Carnoustie man Dean impresses on TV’S Masterchef.

Carnoustie chef impresses once again in contest

An Angus chef survived the first stage of knock-out week at Masterchef: The Professionals and is in with a chance of battling through to the semi-finals.

Carnoustie’s Dean Banks impressed the judges on the popular BBC2 show with his braised octopus and spiced tomato dish in last night’s episode.

On his Instagram page after the show, Dean said: “I love cooking octopus.”

The globe-trotting 29-year-old draws inspiration for his cooking from European, Asian and South American cuisine.

His dish, which also included mushroom and smoked paprika, pistachio and lemon, carrots, broccoli and croutons, was described as “very brave” as well as “delicious and really clever”.

Dean was up against 11 other contestants from professional kitchens.

The challenge was an “invention test”, which saw them create an improvised dish using ingredients from a selection provided to them by the judges.

They had two hours to complete the task, with the added difficulty of being barred from using any of the modern gadgets from the Masterchef kitchen.

The judges said they wanted to see “good old fashioned cooking” and provided ingredients including pork belly, rabbit, chicken, beef rib, pigeon, partridge and a rage of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices.

Out of the 12 competitors, eight passed the challenge outright – Dean being one of them.

The other four had to complete another hour-long cook-off, with only two making it through to the next round.

Dean has displayed his culinary skills in a broad range of locations such as the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and the Tides Lodge in Tanzania.

The type of venues Dean has worked in are equally impressive, and include Michelin-starred restaurants, fine chalets and the top private estates across Europe.

The show, a competition for professional chefs, is run along the format of its hugely popular sister programme Masterchef, which has now been airing for more than a decade.

It is a high pressure contest, with the early rounds consisting of skills tests with each chef preparing their signature dish for the judges, Marcus Wareing, Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti.

Dean’s signature dish is cured sea trout topped with nori seaweed, served with a crispy trout skin, a trio of cucumber, sea trout roe, wasabi mayonnaise and a matcha powder.