The 2023 Celebrity MasterChef champion has been crowned, with opera singer Wynne Evans winning the BBC show. The 51-year-old from Carmarthen triumphed over fellow finalists Amy Walsh and Luca Bish in a tense cook-off, impressing judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode with his Welsh-inspired menu.
Evans, who is the first Welsh winner of the series, said the experience had "changed his life" and left him "thrilled". Judge Gregg Wallace praised his cooking as "theatre", adding: "I have never seen a celebrity cook like him ever before and I'm not sure we ever will again." Torode noted that "every single dish tells a story".
Despite his victory, Evans admitted the final nearly went awry when he struggled with choux pastry, requiring four attempts. He also revealed he thought he had left the trophy in a taxi after celebrating with fellow contestants, but it had been safely stored by production to prevent accidental spoilers.
Evans's winning menu featured a Carmarthen-Japanese sumo tuna tartare starter, a main of cannon of lamb with seasonal accompaniments, and a dessert of bara brith with Caerphilly cheese and fig jam, served with brie ice cream. He had to seek special permission to stew the fruit for the bara brith overnight.
After filming, Evans said he was "fed up of cooking" and celebrated with beans on toast. He later joined Amy and Luca for drinks but admitted he had a few too many Drambuie cocktails. The series, which began with 20 celebrity contestants, is available on BBC iPlayer.
