MasterChef The Professionals 2022: Leeds chef Darren Collinson divides judges with his food

Darren Collinson has been in the industry for almost two decades and is now executive chef at Bowcliffe Hall, near Wetherby. He appeared in Wednesday night’s heat of the BBC One show, hoping to be one of two chefs picked to make the quarter finals.

Ahead of the programme, Darren said: “I have watched every series of MasterChef since I was a child – also watching Lloyd Grossman. I wanted to challenge myself and the modern series of MasterChef: The Professionals is inspirational to watch.

"My style of cooking is modern British. I get inspiration from a range of other chefs and from the ingredients available around me, particularly those grown in the kitchen garden.”

In the episode, Darren’s first challenge was a skill test set by judge Anna Haugh. He was tasked with filleting and cooking a rainbow trout, serving it with a pea and wild garlic puree.

It was a shaky start for the Leeds chef; Anna criticised him for filleting the trout “like a sea bass”. But she said his pea puree was delicious and his fish was well-cooked and she added that he should be proud of his dish.

Darren then had a final chance to impress as he cooked a two-course signature menu. For his main dish, Darren cooked pan-roasted turbot topped with spicy brown shrimp, with artichoke puree, pickled rhubarb and white asparagus, samphire and a white wine sauce with wild garlic oil.

Judge Marcus Wareing was not a fan of the rhubarb, which he said was “a bit strange”, and noted that there was too much on the plate. Anna loved the rhubarb but criticised the shrimp for being too spicy.

For his dessert, Darren cooked a Mille-feuille, with balsamic and elderflower macerated strawberries, peanut butter, praline cream and caramelised peanuts. He once again divided the judges - Greg Wallace and Anna loved the dessert, while Marcus said it was a “jumbled dish”.

It was a close call, but Marcus missed out on a place in the quarter final. The full episode is available on BBC iPlayer.