Gareth Baty, a private chef living in Whitefield, is one of three chefs left standing in the finals of MasterChef: The Professionals 2026.
Episode 20 of Series 18 of the popular TV show aired last night, Monday, March 23.
The nail-biting episode saw the remaining contestants jet off to Italy where they visited Brunico in South Tyrol to be put through their paces by Norbert Niederkofler in his restaurant, Atelier Moessmer.
They were given a masterclass and tasked with creating their own dish for Norbert and then working as part of his lunch service team, delivering meals to diners.
Gareth made a lamb tartare, inspired by Norbert's cooking, using burnt leek oil and daikon.
He said: "Putting a plate of food up to a three-Michelin-star chef is no mean feat.
"Definitely nervous, but I'll go in with my head high and confident and serve him my dish."
Norbert was very complimentary of the dish and said there were "great flavours in the sauce."
He said: "I see that you really have cooked a mountain in your soul."
At the lunch service, Gareth tackled cooking catfish and made his own take on an Italian dessert named Affogato.
He struggled to find a rhythm when plating the food for the pass, but found his flow eventually.
Tasting his food, the judges said it was "delicious" and "incredible".
Luckily, the pressure was somewhat off, as nobody left the competition during the episode, but with the final looming, the chefs still need to battle it out one last time.
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Gareth is a 39-year-old private chef who lives in Whitefield with his wife and two children.
The self-taught chef was inspired by his mother, Barbara, who was also a chef at Carlisle Golf Club when he was young.
His business, named The Wandering Cumbrian, recently took over a kitchen in the at Moonbeam Coffee House.
He described his cooking style as 'modern British with influences from around the world' and says nostalgia plays a big part in the building of his dishes.
Aside from cooking, he is also passionate about singing and playing blues music in addition to fell walking.
The next episode of the series is the grand final and will see the three remaining contestants fight it out for the trophy.
The final episode will air on BBC One this Thursday, March 26, at 8pm.
All episodes released so far are available on BBC iPlayer.
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