Contestant from BBC's Masterchef visited Greenock's Jax Snax

Jonny Stewart, a Newcastle-based chef who appeared on the latest edition of the BBC's culinary competition as a contestant, visited Jax Snax at the James Watt Dock Marina to serve up some delicious fried chicken for locals.

The 32-year-old had reached out to food truck owner Gary Lewis before he went on the competition for advice about running his own mobile eatery.

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The local businessmen had suggested the pair team up and run a one-day pop-up at the marina to give Jonny a taste of what running the restaurant on wheels was like.

But the plans had to be put on hold while Jonny made his appearance on Masterchef, where he faced judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode before being eliminated in the third round of its first heat. 

Jonny told the Tele that his stint on the popular BBC show had been an incredible experience.

He said: “I’ve always cooked but when lockdown came in I couldn’t spend money on things like gigs or the pub, so I decided to spend money on cooking,

“I got in touch with a Masterchef contestant from my local area a few years ago and he sampled my food and said it was good enough.

“I just went for it, I didn’t really expect to get on but I managed to sail right through.

“Everybody else will tell you it’s such an incredibly pressurised environment – and it is – but I didn’t really get nervous, I was just excited to be there.

“There are thousands of people who apply and only nine of us end up in the room so you have to just enjoy it.

“We were all doing something we love and had all asked to be there so why not just do it.

“I think when you watch Masterchef Gregg Wallace seems to be the chatty one and John Torode takes a back seat, but actually when you’re cooking it’s John who comes up and asks you questions about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

“It can be pretty full on, but I absolutely loved it.”

As well as cooking up delicious dishes for locals at the pop-up, Jonny also asked customers to make a small donation to support the work of Ronald McDonald House, a charity which supports and improves the health and wellbeing of children.

Jonny expressed his gratitude to Gary for his support and for allowing him to use his facilities. 

Gary said he was delighted to have hosted the former contestant at his food truck.

He added: “Jonny knows of us and had thought about doing something similar to this before Masterchef and contacted me to ask for advice.

“He’s up this way through work every now and then so we arranged to meet up.

“I suggested that he did a pop up and then he could look at how things went from there.

“But we had to wait for Masterchef to finish before we could do it.

“We were delighted to have him along.”