May 19, 2024 – It’s finals week as the MasterChef anniversary celebrations continue, and two incredible challenges await our final four. They will have to give it their all, as at the end, John and Gregg will pick the three lucky cooks to move ahead to the grand final, where the 20th MasterChef champion will be chosen.

Watch finals week on iPlayer and BBC One from Monday 20 May.

Name:

Louise Lyons Macleod

Region:

Exmoor National Park but grew up in Staffordshire

Age: 44

(43 while filming)

Profession:

Farmer

Personal:

Married to military helicopter pilot, Ally, and they have an 8-year-old daughter, Ophelia

Cooking Background:

“I’ve been cooking since I could walk! My mum would always get me involved in preparing the family meals. My father would take me fishing to catch our supper and would teach me to prepare and cook the fish. My granny was also a huge influence and would encourage me to help her in the kitchen. I now run a 25-acre farm. I specialise in breeding and rearing native rare breed animals and have breeding programmes in place for pigs, sheep, goats and various poultry. As much as possible, I try to be sustainable and follow regenerative agriculture principles, allowing the animals to range freely and live in herds as naturally as possible for the benefit of the land.”

On MasterChef:

“For at least 15 years my friends and family have been badgering me to apply for MasterChef. The reason I applied this year was that I had just had my five-year cancer-versary. I was diagnosed when my daughter was 18 months old and our world imploded. My diagnosis and intense treatment took a long time to come to terms with and changed me. A positive change was to try to embrace all of life’s opportunities fully. I’m utterly thrilled to get through to the Finals! It’s a dream come true. I’ve been the biggest fan of the show forever and it’s the only TV show I religiously watch. It’s been a joy to cook for John and Gregg. They are as lovely as I had imagined.”

Cooking Influences/Passions:

“All of my family are super keen cooks. My parents taught me to experiment from a young age and I’ve always carried that with me. My biggest passion has always been the produce that we have in the UK. We are lucky to have true seasonality and the best farmers in the world. At home it’s my aim to feed my family and friends with as much home grown veg and home reared meat as possible. I love sharing my passion for seasonal, British food with my friends and family. I work and live for the farm to fork philosophy, for my food to be sustainable with as little waste as possible, and above all to be delicious!

Cooking Ambitions:

“I would love to run supper clubs or to write about food and share recipes. It would be my dream to write a book, or a series of books showcasing British seasonality. I would like to show that cooking with the seasons can be as simple - or complicated - and delicious as one chooses, but it can always be accessible.I love to cook for people interested in food and its provenance. A dream would be to cook for people and then to be able to enjoy chatting with them about food, ingredients and cookery over a glass of wine.”