MasterChef: What the Winners Did Next This BBC Two programme examined just how MasterChef changed the lives of the winners forever; BBC Food has a selection of recipes from the previous years' winners Peter Bayless and Thomasina Miers.

In this article

Peter Bayless Peter's recipes

Thomasina Miers Thomasina's recipes

Catching up with the finalists

After two years and more than 240 contestants, the MasterChef competition has seen exciting results for its contestants after the camera was turned off. A one-off programme What the Winners Did Next was shown on Monday 22 January, 7pm on BBC Two showing how the MasterChef competition changed people's lives. BBC Food follows up on the winners, their new careers and their recipes.

MasterChef 2006 winner Peter Bayless has enjoyed a rich and varied year since winning the competition. Although Peter did not wish to take up the actual MasterChef prize of working (unpaid) as chef in top London restaurant Le Gavroche, he did work there for a week and subsequently joined Le Gavroche's head chef, Michel Roux, in demonstrations at the 'Taste of London' food festival.

As well as cookery demonstrations, radio and television appearances, Peter has published his own cookery book 'My Father Could Only Boil Cornflakes' (Ptarmigan ISBN: 1904122140). BBC Food has a selection of recipes from the book.

• Roasted pumpkin and garlic soup with parmesan croutons and parsley oil
• Ravioli of walnut and roasted squash with sage butter
• Jambon persillé (Jellied ham with parsley)
• Jerk chicken with jerk sauce, fried plantain and sweet potato crisps
• Pain perdu (Eggy bread) with poached pears and rhubarb sauce

You can see video interviews with Peter Bayless and the other MasterChef 2006 finalists and revisit highlights from the show.

Since winning the first series of MasterChef, Thomasina Miers has edited one cookery book and written another, become a campaigner for local food markets and now runs her own catering business.

BBC Food has a selection of recipes from Thomasina's most recent cookery book - Cook: Smart Seasonal Recipes for Hungry People (HarperCollins, ISBN 0007229372).

• Smoked mackerel 'rillettes' with a green bean and shallot salad
• Garlic soup (Sopa de ajo)
• Stuffed pork loin with chorizo, thyme and caramelised apple stuffing
• Ma's macadamia salad
• Chargrilled courgette wedges with basil, mint, chilli and lemon
• Winter hazelnut meringue cake with chestnut brandy cream

You can relive the tense and emotional moments of Thomasina winning the MasterChef 2005 final:

What the Winners Did Next mainly focused on the three finalists, Dean, Daksha and Peter from series two. All three returned to the studio to cook two of their signature dishes for judges John and Gregg, and to show how their skills have reached new heights over the past year. After reliving their journey from the end of previous series to now, the show followed them in their daily lives as they pursued their careers in the food industry.

What the Winners Did Next also looked in on Thomasina and revisited some of the other finalists from the first series, Christopher Souto and Caroline Brewster, who have both given up high-paying jobs for new careers in food.

Don’t miss series three of MasterChef, showing weeknights from Monday 22 January at 6.30pm on BBC Two - the latest hunt for the best cooks in the country and the MasterChef Champion of 2007.