Craig Johnston on his new role at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
MasterChef: The Professionals 2017 winner Craig Johnston has joined the team at two Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.
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Craig started in his new role as senior chef de partie at Marcus, Belgravia on Monday, April 9 2018. Previously, he was working as a sous chef at The Royal Oak Paley Street. Aged 21, Craig was the youngest winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2017. He fought off fellow finalists Louisa Ellis and Steven Lickley to win the title in December last year.
After the show, Craig was approached by Marcus to come and work at his restaurant at The Berkeley. Craig then spent the day working alongside Mark and Shauna Froydenlund, joint chef patrons of Marcus and decided that it was the right place for him to be very quickly.
On Monday, April 9, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley tweeted an announcement that Craig would be joining their team as senior chef de partie:
We are thrilled to announce that last year’s @MasterChefUK winner, Craig Johnston, has joined our incredible team @MarcusBelgravia as Senior Chef de Partie. We are really excited to have this hugely talented chef join us! Watch this space! ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/ha5uGYLYdC
— Marcus (@MarcusBelgravia) April 9, 2018
Craig said: “It’s a pretty exciting time for me at the moment. I’m looking forward to what’s about to come. I’ve got a great opportunity from someone that knows my abilities, who’s got a great reputation in the industry and I think it’s a good move for me to take that next step up, to a two-star restaurant like Marcus.”
He added: “It’s another level from what I’ve done before so I’m looking forward to learning more - a different style, different techniques. That’s my key goal for these next couple of years, is to learn as much as I can.”
Craig grew up in Maidenhead, and first found his love for cooking whilst studying food technology at Furze Platt Secondary School, Maidenhead. After he left school, Craig worked at two AA-Rosette Boulders restaurant, under chef Daniel Woodhouse. Whilst working there, Craig achieved his NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Professional Cookery from Henley College. He also worked at Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social for a few months before joining Sir Nick Parkinson’s Michelin-starred pub, The Royal Oak Paley Street in Maidenhead.
During MasterChef: The Professionals, Craig cooked for some of the world’s best chefs including Mauro Colagreco, chef patron of two Michelin-starred Mirazur. Judge Marcus Wareing said: “You don’t come across cooks like this very often. We’ve just found a star of the future. What a fabulous talent. Twenty one years old, amazing.”
By Jenna Lloyd
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