Santosh Shah

Santosh Shah is a Nepalese chef based in London, known for competing in the UK's reality cookery TV series BBC MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020.^[1] Declared first runner up, Santosh is credited for popularising Nepalese cuisine in the UK and worldwide.^[2] In 2021, Santosh once again, competed in the UK's BBC MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch and was declared the winner.^[3][4][5]

Santosh Shah
Shah with his book Ayla in front of Nilgiri
Born	5 November 1985 Karjanha, Siraha District, Nepal
Nationality	Nepalese
Occupation	Chef
Known for	Promoting Nepalese and Mithila food worldwide.
Notable work	Finalist in Masterchef UK 'The Professionals' - 2020, Winner of MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch Special - 2021 Masterjudge of CHEF NEPAL: Country's 1st Food Reality TV Show Mithila thali janakpur

Early life

Santosh grew up in Karjhana village of Siraha district, a small village outside of Kathmandu.^[1] When he was nine, he started working as a labourer digging canals to support his family's financial needs.^[6] When he was 14, he travelled to India for his first culinary job as a dishwasher in a five-star hotel.^[7][8] It was at this point that Santosh realised his dream of becoming a chef. He worked under Executive Chef and CEO Vivek Singh for over two years, rising through the hospitality ranks in India.^[9] Santosh received his Diploma in Hotel & Catering Management from the Institute of Baroda, India before travelling to London in 2010.^[6][1][10]

Career

Santosh worked at some of famous Indian restaurants in London including Dishoom and Michelin-starred Benares,^[9] before becoming a sous-chef at Chef Vivek Singh’s Westminster hot spot, The Cinnamon Club.^[2] Santosh worked at The Cinnamon Club for several years, before eventually becoming Head Chef at its sister restaurant, Cinnamon Kitchen, in the City.^[11]

In 2018 Santosh was appointed at Executive Chef of the five-star LaLit Hotel in London, where he worked until his appearance on MasterChef in 2020.^[12][9] He is currently living and working in Nepal owning multiple restaurants brand called Mithila thali and Ayla by santosh shah, he was Head of The Cinnamon Collection.^[1][2][13]

Media appearances

Santosh first appeared on the UK’s reality cookery TV series MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020. He was runner-up in the series and was dubbed as the "People’s Champion."^[14][11][15]

In 2021 Santosh competed in MasterChef: The Professionals re-match, where he was declared the winner.^[3]

Awards and achievements

• Runner up: BBC's UK MasterChef: The Professionals 2020^[1]
• Winner: BBC's UK MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch 2021^[3]
• Presidential award from Nepal President for promoting Nepali food to the world 2021^[16][17]
• The British Curry award for Restaurant Baluchi 2018^[18][19]
• Conde Nast Award for best fine dining 2018^[20]

BBC’s UK MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch

Santosh won the UK's BBC MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch on 28 December 2021.The show was judged by Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, and Greg Wallace. Santosh defeated three other contestants, two of them Philli Armitage-Mattin and Bart van der Lee, who also appeared on BBC's UK MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020 with Santosh. Santosh won the title by creating an 18-dish vegan feast inspired by the Dashain festival in Nepal.^[3][21]  

Cookbook

• Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and Himalayas, DK, ISBN 978-0241535776