Top Somerset chef stars on Masterchef: The Professionals

A top Somerset chef has been starring on BBC Masterchef: The Professionals. Ayesha Kalaji, from The Queen of Cups in Glastonbury^[1], recently made her debut on the television show.

The Queen of Cups is one of the most highly-rated eateries in Somerset on TripAdvisor. It has an overall five star rating from more than 200 reviewers on the website.

The local restaurant has also been featured in the Michelin Guide, described as "deliciously different", and has been listed in the Estrella Damm Top 100 Gastropubs 2023. The Queen of Cups opened in 2021, taking over from the Hawthorns pub in the heart of Glastonbury, and it specialises in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.

On the TV show, Ayesha said: "I'm incredibly ambitious. I want everything - I want the world.

"But equally, I love food. I love what I'm doing. If I stopped having fun with it, I'd be doing the wrong thing."

On episode 12, she served up stone bass on a tahini and courgette puree. The judges complimented the "rough and rustic" dish as being "perfectly cooked" and "packed with flavour", however they added that the meal "could look nicer".

She then served up a trout dish with a miso and egg yolk gel and pickled onions. Unfortunately, the exacting critics said the meal "didn't really work" and parts of the dish were "unpleasant".

Ayesha then served up a lion of venison with a date and caramelised onion puree. The critics were more impressed with this "delicious" meal, highlighting the "fantastic" puree, but adding that they thought it was "a bit too sweet".

Despite showing strong and varied cooking skills, Ayesha was knocked out of the competition in episode 12. She was described as "a ray of sunshine" by judge Marcus Wareing, but she had to leave the competition.

She said: "I'm really gutted. I knew that it wasn't perfect, but I was proud of the improvements I had made.

"I'm just so disappointed in myself. I really wanted to do more, to show more - but it just wasn't good enough today."

References

1. ^{^} Glastonbury (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Locals fight to save popular Yeovil pub from closure (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Magical Christmas ice rink opens at Somerset shopping village (www.somersetlive.co.uk)