Ireland

Irish YouTube star tells of `incredible feeling' of winning Celebrity Masterchef 2020

Riyadh Khalaf, winner of Celebrity MasterChef 2020, poses with his trophy. Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Riyadh Khalaf, winner of Celebrity MasterChef 2020, poses with his trophy. Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Riyadh Khalaf, winner of Celebrity MasterChef 2020, poses with his trophy. Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

IRISH YouTube star Riyadh Khalaf has told how winning Celebrity Masterchef has left him with an "incredible feeling".

The 29-year-old LGBT activist saw off British Olympic heroes Matthew Pinsent and Sam Quek in a nail-biting final of the hit BBC show.

The social media star, who grew up in Bray, Co Wicklow where his Catholic mother Lorraine and father Sam, a Muslim from Iraq, still live, dedicated his win to his father.

Riyadh has previously spoken about his difficult experience about coming out to his dad, a formerly devout Muslim.

The family decided to become humanists after Riyadh's revelation and Sam has gone to Pride parades and has campaigned alongside his son for same sex-marriage.

Speaking after winning the latest series of Celebrity Masterchef, he said he was "absolutely in shock".

"I can't believe it, it's an incredible feeling," he said.

"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".

Judge Gregg Wallace said Riyadh has shown creativity and had "always been passionate".

Fellow judge, John Torode said Riyadh's dishes looked like "restaurant quality".

In the final episode, Riyadh, alongside his other finalists had two hours to present a three-course meal.

He wowed the judges with a starter of monkfish scampi in beer batter, followed by beef fillet with port shallots and and a white chocolate fondant with rhubarb poached in elderflower liqueur.