A Leicester-born home cook with a passion for fresh pasta, Japanese cuisine, and the perfect slice of pizza has wowed the judges on this year’s MasterChef, making it all the way to the semi-finals of the hit BBC One show.
Henry Phillips, 32, now lives in Kent with his partner Amelia and their dog Alan, but proudly describes himself as a “huge Leicester Tigers fan” who spent his formative years growing up in the city.
Picture credit: BBC
After weeks of impressing Gregg Wallace and John Torode with his playful yet technically sound dishes, Henry’s MasterChef journey came to an emotional end in last week’s semi-final round — but his culinary ambitions are just heating up.
“This was my third time applying, but the first time I got through,” Henry shared. “You can’t keep a keen cook down!
“Had so much fun cooking and competing on the show. What a privilege to get the opportunity! I was gutted to go out on the Heston challenge, but the right dishes went through for sure.”
Henry’s love of food didn’t blossom until university, where his kitchen confidence began with supermarket pasta and jarred sauce — and a very proud moment adding “raw garlic” to the mix. Since then, his passion has grown into what he calls his “main hobby and obsession.”
“I started cooking quite late. But I fell in love with food, watched every cooking show I could, and started collecting cookbooks — I have about 130 now!” he reveals.
A self-taught home cook, Henry’s style is inspired by modern British, Italian, Japanese, and more recently, Southeast Asian cuisines. He loves cooking dishes that involve hands-on preparation like dumplings, elaborate pies, and of course, fresh pasta — his first real culinary triumph.
“I like dishes that feel more like a craft session,” he says.
With a background in teaching, consulting and retail, Henry now dreams of combining his first love – education – with his food passion, aiming to teach others how to cook.
“I’d love to do something in food as a career. Especially teaching – it’d be amazing to help people build confidence in the kitchen,” he says.
And while MasterChef may be over for now, he remains hungry for more. Whether it’s another TV appearance, a food-focused project, or local cooking classes — Henry’s not done with the culinary world yet.
