Masterchef champion's 'full circle' moment from Maidenhead pub to Roux Scholar

In a whirlwind few years since winning Masterchef: The Professionals in 2017 and becoming head chef at two Michelin-starred restaurants, Craig Johnston spoke to The Advertiser about his ‘serendipitous’ journey to being named the 41st Roux Scholar at an awards ceremony in Coworth Park last month.

Applying for the Roux Scholarship wasn’t a straightforward decision for 2025 champion Craig Johnston when entries opened at Christmas.

The 29-year-old head chef at the Michelin-starred Angler Restaurant in London's South Place Hotel said January is their busiest time, so ‘you're overworked, tired and stressed already’.

“At one point, I thought, have I got the time to complete this entry form, let alone all the competition dates?" Craig told the Advertiser.

“But I followed my heart and gut instinct and forced myself to make the time to enter."

Craig was crowned Roux Scholar 2025 after beating five other chefs in the 41st national final cook-off at the Alain Roux Culinary School in The Waterside Inn on April 14.

Michel Roux OBE founded the scholarship with his brother Albert in 1984 for chefs aged 22 to 30, and winners have since earned Michelin stars and international recognition.

“I turn 30 this year – so that was one of the drives, thinking it’s now or never,” said Craig about the 'surreal' experience.

“It’s quite a small collective of chefs. To be in the same circle as them and have those connections is quite daunting, but really cool and amazing at the same time."

Pictured: Final candidates with joint chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. Photo credit: Jodi Hinds.

This year, the six chefs were asked to prepare a dish centred around Wyndford Wagyu beef shank with bone marrow, borlotti beans, and Basque-style stuffed potatoes.

Honorary president of judges Chef Elena Arzak led the judging panel, with other Roux scholars and joint chairmen Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr.

Craig said the challenge was to 'think strategically, think smart' and understand how to use a pressure cooker, which is 'unforgiving if it goes wrong'.

“It was very similar to Masterchef," he added.

"We had a briefing, returned to the kitchen to look at the visual table of all the ingredients and had 45 minutes to plan what we would plate.

“It was pretty full on – you're up against the time constantly with the pressure to perform and the grandeur of the task at hand.

“There are 10 judges, and I counted 15 Michelin stars between them.

“We've got the country's best chefs, all in this tiny little kitchen in Bray, looking over our shoulders for three hours – it was a very stressful environment.

“It’s the second competition I've entered – maybe I just like to put myself in stressful situations,” he joked.

The Furze Platt native rose to prominence after winning MasterChef: The Professionals in 2017 at age 22 and said this was a ‘turning point’ in his career.

“It took me down a different path. Masterchef forced me to think differently, let my imagination run wild, and cook more refined plates of food," he said.

Pictured: Craig Johnston at work. Photo credit: Jodi Hinds.

The opportunity led to him meeting Marcus Wareing in 2018 and joining Marcus Belgravia for six years as senior chef de partie and later head chef in the final two years of the restaurant being open.

Craig said one of his favourite things about being head chef at the Angler, since joining in August 2024, is his team, some of whom followed him from Marcus Belgravia.

“I guess they enjoy working with me, and I love working with them," he said.

“This role allows me to cook more seafood, which is amazing. The catch of the day can reflect what we’ve got on the menu. The produce drives the menus essentially – it’s a great way to work.

“It’s quite serendipitous that I am working in a fish restaurant and the brief for this year's [regional finals] was to create a dish utilising red gurnard fish and mussels – it goes hand in hand.”

Craig was interested in cooking as a teenager at Furze Platt Senior School and previously worked for the Michelin-starred Royal Oak in Paley Street.

“It's a nice area to grow up with Bray down the road, Marlow, Heston Blumenthal, the Roux family, Tom Kerridge – everyone was around me and that was [important] in the early years of my career," he added.

Craig likes to stay ‘match fit’ but ‘underestimated’ himself in the competition and was ‘anxious’ about the five other finalists.

“I’m the head chef of a fish restaurant, it's not on the same calibre as some of the other contestants in terms of the restaurants they work at," he said.

"But I think it's how everyone performs on the day, and I guess it worked in my favour.

"All the things I ended up cooking, I had cooked at some stage in my career.

"Cherry-picking and putting it all together — it's summing up my journey as a chef in the way of putting all into one dish."

Pictured: Craig Johnston's winning dish. Photo credit: Jodi Hinds.

Craig will receive £12,000 and can choose to either cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world for two months, or receive a bespoke training programme.

The awards evening was a ‘whirlwind’ and he received praise for his calm approach, his preparation of the potatoes and his ‘stand out’ accompanying sauce.

Days later, Craig spoke about his winning dish to his first head chef, Daniel Woodhouse, who was executive chef at the first kitchen job he held for nearly five years at The Boathouse at Boulters Lock.

“I told him the sauce I made for the beef was inspired by the braised lamb shoulder he used to make at the restaurant with tomato and saffron," said Craig.

“He said he learned that from the Roux family years and years ago, so it's a full circle moment.

"I never knew that was where that recipe came from, so it's cooking something inspired by one of their recipes, back to them.

“Daniel always told me that everywhere you work is a piece of your puzzle. When you get to head chef level, you take all the pieces of the puzzle, and that makes up your picture; that's your cooking.

"You take the best bits of everywhere you've worked, that's your strength, that's all your knowledge. You put it all together, and that's the style of chef you are."