Dan Merriman, Senior Sous Chef, The Black Bull Inn Old Langho

Dan started worked as a part time pot washer at a local Worcestershire hotel at the age of 16.  At the age of 18 Dan was introduced to Chris Lovell, a Chef with an incredible pedigree, who was working as a consultant at the Crown at Hallow.  Chris took Dan under his wing and began mentoring him, starting with food preparation, rising through the ranks and teaching him the workings of a fine dining kitchen.

Dan instantly fell in love with the kitchen and travelled the length and breadth of the country with Chris working in numerous high-end and award winning hotels where Chris consulted, with his main aim being to retain and improve the dining experience for customers.

From here Dan used the skills he had learned and opened up a 5-star hotel kitchen at Dunalastair Hotel Suites part of the Optimum Hotel Group, where he spent a number of months here developing his fine dining skills as a Head Chef.

After significant personal loss Dan was forced to leave Dunalastair Hotel and move back to his home town in Droitwich Birmingham where he began work at Cottage in the Wood, working under Chef Rob Mason as his Senior Sous.

Dan then moved to Fishmoore Hall in Ludlow and continued his work as a Senior Sous Chef, shortly after which he was head hunted by Chef Lisa Allen, Executive Chef at Northcote in Lancashire. Dan worked directly under Lisa as a Senior Sous Chef and continued to develop his fine-dining skills.

Family is extremely important to Dan, who left Northcote to start his own family, and took up a less pressured job as Senior Sous at The Black Bull Inn Old Langho, where he currently works. Dan consults on menu design within the business, and also has his own private dining company.

Dan applied to MasterChef – The Professionals 2024, encouraged by his partner Chloe, with little expectation of even making the live shows.  Despite his modesty and initial lack of confidence, his accomplished cooking impressed the judges throughout the process and he was crowned MasterChef – The Professionals Champion 2024. Chef and Judge Monica Galetti commenting “we see something great in you.”