Who is chef Tristan Esse MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 quarter-finalist?

Ahead of MasterChef: The Professionals 2023, which airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Monday 23 October, we find out more about the chefs taking part.

Introducing Tristan Esse, Private Chef, London.

Twenty-six-year-old private chef Tristan, grew up in rural West Norfolk on his family farm.

He now splits his time between London and Norfolk working for various clients and private functions around the world.

He lives in Fulham and then back at the farm when in Norfolk.

Name

Tristan Esse

AGE

26

Where are you from/where do you live

Fulham, London and Stow Bardolph in Norfolk.

CURRENT AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Tristan went to Le Cordon Bleu at age 18. During this time he completed stages in multiple Michelin-starred restaurants.

After graduating he worked his way up from Commis to Head Chef in just two years while private cheffing on the side.

In 2020 he took the leap and became a private chef full time, which has taken him all over the world.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO COOKING AND WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT IT?

“The rural lifestyle and produce excited me so much when I was young and continue to do so – from harvests of produce as simple as potatoes (tates, as I call them) all the way to foraging for wild garlic and edible flowers. Knowing the potential all the produce had was a platform for me to learn more and more of how to make it sing. This, twinned with my mother’s endless home cooking, made me really start to think about becoming a chef.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF COOKING AND ANY INFLUENCES ON IT?

“It is a very good question. I'm incredibly detail-orientated - or a perfectionist to put it better. I cook with a lot of experimental flavour combinations (which can go either way!) and presentation is always at the forefront of my mind. I love matching great produce with their environment to create a sort of little ecosystem on the plate. One thing I only noticed recently is I rarely cook a dish twice. Elements of the dish may be the same but rarely all of it, which does sound a bit odd, but it works for me!”

WHY DID YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN MASTERCHEF: THE PROFESSIONALS?

“I feel that my career so far has been leading to something and so the time is right to apply for MasterChef: The Professionals. I have learnt so much and met some incredible people and chefs during my career so far and I’d like to continue that learning curve upwards. “I also would love to see if I’m ‘any good’, putting myself up against the best up-and-coming chefs in the UK to see how I compare. I want to learn and grow from the experience and see where it could take me in the future. Being part of such a big competition is all very exciting.”

OUTSIDE OF COOKING WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS?

“I love playing sport and I’m really into big, physical challenges. I watch and play almost any sport I can, I’ll sit writing menus , for example, with any random sport on in the background, even hotdog eating made it on once, but cricket is my major love! I am also a very keen wine enthusiast (drinker..!) and which has now evolved into me trying to make my own wine up in Norfolk.”