Veterinary surgeon, Brin Pirathapan, has claimed the prestigious title of MasterChef Champion 2024…
Brin triumphed at the end of the 20th series of the cooking competition and was awarded the coveted MasterChef trophy by judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace on BBC One.
Becoming part of MasterChef history, 28-year-old Brin (now 29) joins two decades of outstanding champions – Thomasina Miers, Peter Bayless, James Nathan, Mat Follas, Dhruv Baker, Tim Anderson, Shelina Permalloo, Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, Kenny Tutt, Irini Tzortzoglou, Thomas Frake, Tom Rhodes, Eddie Scott, and last year’s champion, Chariya Khattiyot.
Cooking his way past 57 other culinary competitors after eight weeks of increasingly tough challenges, Brin’s high stakes cook-off was in the Final Three, against the exceptional runners-up, Louise Lyons Macleod, 44, (43 while filming) and Chris Willoughby, 44.
Brin grew up in Chelmsford, Essex and moved to Bristol for his veterinary studies, where he still lives with his fiancé, Anna – who he says is his biggest supporter (and occasional critic). He credits his parents, who are originally from Sri Lanka, for inspiring his love of food and flavour.
John told the finalists: “Twenty years, we’ve been doing MasterChef. That is the best final we’ve ever done.”
On his win, Brin reacted with: “I’m absolutely chuffed to bits. I can’t breathe! I’m a big mix of my background, my culture and all the opportunities my parents have given me. They’ve been incredible and I’ve done it for them as much as I’ve done it for myself. The experience itself has been incredible and to top it off with this is just the most amazing thing, ever.”
MasterChef judge, John Torode, says: “Brin is an extraordinary cook and an amazing talent. He takes combinations that don’t sound like they belong together, but they actually work. Today, he’s delivered three absolutely sensational courses that could grace the table of any restaurant up and down the land.”
In an exhilarating and intense final week, MasterChef has offered Brin on the trip of a lifetime with the Final Four, travelling to Singapore – one of the world’s most vibrant and multicultural food cities. Brin took on a trio of challenges: celebrating Singapore’s dizzying array of ingredients at a hawker market, cooking for discerning locals under the godfather of Singapore heritage cuisine, chef Damian D’Silva; producing a spectacular dish from Michelin-starred Chef Malcolm Lee’s high-end menu at his most recent restaurant Pangium; and finally, taking what they’d learned cooking at Singaporean stoves to host a VIP lunch of their own creation, at the five-star Fullerton Bay Hotel, for some of the island’s leading culinary figures.
The Final Three took on the most high-pressured challenge of the competition – cooking the best three-course meal of their lives to prove to John and Gregg that their culinary skill, determination and creativity could earn them the MasterChef title.
Brin’s winning menu started with fried capers, pickled chilli, pickled and charred shallots, orange and honey-glazed octopus with tempura mussels, herb tuilles dusted with scallop roe, an orange gel and samphire, on a romesco sauce.
The main course was spiced venison loin, beef short-rib and pickled mushroom tartlet, celeriac and miso purée, salt-baked beetroot and pak choi, served with a gochujang and red wine sauce split with a herb oil.
Brin finished his menu with a dessert of white chocolate and cardamom and saffron cremeux, with pistachio meringue shards, whisky-poached mango, raspberry gel, pistachio crumb and a mango, lime and chili sorbet.
Catch up with MasterChef on the BBC iPlayer
