mexican, Italian and Asian food all have big flavours that I like to eat and cook. My technique could do with developing but I feel my flavours hit the mark.
How did you get into cooking?
I've been inspired to cook by my mum and her sisters. We're a large family and food is everything. Choosing a restaurant for a family birthday includes lots of sign off! But it was actually my best friend Clare who, after living with me for a few years in my early 20s and was no doubt getting sick of my microwave jacket potatoes, taught me to cook a spaghetti bolognaise from scratch and that's what got me going.
Earliest cooking memory?
My earliest memory is in my parents' kitchen, me sat on the worktop, and my mum letting me help her bake something. My Mum is one of five, but it's memories of her and her sisters in the kitchen, cooking Persian meals for hours, only for me and my cousins to scoff it all up in seconds, that has made me love food. I've been working on a family recipe book to make sure that our family favourites are not lost but can be handed down the generations.
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
This is a tough question - I love it all (apart from turnips!) but probably the potato is what I like cooking with best. It sounds so basic but so versatile, delicious in every form and goes with pretty much everything.
Why did you enter MasterChef this year?
This was a milestone year for me… I turned 40. The last decade has been a combination of dealing with grief and pushing my career forwards at an accelerated pace. This has given me lots of amazing opportunities, but I wanted to do something that was just for me, something that propelled me out of my comfort zone and perhaps sparked something in the form of a new passion from within, but most importantly just have some fun experiencing something new!
Do you have a dream of working in the food world?
My dream has been to produce a family cookbook, taking favourite recipes from family and friends and combining them into one book. This would be a little bit of a hot pot of cuisines and food styles but some great tasty family go-tos.
I also love the idea of creating a food show, where we would focus on a certain location (Southern Italy, the French countryside or as far-fetched as Vietnam or Mexico). We'd go into a family home and learn their family recipes, food hacks and learn about the culture behind the food we eat. Food is just a great way of bringing people from all backgrounds together, and a great way to break down cultural barriers.
I would also like to produce a dinner party hosting show, something that combines the creativity of hosting a dinner party with my event management skills. I'd have trendy tablescapes, a fun twist on a drink, take a concept, and make an event out of it at home. Something to impress your friends with, that's easy to do and affordable but, impactful and fun!
Sam
Vocational Trainer, Aged 28
Sam lives in Swindon with his boyfriend, Danny. He was born in Thailand and moved to the UK 10 years ago.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
My core style of cooking is authentic Thai food. However, I sometimes love to be creative with Thai fusion, taking inspiration from the countries I've visited.
How did you get into cooking?
Growing up in Thailand was challenging, so I had to learn how to cook from a very young age and how to be frugal and inventive with what I had. I would often help my mum and grandma in the kitchen, and my grandmother taught me the basics in Thai cuisine and my love for cooking grew from there. Since moving to the UK, I've done all the cooking myself. Social media food videos have become my best friend.
Earliest cooking memory?
When I was at school, as a team of three, my mum, grandma and I won the cooking competition. But my first memory was cooking rice on an open fire. I ended up with charcoal everywhere, and all over my face, but the rice was perfect!
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
This is a hard question! I love spicy food so my favourite ingredient would have to be chilli, closely followed by the perfect jasmine rice. There is nothing more comforting than rice. I grew up eating it every day and it's my go to. Chilli is the cornerstone of my cooking, however it be used - from a chilli dip with pineapple and unripe mango to the perfect pad-kra-pao (chicken basil).
Why did you enter MasterChef this year?
Before I moved to the UK, I had never seen the show before but now I absolutely love the show and have been hooked on it ever since I moved over here. Over the last five years, I kept saying to my boyfriend, I want to apply but never did. I've never had much confidence in my ability to cook and really wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone!
Do you have a dream of working in the food world?
I would love to have my own cookbook that celebrates Thailand and my style of cooking.
Trevor
Project Manager, Aged 50
Trevor lives in Kent with his wife Joanne. He was born in Sidcup and grew up in Chislehurst.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
My cooking style is diverse and versatile, as I enjoy experimenting with various cuisines and dishes. I have a passion for creating food that is not only delicious, but also artfully plated, with really impactful flavours. I love trying dishes from all over the world, from French cuisine to small-plate Spanish tapas, to Italian food and pizza, through to dishes from across Asia. As long as it tastes amazing, I'll cook it, add a twist here and there to give it my own spin. There's nothing I enjoy more than entertaining friends – sharing great food and good wine together makes me happy.
How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory?
Cooking, for me, started when I was a child. My dad enjoyed entertaining and had a real interest in travel, so we were fortunate to visit some amazing destinations growing up. I remember going shopping with him on Saturday mornings when I was about nine or ten - picking up things like balsamic vinegar and saffron, which weren't everyday ingredients in our house in the early 1980s. We would come home, and I would loiter in the kitchen doorway, watching him cook dishes that were quite different from the usual meals we had during the week. Looking back, those moments sparked my curiosity about food and where ingredients came from.
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
My favourite ingredient must be the humble tomato. It's incredibly versatile and brings so much character to a dish. Whether it's the freshness of a simple tomato salad with shallots and a vinaigrette dressing, the comfort of tinned tomatoes on toast, or its essential role in global favourites like curries, pastas, and pizzas, tomatoes are the backstage hero everywhere! They can be sweet, sharp, smoky, or soothing depending on how they're prepared, and that adaptability makes them a joy to cook with. They're a staple in my kitchen and often the starting point for creativity.
On a personal note, tomatoes evoke memories of my mum's Dutch spaghetti - a family favourite that's packed with flavour and nostalgia. It's one of those meals which brings everyone together, and it's where I first saw how a simple ingredient could be transformed into something truly special.
Why did you enter MasterChef this year?
Having faced some serious health challenges over the last year, and having just turned 50, not only is competing on MasterChef an exciting prospect, it's also an awakening of 'if not now, when'. It all began quite casually, my friend and neighbour started the application process and encouraged me to do the same. I kept hearing, 'You should go on MasterChef' and eventually thought, 'Why not?' So I completed the application (thank you Tom!), and to my surprise and delight, I was selected. It's been an incredible journey already.
Do you have a dream of working in the food world?
My food dream is to carve out a space as a down-to-earth writer and critic, sharing thoughtful reviews of restaurants and hotels while celebrating the stories behind the dishes and the people who create them. The idea of hosting or appearing in cookery shows also really excites me; it would be a wonderful way to combine my love of food with storytelling and connection. I love cooking at home and would enjoy sharing my own recipes with others — whether through writing or presenting.
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