Riyadh Khalaf has been crowned the winner of ‘Celebrity MasterChef’.
The 28-year-old YouTube star and journalist walked away with the top prize during Thursday’s (30.07.20) final of the BBC One cooking competition, after wowing judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode with his three course meal.
Riyadh beat Olympic hockey star Sam Quek and sports presenter Matthew Pinsent to be named the winner of the 2020 series, and explained the honour was "the biggest achievement" of his life.
Speaking after he received his trophy, he said: "That’s mad. That’s mad! Wow. I’m absolutely in shock. 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."
And judges Greg and John had nothing but praise for the online star.
Greg said: "Riyadh has always been flamboyant, he’s always shown creativity, and he’s always been passionate. I think his cooking came of age today."
Whilst John added: "I look at those three dishes, and I thought they were restaurant quality."
Although both Sam and Matthew missed out on being crowned the winners, they both said they are proud to have at least reached the final.
Matthew said: "Of course I’d love to have won, but I am so happy I got all the way here. It’s given a whole new impetus to food and cooking in my life, which I will always treasure and cherish."
And Sam insisted: "This experience has reminded me to just throw yourself in 100 percent. I’ve loved every single minute. For Riyadh to go and be crowned champion … today’s performance, he absolutely nailed. So good on him."