Royal Navy Chef: Military Background Helped With Masterchef Pressures

Royal Navy chef Leading Hand Andrew Durham says his 12 years in the military prepared him well for the pressures of Masterchef: The Professionals.

Based at RNAS Culdrose, he took part in the television series, but failed to make the final.

Nevertheless, he said he was grateful for his "amazing" experience.

 "I surpassed my own expectations so I left really happy," he said.

"Honestly, every single day I cooked in that competition I was not thinking about anything other than that day.

"I was just thinking, 'Just do today and if you get past, great, if you don't, you did alright on yourself'."

WATCH: The moment Leading Hand Andrew Durham leaves the programme.

The Navy chef said he entered "on a whim" after having been pointed towards an application by an old boss.

"I thought, 'Why not', and it was a good idea, it took me quite far," he remembered.

For some, the pressure to deliver can feel insurmountable, but not for Andrew.

"We're always under pressure in the military, we're always being taught to push our comfort zones out. 

"So I felt, not so much comfortable, but it was OK - I wasn't massively stressed out, I never really failed anything. I did OK, I think."

So where does his TV appearance rank among his career highlights?

"I've always had two main goals being a chef in the military - to be a phase 2 instructor and teach new generations of chefs and also to be a VIP chef for an Admiral and I've done both of those things," he said.

"They are really high on my list of achievements in my career, but Masterchef was never something I'd ever planned to do, and now I've done it it's definitely up there, it's one of the best things I've done."

Leading Hand Durham is soon due to leave the military.

"I've got a couple of things planned," he said.

"I'm just spending the last five months now of my career really properly considering what to do next.

"The dream is obviously a restaurant - that's every chef's dream.

"There's a few different avenues I might look at."

Masterchef programme footage courtesy of Masterchef: The Professionals, The Finals.