Top chef Keelan Burton, who appeared as a contestant on BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals in 2018, has been spared jail after he was caught in his Mercedes with just under a quarter-kilo of cannabis. Burton, a former finalist in the Nottinghamshire Food and Drink Awards young chef competition, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (September 21) where he was sentenced for possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
The 28-year-old, of Walbrook Close, Cinderhill, who is now a shareholder and executive chef at two Nottingham restaurants, had pleaded guilty to the charge after police saw him accelerating away from their unmarked car at 10.20pm on May 9, 2020. He stopped after he headed along Hempshill Lane, towards Crabtree Road, Bullwell, said Catherine Picardo, prosecuting.
A man was in the back and a woman in the front passenger seat of the vehicle with Burton driving. A strong smell of cannabis eminated from the car. "The two passengers, according to police, were acting suspiciously as though they were trying to hide something," said Ms Picardo.
