Monica Galetti to return to MasterChef: The Professionals

Alex South

Editor

Monica Galetti has announced she will be returning to MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 after stepping down as judge last year.

It comes after Monica, Chef Owner of Mere in Mayfair, took the difficult decision to take a step back as judge on the programme, to focus on family commitments and managing the business of her restaurant.

Announcing her return to the programme in a statement on her social media Monica said: “A year ago, I made the tough call to take a break from MasterChef: The Professionals. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support that allowed me time out to get back on top of managing business and family commitments.”

She added: “I'm delighted to say that I am able to come back to MasterChef: The Professionals this year and I'm super thrilled to see what new talent is out there & to be back with my buddies Gregg Wallace and Marcus Wareing.”

Commenting on Monica's return, MasterChef UK said: "We're welcoming back Monica @galettigram to the next series of #MasterChefTheProfessionals and thank you to Anna @haughser for joining @marcuswareing and @greggawallace to oversee last year’s competition. Hugely proud of all our chefs and competitors and looking forward to seeing what culinary talents await us for series 16."

They added: "Meanwhile, look out for Anna as a guest judge in the #MasterChefUK kitchen in this year’s amateur series which is coming soon to BBC One and @bbciplayer - watch out for details very soon!"

Following her decision to step back Monica was replaced by Anna Haugh, Chef Owner of Myrtle, who joined Gregg and Marcus in MasterChef: The Professionals 2022.

Anna started her career at Derry Clake's Dublin restaurant, and has since worked for the likes of Gualtiero Marchesi, Shane Osborn and Phil Howard.

She was a head chef at Gordon Ramsay Holdings before flying solo to open her own site in 2019.

Before joining MasterChef as a judge on the programme, Anna became a familiar face on television, having acted as a guest judge on Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, starred as part of the relaunch of Ready, Steady, Cook, and makes regular appearances on Saturday Kitchen.

After she was appointed judge last year, Anna said she was "very proud" to announce that she would be filling in for Monica, and that it would be "a great honour" to work alongside Marcus Wareing and Gregg Wallace.

In a recent conversation on the Grilled podcast, when asked who her favourite TV chef judge was, Anna picked Monica explaining that she was true to herself, and paved the way for women in the industry and high-end competitions.

Revealing how it felt to step into Monica’s shoes last year, Anna explained: "She’s been doing it for so long, so people wouldn’t be used to her not being there, so the expectation of how you performed was there. It was big shoes to fill but she paved the way for a female judge to come in and it should not be something to be taken for granted."

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A post shared by Monica Galetti (@galettigram)

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