You may have been sitting down of an evening to watch MasterChef: The Professionals over the last few weeks and one cook may have stood out to you.
Senior Sous Chef, Sagar Massey, has not only impressed viewers at home, but the judges too having battled his way to the semi-finals against other talented cooks in a bid to reach the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old is originally from India, Bulandshahr but now lives in Paisley and has worked in a number of well-know establishments including Glasgow's Cail Bruich, Martin Wisharts in Loch Lomond, Mar Hall Hotel Bishopston and is currently working at Marine & Lawn Hotel in Troon.
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Over a number of weeks, contestants have been put through their culinary paces as they are whittled down until one remains. And we managed to catch up Sagar, a favourite win the series.
Talking about becoming a Chef, Sagar recalled that his passions started from a young age which then sparked him to picking a subject all about cooking whilst studying at West College of Scotland. Speaking to Glasgow Live he said: "My dad was a chef so it was always in a background and I thought 'yeah, I will be a chef as well'.
"After choosing a cookery subject, I found I really enjoyed that and then I went to college and decided to be a chef. My dad was always inspiring me to be one.
"He used to stay out of the town because of his job so my mum cooked all the Indian dishes when I was back home. So all those food memories is part of what inspired me."
Speaking about why he applied to the cooking competition show, Sagar explained: "I used to watch MasterChef and it was something that excited me but that was scary as well.
"There's people going on camera and they don't know what they're gonna do, especially in the skills test, so that was the scariest part. But then my Head Chef said to me 'I think you're ready for it, just give it a go and see what will happen.'
"I was thinking about doing it but my executive Chef, Derek Johnson, said 'You should do it, you should apply for it' so I did it and here we are."
After being urged to apply, it's only natural to be worried about whether or not you'll make it through the selection process and onto television, but it's another thing to wonder just how far you'll make it through the competition itself.
Sagar naturally had concerns but they were soon put at ease. "I thought it would be very scary but it actually wasn't, it was very enjoyable" he said.
"When you are in the kitchen, you are always nervous. You are always scared it's going to go wrong. But now it's all over, it was a very enjoyable experience."
Answering with a big grin and laughing when asked whether he thought he would make it to the semi-finals, Sagar admitted: "Oh when I started I was like 'no I'm not going to pass through the first round', but I kept myself calm and did what I practiced and yeah, it gave me a good results."
Before applying to MasterChef, Sagar took part in several competitions including having been a finalist for Young National Chef of The Year (2020 and 2021) as well as having been awarded a gold medal at the Young Scottish Chef of The Year (2019). Not only that, but he has also won UK Young Seafood Chef of The Year (2018).
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All of this is what helped the Chef prepare for coming onto the show adding: "Based on my previous experience in competitions, I get really, really nervous beforehand but when I go to the kitchen and I have a knife in my hand, everything calms down and I'll just focus on the food."
Whilst he was unable to give too much away about what's to come up on the BBC show, Sagar said he has his eyes set on opening up his own eatery, right here in the city of Glasgow.
He revealed: "I really want to open my own restaurant. I want to do my own style of food and showcase what I'm all about, what I'm bringing to the table and what's new about me. So that's the plan if everything goes well.
"And if something comes up in Glasgow, it's like my hometown, I've spent around nine years here so yeah, definitely Glasgow."
Being careful not to give away any spoilers, Sagar said he has enjoyed creating dishes that bring back memories adding: "I really enjoyed the last round in the semi-finals. I prepared, one of my favourite food memory as it was Holi [a Hindu festival celebrating spring, love, and new life] and all the dishes I created were vegetarian. It was hard, very hard.
"I gave myself so much to do in so little time but I managed to do it. It scared me a lot but it came out really well.
"I don't know how I did it" he laughed "but I managed."
The response has been overwhelming for the Chef with countless comments online hoping the young professional will take home the trophy and prestigious title at the end of the competition.
Sagar concluded: "I've seen so many comments saying 'he's my winner' and stuff so it's really good to hear. But let's see what happened next!"
You can watch Sagar Massey on BBC Two on Friday (December 2) at 9:05pm after Strictly Come Dancing which starts at 8pm. Alternately, you can catch up with the series on BBC iPlayer.
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