MasterChef: Indian cook's TV journey started with lockdown crisis

Anurag Aggarwal is through to the final seven on BBC One's MasterChef

A chartered accountant has described how a "mid-life crisis" during the Covid-19 lockdowns led to his journey on BBC One's MasterChef.

Anurag Aggarwal, from Basildon in Essex, is down to the last seven contestants on this year's series.

The 40-year-old grew up in Gurgaon, India, and moved to the UK in 2010.

"You can call it a midlife crisis, something like that," said the father-of-two, who hopes to open a fine dining Indian restaurant in the future.

"I thought I love cooking, it's more than a passion for me, it's more than a hobby for me, and I started exploring what I can do.

"I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be cooking in the show, it was more than a dream come true."

Mr Aggarwal said he would like to open a fine dining Indian restaurant in Basildon

Mr Aggarwal describes his cooking as a "fusion of Indian flavours with modern presentation" using plenty of "different textures" and "authentic flavours".

He said his late mother was his cooking inspiration.

Tuesday's semi-final episode saw Mr Aggarwal and seven fellow contestants cooking a large-scale fine-dining lunch at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

The two teams had three-and-a-half hours to cook and serve a feast for 120 emergency responders and trainers.

"MasterChef has given me that acknowledgement - that I've taken that path and I can move forward on it," he told BBC Essex.

Mr Aggarwal will next appear on Thursday's semi-final episode of MasterChef, on BBC One at 20:00.