Dhruv Baker, winner of BBC MasterChef 2010, tells us why he loves the beautiful island of Guernsey and what happens next in the life of a culinary superstar in the making…

In our house, we all knew Dhruv was going to win MasterChef this year. We watched with envy as Greg Wallace and John Torode salivated over dish after dish of amazing looking inventive food. Wallace said on the BBC programme: “Dhruv, I have got to say, is probably one of the most amazing talents I’ve ever seen. He has the palate of an angel.”

It turns out that the talented Mr Dhruv Baker is a really big fan of our island, which he has been visiting regularly for the last seven years.

His last visit in early June this year combined an event with financial firm KPMG with some leisure time with his family. Dhruv gave a master class for 12 KPMG staff on his title clinching three courses, before serving the now famous menu up for 50 invited guests at the Bella Luce Hotel.

Dhruv Baker at the Bella Luce Hotel Guernsey

Dhruv spoke to VisitGuernsey on the phone last month: “We’ve got very good friends in Guernsey with children of a similar age to my son who we go and see once or twice a year.

“We have fantastic days on the beach, and this time we went over to Herm for the day which was brilliant! Because of the kids, we try and do lots child-focused activities. And then in the evenings once they’ve gone to bed its cooking what ever it is we’ve found out and about during the day.

“From my perspective as somebody who likes cooking, I just love pottering around. You’ve got such super produce in Guernsey. Fish and shellfish fresh from the quey side. I always make a point of cooking with Guernsey lobster, to me its one of the best products there is. The fact that people have their own pots that they collect from in the evening is just so lovely.

Fish from Guernsey Market

“The dairy produce is outstanding, Our son became completely obsessed Guernsey milk to the extent that he wanted to drink it all day long, it looks more like cream, and you just need to look at the vibrant yellow colour of the butter.

Guernsey beef is a recent discovery he thinks “absolutely fantastic” and he has also been enthusiastically extolling the virtue of our hedge veg. Dhruv is yet to sample the delights of the Guernsey Ormer but it is definitely on his list of things to do next time.

So what is Dhruv’s favourite thing to do in Guernsey? “Fish and Chips on Cobo Bay after playing on the beach all day. Food always tastes better when you are covered in sand!”

Dhruv’s life after the MasterChef win sounds like something of a whirlwind. “I’m doing the occasional corporate event if it is particularly exciting, something like Guernsey, well, how could I say no? I’ve been spending a lot of time in professional kitchens learning and improving. Le Gavroch, Benares, and The Kitchen in Edinburgh. I’ve been so lucky to have been able to learn from some of the chefs that I’ve admired over the years. And the end goal is opening my own restaurant – I’m hoping for early spring / late summer of next year.”

If you’ve always wondered if the MasterChef food tastes as good as it looks, well now you can find out. Finalists Tim Kinnaird, Alex Rushmer and Dhruv Baker will be opening a pop up restaurant probably in Soho, London this October. The two-week dinner service will showcase the finalists’ dishes from the show. “Months and months ago when we were filming in India, we had a conversation about how wonderful it would be if people watching the show could actually try some of the dishes.” Venue to be announced…

So what are John and Greg actually like? “Exactly as you see them on TV. They’re like a married couple. They’ve worked together for so long, Greg will just start making a joke and John will shout out the punch line.”

We’re hoping that Dhruv might come back to Guernsey and open a pop up here too using all our super produce. What do you think folks? Perhaps a bit of gentle persuasion might work. Follow Dhruv on Twitter:  @DhruvBaker1

Thanks to The Potting Shed and KPMG for the pictures of Dhruv Baker in Guernsey.

Bella Luce Hotel Guernsey