Masterchef winner makes 'emotional' return to Birmingham college

The 29-year-old made a return trip to University College Birmingham's College of Food to speak to trainee chefs about his journey, from working in a supermarket to becoming a champion on the much-loved competition show.

Student Thanawat Noophim asked Dan how it felt to see his old lecturers after winning series 14 of MasterChef: The Professionals.

Dan said: “It feels amazing. This is the place it all started for me.

“Before I came here, I didn’t know I wanted to be a chef or anything. I came to an open day, which basically sparked the idea. I’m going into cooking.

“To come back after what I’ve done in my career so far and speak to the next group of chefs, to see you all coming through, it’s really exciting. And a bit emotional, to be honest. I’m happy to be back.”

Dan won Masterchef just before Christmas and now works as a private chef.

The chef grew up in Birmingham and was introduced to cooking at his auntie's Chinese takeaway, inspiring him to start his training at University College Birmingham.

Spending much of the next decade in Singapore, he gathered culinary inspiration from many sources in the Far East and combined them with the influences of his upbringing in the UK, creating a style of modern European and Asian cuisine which proved hugely popular on MasterChef.

Returning from Singapore as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Dan ended up working in a supermarket before applying for the hit BBC TV series – thereby following in the footsteps of a string of ex-University College Birmingham students to star in the show, including Leo Kattou, Claire Hutchings, and fellow 2021 contestant Yasmine Selwood.

Asked by student Matthew Lilwall about the next chapter, Dan said his dream was to build a culture around street food in the UK.

“Not in terms of what we are doing in the UK at the moment, where a lot of it is overpriced,” he said. “The core of street food is that it’s food for the people. Low cost, but really good food.

“Low cost food in this country is takeaways, deep fried food, fish and chips. It’s all great, I love it, but there’s not really any healthier options or alternatives. So I want to basically create a street food culture for everyone that’s really diverse, inspired by what I have seen on my travels. That’s my aim.

“I also want to keep expanding on my knowledge of Asian cuisine. I know what I like to cook and I want to keep learning.”

And when asked by student Tobias Edwards if he had any pearls of wisdom, Dan said: "Have better attendance than me.

"And when you come out of here and even after you get your qualification, don’t think you are done with learning. It’s just the beginning of your journey."