A Wandsworth fishmonger has reached the final four of MasterChef after a career change.
Harry, 31, swapped his branding career for a job in a local fishmongers, allowing him to get closer to food and take the leap to apply for the popular cooking competition.
Living in London with his partner Katie, Harry has had a passion for cooking since a young age, inspired by his mum and brother.
He lived in Edinburgh when he was younger and spent four years at university in Newcastle.
Harry describes his style of cooking as a "fusion of classic British and French cooking," making use of "modern techniques combined with great British ingredients."
He said: "My cooking inspiration came from my mum at an early age.
"We rarely had takeaways and Mum always used to cook from scratch every night.
"It wasn’t limited to British food either, my mum cooked Asian and north African food quite a lot."
As he grew older, his brother, who owns his own catering business, also became a big influence.
After landing a job at a local fishmongers, Harry found himself with access to some of the best British fish and seafood.
His love for cooking fish soon turned into a skill he wanted to master and he decided to enter MasterChef to test his abilities.
He said: "My favourite ingredient to cook with is fish.
"For years I was afraid of cooking fish, it always stuck to the pan and was overcooked and dry.
"It was always a weakness that I wanted to turn into a strength, and it’s one of the main reasons I decided to become a fishmonger.
"Not only do I now feel comfortable cooking fish, but I have also so much more understanding of so many different types of fish and their flavours, not just salmon and cod."
His career switch to a fishmonger after five years in branding made him rediscover his love for home cooking and motivated him to enter MasterChef.
He said: "I wanted to prove to myself that I’m a talented cook, I've been told for years by my friends and family that I should apply.
"Now that I'm a fishmonger I feel it's the perfect time to test my skills in the kitchen.
"I'd really like to prove to myself that I'm capable of creating exciting and new dishes and not just following recipes.
"This life change and career as a fishmonger has brought me closer to food in my life."
Read more
Harry's dream is to continue working in the food industry, whether that be owning a relaxed local restaurant, catering company, or even creating his own cookbook.
He added: "I’ve got no desire to win any Michelin stars; I just want to be cooking every day.
"A cookbook might be a nice milestone as well."
