A chef from Liskeard is representing Cornwall on this year’s BBC MasterChef.
Head chef Charlie, 22 has been working in kitchens since he was 14, but now he’s facing one of his biggest challenges as he takes on this year’s MasterChef competition.
Living in Liskeard with his wife Leah, Charlie has worked in restaurants across Devon and Cornwall. Training at trained at Cornwall College and then went on to work at places such as The Elephant and The Mariners by Paul Ainsworth, and he now works at The Sardine Factory in Looe.
“When I was younger I did a lot of baking with my mum on weekends,” Charlie explained. “But I always wanted to be a policeman growing up. It all snowballed from my first kitchen porter job at 14. I fell in love with it straight away. I remember my parents picking me up from shifts that finished at 1am and then dropping me back off in the morning. It didn’t put me off!”
Since then, Charlie has worked his way up, even working in some Michelin star restaurants. “I worked in a Michelin star kitchen for six months and that’s where I really started to develop my skills.”
Find out more about Charlie's journey in our upcoming edition.