Molly Payne Masterchef: The Professionals 2023: Yorkshire bespoke chef who serves food across North of England to compete on BBC One cooking show judged by Monica Galetti, Gregg Wallace, Marcus Wareing, Michel Roux Jr and Anna Haugh

It has been announced that chef and owner of ByMolly, Molly Payne, will appear on Masterchef: The Professionals next week where she will be judged alongside three other chefs by five culinary experts including Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti.

Following lockdown in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Molly, 27, and Charlotte Drew began delivering Molly’s well-known roast dinners and beef wellingtons, which were a massive success.

The traditional Yorkshire cuisine bringing friends and family together during the difficult times of lockdowns proved to be popular. Their private chef business ByMolly was born.

Hiring a private chef means that clients can curate their own unique menus and ultimately guarantee an enjoyable dining experience.

The culinary duo took to social media to express their excitement about the news.

Their Facebook post said: “We’ve got some news! I’m super thrilled and excited to finally share with you all that I’m going to be on this year’s Masterchef: The Professionals!

“As always, thank you all so much for the unbelievable support. We’re both so happy and proud to be able to let you know that I’ve taken part.

“We were simply blown away yet again by all the support so thank you.”

Molly started her professional cooking journey at the young age of 12 years old when she sent a hand-written letter to the owner of a famous Leeds French Bistro, where she asked him for a job beginning as a very junior chef. From there she climbed her way through the ranks and ended up head chef at the age of 19.

She won an Oliver Award for Best Chef at the age of 21, making her the youngest and only female winner in 2017.

When she was 23 years old, Molly won a chef competition judged by Gordon Ramsey. She worked as head chef for several restaurants before Covid-19 hit and she moved back to her home in Leeds, where she set up her business ByMolly.

The next episode of Masterchef: The Professionals airs on BBC One on Thursday, November 2 at 8pm and viewers can catch up on the episode on BBC iPlayer.