Molly Payne: Yorkshire chef regularly stopped in streets of Leeds since competing on BBC series MasterChef: The Professionals and her private catering business byMolly has ‘blown up’

Molly Payne, 27, has been passionate about cooking since she was 12 years old and was inspired by her mum to cook.

She started her professional career as a chef at local French Bistro Kendall’s Bistro in Leeds, where she grew up, and The Vincent and Wine & Wallop.

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Ms Payne and her business partner Charlotte Drew began delivering her popular roast dinners and beef wellingtons to various households, which became a huge success.

Born out of her love of showcasing Yorkshire cuisine and bringing friends and family together during difficult times, they set up their private catering business, byMolly.

What started out as a small company grew exponentially; three years later they are delivering curated food to people across the North of England and beyond.

Last year, she decided to apply to MasterChef: The Professionals to help boost her confidence and skills in cooking.

“I really wanted to see what I was capable of and build my confidence. I also wanted to get recognition for [by business],” Ms Payne told The Yorkshire Post.

“I loved every second of it, genuinely, from travelling to London, the filming process to meeting the judges and the whole production team, every single part of it was perfect for me.

“It hit every target that I wanted to personally [achieve], building my confidence, to see what I was capable of in my career, what kind of chef I want to be, which is something I wanted to do. The whole experience was so special to me.”

Ms Payne has since seen a huge success in her business since being on the show and she is even being recognised on the streets.

“[byMolly] has definitely catapulted, which is certainly what we wanted; we’ve had a lot of enquiries throughout the end of this year and well into next year.

“It’s absolutely blown up for us and I think the way I came across; I stayed true to who I am, I was just being myself, that definitely worked in a beneficial way for byMolly and for me personally. I’ll be forever grateful for that.

“Me and Charlotte would go out for food sometimes and people would come over and spot us, because I always have my bandana and glasses on so definitely people in Leeds and Yorkshire recognise me and come over and have a chat with me.

“It’s been nothing but positive; more followers on social media, all the enquiries that we’ve received, they seem to have really taken to me; it’s kind of like I’m theirs, the Leeds girl, the Yorkshire girl. It’s a huge part of me as a chef, I wanted to showcase Leeds’ produce, Yorkshire’s produce and it definitely went down well.

“A lot of people have said you’ve made the city proud and you’ve made Yorkshire proud.”

The show is judged by Gregg Wallace, Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti. Ms Payne said that their feedback was the highlight for her.

“The feedback from the judges about the dishes I created was certainly the best part for me; they had such kind things to say, especially coming from [people] who are [well established] in their careers,” she said.

“There were 32 chefs [on the show]; it was so nice to be around other chefs of that calibre as well, each one of them was unbelievable.

“I really wanted to sponge whatever I could from it, the knowledge, to see what the judges had done in the past. I wanted to take every bit of it and use it to the best of my ability.

“Every judge had their own part to play in the series itself; they took to me so well, they were so kind, so supportive and every comment that was made, I just clasped onto it. They made the experience lovely for me.

“Gregg had his ways with me, Marcus had his ways with me and Monica had her ways with me. I can’t pick [my favourite] because each one of them had such a special part to play in my experience.”

Ms Payne reached the second round of knockout week and made it in the final 10. Her last episode aired on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

She said that despite it being the end of her journey, she wouldn’t change a thing.

“I knew I was taking a huge risk with the pop-up round, but I was ready to take that risk,” she said.

“I knew that the judges knew how much of a challenge it would be as well, but I felt like it was my time to do it.

“I was ready to show I am here, if it works, brilliant, if it doesn’t that’s fine too, at least I’ve done it, whatever happens I know I’ve done it with my head up.

“Every dish I made on MasterChef had a story behind it, by me, byMolly, my family, for me I wouldn’t have changed anything about it because it was integral to the process and the whole experience.

“At the end of the day, it was me in that kitchen, it wasn’t my day but that’s fine, it doesn’t matter. I gave it my best shot.”

Her future goals will be focussing on expanding her business and welcoming young female aspiring chefs to byMolly.

“Our focus is to keep pushing byMolly; in the new year we’re growing, developing, upscaling [the business],” Ms Payne said.

“We’d really love to get young female apprentices working with us; that’s definitely a dream within the business to train young aspiring female chefs because it’s such a difficult industry to be in.”