Five chefs selected as finalists at international Masterchef cook off at Northampton College

Five chefs were selected as finalists at the international Masterchef competition held at Northampton College yesterday (January 17).

Northampton businessman and chef, Muhammad Ali, collaborated with the college to host the competition – which saw 16 chefs from across the country welcomed to take part in a live cook off.

More than 100 chefs submitted their menus to be in with a chance of attending, and the final five will visit Bangladesh in March to compete against their top five chefs to see who will be crowned the winner.

Muhammad said: “The competition went so well, beyond my imagination or expectation. I couldn’t have asked for more support from people all over the country.

“The finalists are so proud of themselves and look forward to representing the UK.”

The competition was judged by six industry experts, including Andrew Green, the CEO of Craft Guild of Chefs – the UK’s leading association for chefs.

55 people were there in total, including the contestants, judges, spectators and Mayor Dennis Meredith.

The award for best dish of the day went to a chef from Cambridge who cooked mackerel three ways, and bagged a place in the top five.

“The dish stood out from the rest,” said Muhammad.

The other four finalists are from Bicester, Darlington, Oxford and Birmingham. The finalist from Darlington had travelled the furthest and did not let the snow they had that morning stop them from attending.

Muhammad said: “To have support like that is overwhelming and we can’t thank Northampton College enough.”

The students really enjoyed the day and helped Muhammad prepare a curry for everyone who had attended.

They only had 20 minutes to prepare it and were “amazed” to have done it in that time with the support of the organiser.

Talking to Chronicle & Echo ahead of the competition, Muhammad said: “The curry industry is dying and we want to encourage young chefs to go into the sector.

“There is a future out there but the industry is suffering and restaurants are closing because of a staff crisis.”

The award-winning chef of more than a decade, who represented the UK himself in Bangladesh, emphasised the importance of students learning about different cuisines – no matter their background.