Luke Emmess, a masterchef finalist and head chef at The Wykeham Arms in Winchester, will headline the Cookery Theatre at the Alresford Watercress Festival at midday on Sunday, May 17. The 33-year-old is moving from the television competition’s filmed challenges to a live public stage in Hampshire.
Natasha Dochniak said, “We’re so excited to welcome Luke to the cookery theatre.” She added, “Following his incredible success on MasterChef: The Professionals, there’s a real buzz around his food, and rightly so.”
Wykeham Arms to Watercress Festival
Emmess’s festival slot follows his run as a 2026 MasterChef: The Professionals finalist and gives local audiences a set time to see him cook in person. His appearance also puts The Wykeham Arms in front of a wider food crowd, with a chef already drawing attention beyond Winchester.
He said, “Not so much the cooking but everything else outside the actual show that you don’t really think about; the travelling, the time creating the recipes, writing the recipes, practising the recipes, getting your ingredients list in, there’s a lot more going on than is filmed – there’s hours and hours of unseen work.” That is the reality behind the television edit, and it is the part festival audiences will now get to see in a live setting.
Last July’s filming schedule
The MasterChef series was filmed last July, which explains why Emmess’s public profile has been building between the taping and this spring festival appearance. The gap has turned a television finalist into a live draw for a regional food event, with the Cookery Theatre slot positioned as one of the day’s headline acts.
Anna Haugh leads MasterChef reset with Grace Dent in season 22 sits alongside the wider franchise shift, but Emmess’s Hampshire appearance is the immediate change for festivalgoers: a finalist on stage, at midday, on Sunday, May 17. For readers planning to attend, that is the moment to mark.
The practical answer is simple. If you want to watch Emmess live, the Cookery Theatre is where to be at midday, and this year’s Alresford Watercress Festival is the place he will do it.
