MasterChef Finalist

One of our former teachers made the finals of this year’s MasterChef competition.

South Hampstead staff are renowned for going above and beyond and for the many incredible talents they possess – both inside and outside the classroom. Matt Willett – a former Maths Teacher and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, who worked at South Hampstead for nearly a decade – is no exception. Students and colleagues fondly recall a prodigious Mathematician, willing to embrace any activity with great gusto; as well as leaving a legacy of outstanding pastoral care, he will be long-remembered for his cheerfully irreverent daily cover emails and a spectacular fall on the last leg of a Sports Day staff relay.

He originally got through the preliminary interviews for the BBC programme a few years ago whilst teaching, but turned down the opportunity as it meant taking 40 days off school. He reapplied successfully in April last year, after leaving to pursue a Maths PhD. He credits his time at South Hampstead for equipping him with the requisite skills to remain calm in the MasterChef kitchen; in the early rounds of the competition, he joked that the stress levels were akin to teaching Year 7 Maths on a Friday afternoon or leading a whole school assembly. Matt has enjoyed cooking since he childhood; although he uses cookbooks for inspiration, he prefers to experiment rather than follow recipes. He did, however, submit a recipe for a pressed potato terrine in South Hampstead’s 150th anniversary cookbook, published a few years ago to raise funds for the school’s bursary programme.

Mr Willett describes the MasterChef experience as incredibly enjoyable, explaining how the judges, Grace Dent and Anna Haugh, rejuvenated the show and how well the participants, from so many different backgrounds, got on. Highlights included coping with the pressures of numerous professional kitchens and cooking for cricketing legend Sir Viv Richards in Antigua.

Currently focused on finishing his PhD, his future career and forthcoming nuptials, he has no plans to become a chef; however, he recently cooked three-course meals for 40 people at an East London venue with potential plans for a supper club in the pipeline… so watch this space.