MasterChef: The Professionals winner 'pressured for years' to enter

The 2021 MasterChef: The Professionals winner said Covid travel restrictions had led to him entering the contest.

"Proud Brummie" Dan Lee, 29, who won the final of the BBC One show on Thursday, had spent 10 years travelling and learning about different cuisines.

He said he had given in to a friend's pressure to apply for the cookery show when Covid left him stuck in the UK.

After Dan was named the winner, judge Marcus Wareing described him as "a star in the making".

The chef, who grew up eating Cantonese dishes with his family and visiting his grandad's takeaway, has been working as a private chef for restaurants and pop-ups.

And he said his ambition was to set up a restaurant and a street food truck to promote Asian food.

In the final he cooked the judges meals inspired by his Chinese, English and Irish heritage.

The three-course menu was made up of Singapore chilli crab, followed by Singapore chicken rice and then smoked hay treacle tart.

Judge Gregg Wallace said to him: "It's an East meets West style, and you do it brilliantly."

And fellow judge Monica Galetti said: "For us three it's been such a delight to watch a chef like you develop, grow and discover what you are about. Thank you for sharing that with us."

Afterwards Dan said: "The first thing I'm going to do is grab a bucket of chicken, a bottle of Chablis and a jigsaw puzzle and just chill out."

And he admitted: "I love what I do, but sometimes struggle to completely back myself and have full confidence in my food, so to get here is mind-blowing."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]