Who Is Matt Tebbutt? Meet The New MasterChef: The Professionals Judge
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2 hours ago
The Saturday Kitchen host has a new TV gig
Following the departure of Gregg Wallace, chef and TV host Matt Tebbutt has been confirmed as the new judge on MasterChef: The Professionals.
Matt Tebbutt Joins MasterChef: The Professionals Panel
Best known for presenting Saturday Kitchen, 51-year-old Tebbutt will be joining long-time judges Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti on MasterChef: The Professionals, which is returning to the BBC for its 18th season this autumn. The British chef described it as an ‘absolute honour’ to be working alongside ‘two titans of the food world’.
He added: ‘Their knowledge and uncompromising attitude is now the stuff of legend, and I look forward to them taking me under their wing and seeing the chefs get off to a flying start in the competition.’
Both Wareing and Galetti described Tebbutt’s arrival as ‘really exciting’. Tebbutt will replace Wallace, who was fired from the show after allegations of misconduct during his time on MasterChef.
BBC/Cactus TV Ltd
Who Is Matt Tebbutt?
Born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Tebbutt grew up in South Wales, and studied geography and anthropology at Oxford Brooks University. After considering a career in the RAF, he decided his heart was set on becoming a chef and undertook a training course at prestigious cookery school Leith’s in London.
He went on to secure a traineeship with Marco Pierre White before landing roles at esteemed restaurants including the Michelin-starred Chez Bruce in Wandsworth and Sally Clarke’s bakery in Kensington. In 2001, he returned to Wales to open his own eatery alongside wife Lisa, The Foxhunter in Nantyderry, Monmouthshire. The restaurant was a big success, landing several accolades over the years including being named AA restaurant of the year for South Wales, but in 2014 Tebbutt announced he was closing it to focus on other ventures. ‘After 13 very happy and tough years, The Foxhunter is sadly closing its doors,’ he said at the time. ‘Exciting new projects I couldn’t refuse.’
In a more recent interview with The Independent, Tebbutt spoke about the difficulties of running The Foxhunter. ‘It was a very different sort of relentless business. We didn’t take a break – we did it for 14 years. I was juggling TV and the restaurant for quite some time, and then reached a point where I didn’t think it was sustainable, because I was knackered.
‘Little country pubs, as lovely as they are, and everyone wants them on their doorstep, they’ve got to be supported because they’re bloody hard work to keep going.’
Soon after revealing The Foxhunter’s fate, Tebbutt’s next move came to light: he would be heading up Hilton Bournemouth’s Schpoonns and Forx restaurant. Around this time, however, the chef was also beginning to focus more heavily on his TV career. He regularly stepped in for host James Martin on Saturday Kitchen, and took over the reins permanently following Martin’s departure in 2016.
His TV career expands outside of Saturdays, though: Tebbutt also co-presents Food Unwrapped on Channel 4, and has starred in shows like Great British Menu, Drop Down Menu with Gizzi Erskine, Daily Kitchen Live, and Christmas Kitchen.
Tebbut has also penned a number of books, including his 2008 debut Cooks Country: Modern British Rural Cooking, Guilty Pleasures in 2013, and the most recent, Matt Tebbutt’s Pub Food in 2024.
When Is MasterChef: The Professionals Back On TV?
MasterChef: The Professionals usually returns to our screens during the autumn, so it’s likely series 18 will follow suit – although we haven’t got a release date just yet. An offshoot of MasterChef, the competitive cooking show sees working chefs put through their paces in an attempt to impress the judges, and ultimately be named champion. Tebbutt, Galetti and Wareing will be joined by a series of guest judges throughout the series.
BBC / Shine TV
The MasterChef empire has been in turmoil after reports of inappropriate behaviour surfaced about Wallace in November 2024. Then, shortly after, Wallace’s co-star John Torode came under fire for an allegation of historic racist language. Both were consequently sacked by the BBC. Despite this, the most recent series – which features both Wallace and Torode as judges – aired on screens this August.
