Who is chef Kirsty Langschmidt MasterChef: The Professionals 2024 contestant?

We find out more about the next batch of chefs set to take to our screens when MasterChef: The Professionals 2024 continues this week, next airing on Tuesday, November 5 at 9pm.

Introducing Kirsty Langschmidt, head chef and owner of Happy Plate Catering.

South African Kirsty moved to the UK as a teenager and has worked in and around London for almost two decades.

Name

Kirsty Langschmidt

Age

38

Where are you from/where do you live?

Catering business owner Kirsty was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. As one of five children, Kirsty has fond memories of sitting round the table eating with her family. In 2005, when Kirsty was 19, she moved to the UK. Apart from a couple of years back in South Africa, Kirsty has lived and worked around London for the last 20 years.

Current and previous experience

Kirsty went to culinary school in South Africa, then moved to the UK, working as a pastry chef for Soho House. Kirsty then moved back to South Africa and worked her way up in kitchens across Johannesburg. She worked in corporate catering at Eclectic Catering for six years, then became a private chef for a personal client, before setting up her own company Happy Plate in 2021.

Who and what inspired you to become a chef?

“I decided to get into cooking when I had a terrible first attempt in the kitchen at the age of 11. I made cookies and added a whole bottle of green food colouring into the mix. They were so bad not even the dogs would eat them. I knew right then that I wanted everything I cooked after that to be better than those green cookies.”

How would you describe your style of cooking and any influences on it?

“My cooking style is thoughtfully uncomplicated. I like to let the ingredients speak for themselves. Meat and butchery are a strong suit of mine. I love strong tasting meats from my South African childhood, like warthog. I like my food to look pretty and to make dishes that have ‘Kirsty style’ - modern European with a South African twist and leaning on classical foundations.”

Why did you want to take part in MasterChef: The Professionals?

“I was going to apply to MasterChef: The Professionals last year but then decided against it as it’s a daunting prospect. I now feel ready and in a good place to push myself out of my comfort zone. I can only learn from this experience, so why not?”

OUTSIDE OF COOKING WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS?

“I have two dogs called Mr. Freckles and Freya and two cats called, Molly and Noodle and they keep me busy. I also love to garden, my dream one day would be to be able to grow all of my own fruit and vegetables.”