Riyadh Khalaf has been officially crowned the winner of Celebrity Masterchef 2020, beating out the competition in a dramatic finale. This is everything you need to know about Khalaf and his winning dish. Who is Riyadh Khalaf? Riyadh Khalaf is an Irish-Iraqi broadcaster, internet personality and YouTuber. He is also an outspoken LGBT activist. He dedicated his dish in the semi-final to his Iraqi father who, after initially struggling to accept having a gay son, now accompanies Kahalf to Pride parades and campaigned for same sex marriage in Ireland. Kahalf hopes his on-screen presence will have a positive impact on young LGBT+ children, saying, “I think back to when I was a kid watching TV and I had virtually no positive role models who I could look up to. “I really truly believe that who I am, my identity and my feelings, were a curse and something that needed to be fixed and weeded out, a sickness even at one point. “I just think if I had had just one person that was respected and admired and talented and just a nice person in an elevated position, I could have looked at that guy, or girl or person and gone: ‘Wow, I can do that too.’” After finding out he won the show, Khalaf said, “I am absolutely in shock. I can’t believe it, it’s an incredible feeling. This show I have been watching since I was in school and to have gone from being a fan of the show to winning the thing - this is without a doubt the biggest achievement of my life.” Gregg Wallace, one of the show’s judges, said, “Riyadh has always been flamboyant, he’s always shown creativity and he’s always been passionate. I think Ridyadh’s cooking came of age today.” John Torode, the other judge on the show, said, “You look at those three dishes and I thought they were restaurant quality. Some people just get better, their food finer but more importantly more and more delicious. A deserved winner.” What was the winning dish? On Khalaf’s winning three course menu was: Who else was in the final? Alongside Khalaf in the final were two Olympic gold medalists - rower Sir Matthew Pinsent and hockey player Sam Quek - with all three being tasked to present a flawless three course meal to impress the judges. Unfortunately, Quek was late to finish her dish, even though her three course meal was judged overall as a success by the judges - especially her “stunning dessert” of a mango and passionfruit pavlova. Pisnet cooked up chicken ravioli to start which was followed by a main of venison done two ways. Fellow contestant Gethin Jones had to leave the competition part way through the semi-final as he was displaying symptoms of Covid-19. He wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for all your lovely messages re @MasterChefUK. "I had symptoms of Covid-19 the morning of the next stage. Absolutely GUTTED… but it was the easiest decision. Would never put anyone at risk. Enjoy the next hour – these guys can cook!!!” You can catch up on the finale of Celebrity Masterchef 2020 on BBC iPlayer.
