Devon chef jointly wins MasterChef: The Professionals

A Devon chef has been named joint winner in the final of this year's MasterChef: The Professionals. Anton Piotrowski, 30, who runs the Treby Arms in Sparkwell near Plymouth, and Keri Moss, 41, from London, became the first joint winners in the history of the competition. "It's absolutely amazing; to share the title with someone that's so talented and so amazing is unreal," said Piotrowski.

Piotrowski's winning menu included squid ink and malt vinegar crumble and cocoa-marinated venison.

The Professionals spin-off, which pits working chefs against one another, is now in its fifth year.

After four weeks of heats, the two eventual winners battled it out with fellow finalist Oli Boon, 23, during an intense week of competition that saw them cook a three-course dinner for more than 30 Michelin-starred chefs, and work in the kitchens of Heston Blumenthal's world-renowned Fat Duck restaurant.

"This has probably been one of the hardest, tightest finals that I have ever seen," said judge Michel Roux Jr.

"Anton has got the knowledge, he's got the skills in abundance, he's got the passion, the drive - every dish that Anton cooks is original, it's got a twist, it's got his character there," said Roux.

"It was just impossible to split them - their talents have been matched plate for plate for the past several challenges and it was truly impossible to award one the title over the other."

Both he and fellow judge Gregg Wallace deemed the winning finalists "exceptional".