How did it feel in the time between the end of filming and the show being aired?
I had that whole “in denial” feeling where I had to block it out because I didn’t believe I’d actually won. It was all just so surreal and then to have to pretend that we didn’t know who won, it was a really odd time. It was a very fascinating period in my life because I went back to working as a mechanic and I was washing cars and changing oil. People knew that I’d been on in the early stages and they were like, ‘Oh, well you can’t have won then because you’re still here.’ So it was quite frustrating because I couldn’t get into a kitchen and start work. Since then you’ve worked with some fantastic chefs. Are you going along the path you wanted? Definitely. Now I want there to be a new MasterChef champion because I want someone else to get the benefits that I’ve had. It’s opened kitchen doors for me, and I’ve worked in some superb places with superb chefs, Michael Caines, John Campbells, and the Roux brothers, and now Brendan [Fyldes, head chef at Bentley’s Seafood Bar & Grill] and Ric
