CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF UK WINNER 2023

Opera singer and broadcaster Wynne Evans has been crowned the 2023 Celebrity MasterChef UK Champion, becoming the 18th person to claim the coveted title on BBC One’s celebrity cooking competition. In the final episode, Wynne, alongside finalists Amy and Luca, had two hours to present a flawless three-course meal, cooked to the very highest standards to impress the judges.

Wynne Evans Wins Celebrity MasterChef UK

After facing off the talents of 19 other celebrities, BBC Wales presenter Wynne Evans triumphed at the end of six nail-biting weeks, which culminated in an intense cook-off against his fellow finalists, actor Amy Walsh and reality star Luca Bish. Wynne was awarded the revered Celebrity MasterChef UK trophy by judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

Reacting to his win, Wynne said: “This is a brilliant feeling. The kids will love this, they’ll be like ‘Dad! I can’t believe you did it when all you cook for us is beans on toast!’ The experience has totally changed my life. It has just been beautiful and I can’t thank Gregg and John and everybody here at MasterChef enough.

“When you start to believe in yourself, that’s when good things start to happen. I don’t know how a MasterChef winner celebrates but I know how a bloke from Carmarthen celebrates!”

Gregg Wallace said: “Wynne gives us theatre. I have never seen a celebrity like him ever before and I’m not sure we ever will again.” While John Torode added: “Every single dish tells a story. His food, it’s exciting, it’s ambitious, and it’s got a little bit of artistic flare. He’s a proud Welshman with a big heart.”

The Celebrity MasterChef Final

In the final episode, Wynne, alongside finalists Amy and Luca, had two hours to present a flawless three-course meal, cooked to the very highest standards to impress the judges.

His winning menu featured a starter of Carmarthen-Japanese sumo tuna tartare with avocado, edamame beans and wasabi, served with deep-fried cockle popcorn and a mango egg; followed by a main course of bread of Evans cannon of lamb, served on samphire with wild garlic, porcini mushrooms and lamb rendered fried bread, with pomme dauphine and a fondant leek, finished with a red wine and red currant jus; and for dessert, Bara Brith with Caerphilly cheese and fig jam, served with brie ice cream on crumbled Bara Brith and poached figs.

While describing his winning menu, Wynne said: “I think these dishes represent everything that I am – local produce, stuff that I can easily get at home, and everything that I like to eat.”

Wynne Evans follows in the footsteps of previous Celebrity MasterChef UK winners: Lisa Snowdon, Kadeena Cox MBE, Riyadh Khalaf, Greg Rutherford, John Partridge, Angellica Bell, Alexis Conran, Kimberly Wyatt, Sophie Thompson, Ade Edmondson, Emma Kennedy, Phil Vickery, Lisa Faulkner, Jayne Middlemiss, Liz McClarnon, Nadia Sawalha and Matt Dawson.

Wynn's Celebrity MasterChef High Points

"The Sandwich Challenge was a good week for me, a really good week, because it was something a bit different. Trawling the internet for ideas of cakes and how I might convert them into a sandwich.

"Sitting in the pub with a glass of wine in week one, trying to work out how I was going to make a lobster cake look like an ice cream. Thinking about how I would have to colour sesame seeds to look like hundreds and thousands and then discovering that after Ramadan, you can actually get such a thing! So heading off to the Asian shop to try and find them. Those were good moments."


Wynn's Biggest Masterchef Challenge

"The biggest challenge has been keeping it a secret since March. That's really the biggest challenge because I've gotten a notoriously big mouth! The biggest challenge I suppose was just focusing on your own stuff, and trying not to get thrown by what other people did. When Jamelia went through, I was so thrilled for her and you think, I’m okay to go today."

Wynn's Biggest Celebrity MasterChef Learning

"I suppose John nagged me from day one to try and be a tidier chef. So probably to be a much tidier cook and to be more organised in my cooking and in my timings. I also took a picture of all of my ingredients for the final and wrote a list to make sure I had everything."

Wynn's Biggest MasterChef Surprise

"I don't even recognise my dishes when I watch it back. Honestly, I didn't think I could cook like that. I’ve really enjoyed it, honestly, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the whole experience, it was just great fun. Now though, everybody's too scared to cook around me because they all think I’m some kind of expert. Which is quite nice actually, because you walk into a restaurant now and get the best table!"

Catch up now on BBC iPlayer.