Edinburgh chef Paul Hood will appear on MasterChef: The Professionals tonight at 9pm on BBC One – and it’s all thanks to his wife!
Cooking since his early teens, when he watched his father at work as a head chef in some of the world’s most famous kitchens, father of two Paul, 34, can’t reveal many details about his journey in the show but he can disclose that it was the experience of a lifetime.
As Development Chef for Heritage Portfolio for the past three years, Paul has conjured up some of the UK’s most memorable and exciting menus, serving up his diverse, quirky and edgy style for events such as the Scottish Food and Drink Awards.
It was Paul’s wife, Laura, who applied to the show in secret, whilst pregnant with their son who’s now one.
Paul explains, “I am so thankful to Laura for supporting my passion to cook. She used to look at me watching MasterChef and shouting at the screen when the skills challenges were on, and always said that I should go for it. In the end, she made the biggest career highlight of my life happen.
“I promise myself that nothing I do in the kitchen will ever be predictable. Behind the scenes, I work like a machine but this is my passion so it never feels hard and I’m driven to surprise and excite people at every turn.
“Seasonality matters so much to me, using ingredients when they are plentiful and at their best. Winter is a particularly interesting time, when we have less choice but that’s when a great chef can dial up the creativity and make magical food from fewer ingredients.
“Heritage Portfolio’s food values are my food values and I hope I showcased some of them on the show – you will have to wait and see.”
Founder of Heritage Portfolio, Mark Miller, says, “We are so proud of Paul’s achievements over the years and for him to be recognised at this level is richly-deserved.
“He brings a delicious thrill to every menu he creates for our clients, helping to make their events in some of the UK’s most iconic venues totally unforgettable.”