Who is Alexis Gauthier from MasterChef? What’s on the Gauthier Soho menu and why is the French restaurant going vegan?

MasterChef’s remaining contestants have already been tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire of the professional kitchen – but it’s not about to get any easier.

Last week, chefs Adam Handling and Martha Ortiz put the final 12 through their paces at their very own London restaurants.

Now, five of the remaining 10 contestants will be challenged by Michelin-starred chef Alexis Gauthier.

So, who is the classically trained French chef who’ll be challenging the contestants to go vegan? Here’s everything you need to know about this week's MasterChef guest judge.

Who is Alexis Gauthier?

French-born chef Gauthier is the chef patron of London restaurant Gauthier Soho. After beginning his career in Nice, France, Gauthier trained under Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco. Gauthier’s opened his first solo restaurant, Roussillon, in Pimlico in 1997, before opening Gauthier Soho in 2010. The restaurant held a Michelin star for one year in 2011.

Why is he on MasterChef?

Alexis Gauthier will be appearing on MasterChef to test the contestants' prowess with plant-based cooking, his specialist subject. The chef will challenge them to create an exceptional vegan dish in just 90 minutes. He has previously appeared on MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals as a guest judge.

Where is Alexis Gauthier’s Soho restaurant in London?

Gauthier Soho can be found at 21 Romilly Street, W1D 5AF. On opening, the restaurant took over the former home of Richard Corrigan’s Lindsay House restaurant.

Why is Gauthier Soho going vegan?

Alexis Gauthier has long been known for his innovations in vegetarian and vegan cooking, and created a plant-orientated menu at his Roussillon restaurant as early as 1997.

In 2015, Gauthier took part in PETA’s vegan month and converted his already popular vegetarian menu into a fully vegan selection. Since then, the vegan “Les Plantes” menu has stayed, and has enjoyed a celebrity following, enjoyed by the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Stella McCartney and Al Gore.

Gauthier himself is now a vegan, and announced last year that the Soho restaurant would gradually become 100 per cent vegan. While meat and fish dishes are still served at the restaurant as “classics”, the rest of the menu and all dish development in the kitchen is dedicated to plant-based cooking.

What’s on the Gauthier Soho menu?

Gauthier Soho’s menu mixes classic French fine dining with a contemporary, vegetable-focused approach to ingredients. Understandably, the vegan tasting menu is the must-try at the restaurant.

As a seasonally focused menu, the nine-course line-up of dishes changes often, but the carrot tartar dish, which is currently served with coriander, sesame, avocado, umeboshi and olive oil, is a regular favourite.

Also on the current menu is a dish of “faux gras” – a vegan version of foie gras and a nod to the fact that Gauthier Soho used to serve more than 20 kilograms of the duck liver pate every week.

Other dishes on the spring menu include black truffle tortellini, dishes of both white and asparagus and a vibrant dish of tri-coloured bintje gnocchi with truffle, chard and confit tomato.

One unusual feature you'll find on the menu is a calorie count for individual dishes and set menus, introduced by Gauthier in 2011 after he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease and took on a more health-conscious approach to cooking.