MASTERCHEFLIAM’S FAIRLIESUCCESSFUL
RISING STAR PAYS TRIBUTE TO MENTOR Kitchen whizz Liam has taken cookery show by storm and has wowed judges but he says it’s all down to training by cooking icon
THE rising star of MasterChef: The Professionals puts his success down to the late Scottish chef Andrew Fairlie.
Liam Rogers, who wowed the judges with his “bobby dazzler” mackerel starter in the quarter finals, is through to the semi finals of the gladiatorial cooking contest.
Watching at home in Warrington, his mum burst into tears as three restaurant critics ate two courses cooked by Liam – and raved about every mouthful.
The 25-year-old spent three years working at Andrew Fairlie’s two Michelin star restaurant in the Gleneagles Hotel.
He said: “I went there as a boy and came out after three years as a pretty well equipped chef. It was a perfect foundation for my career.”
Fairlie died of a brain tumour in January 2019 so did not see his protege wowing the nation.
Liam, who currently works at the Strathearn restaurant in the Gleneagles Hotel, said: “I was one of the last groups that worked with him. When I first joined in 2016 he was still there on the pass in his whites in the kitchen.
“From that point he weaned himself away but I would still see him three times a week. That place is incredible for learning. I would never not have their influences in my cooking. His knowledge is in my DNA.”
As well as praising his lamb with wild garlic and cubes of lime curd, the judges rate Liam’s attitude.
During the skills test, the terrifying baptism of fire that starts each of the heats, judge Monica Galetti asked Liam why he entered the competition.
When he explained that he wanted to push himself and see how far he could go, judge Marcus Wareing was immediately impressed. Liam puts that down to his training with Andrew Fairlie.
Liam recalled: “It was like the military.
“Nothing on the floor, everything shining all the time, you worked really methodically. “
This helped him to keep a
BY head, even when Monica Galeti set him a skills challenge of making a chickpea panisse.
Liam had only a rough idea what that was.
He recalled: ”That was just freaky. It’s the bit of the show any chef is most worried about, a 20 minutes skills test making something you may not have cooked before.
“You see the cameras for the first time, meet the judges for the first time, it’s brutal that kind of pressure.
“Watching it back, I kept my cool and worked well.”
For a chef, entering Masterchef: The
Professionals is putting your
CV on live TV. Liam said: “I’ve gone there to do my best and show myself in a good light and project myself in the competition. I’ve got all my peers watching – I didn’t want to balls it up.”
If it goes wrong, people will remember it forever, like his fellow contestant Nic. The judges roasted him for serving undercooked poussin, an egg yolk dessert and raw goat.
Liam said: “It’s the end of the road if you do something like that. That’s why it’s so terrifying.”
As well as wowing the judges, Liam is a hit with the public. He was asked for his first selfie in the supercool market at the weekend. Another chef recognised him in a Glasgow restaurant last week – and told him he needs to smile more.
His last boss, Michelin star chef Sat Bains, encouraged him to enter the competition but warned him he would get a lot of attention.
He said: “I’ve had a lot of messages and people posting weird stuff on Twitter. I didn’t expect to get recognised up here. I could understand it at home in Warrington or Nottingham.
“But not in Tesco in Perth.”
MasterChef: The Professionals Semi Finals are on tonight, Wednesday and Thursday,