Next week in Hong Kong one of the MasterChef contestants will meet Donovan Cooke and his protégé, Tam Kin Pak in the celebrity chef challenge.

Donovan Cooke is the Chef de Cuisine at Derby Restaurant & Bar in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Clubhouse, where he has been since 2004.

Yorkshire-born Donovan Cooke began his kitchen life at the age of 15 at an industrial chemical company serving three shifts of 1,500 employees each. He started his career as an apprentice in the kitchen of London's Savoy Hotel at the age of 18.

He worked with Michel Roux for more than three years at the Waterside Inn before joining legendary chef Marco Pierre White at Harvey's, where within a week he was made Head Chef at the age of 23.

Donovan moved to France to work in the Michelin three-star La Cote St. Jacques and in 1999 moved to Melbourne. He opened his own establishments, including est est est, which offered quality classical French cuisine and won three stars six months after it opened its doors.

In 2002, Donovan opened the now legendary restaurant Ondine in Melbourne and Donovan was named Chef of the Year by the The Age Good Food Guide.

Donovan was recognised as Honorary Commandeur of La Commanderie des Cordons Bleus de France for his outstanding culinary achievements in 2005.

Donovan’s apprentice, Tam Kin Pak was promoted to No.1 Cook at Derby Restaurant & Bar in 2007. Having started his career at the age of 17, this talented young cook has already accumulated almost ten years' experience in the industry.

Pak won his first gold medal in his individual competition debut in 2007 at the Hong Kong International Culinary Classic with his winning dish of Mille-Feuille of Truffles and Ratte Potatoes, with Mushroom Royale, Celeriac Fondant and Celeriac Foam. His winning dish used four different cooking methods, namely steaming, pan-frying, roasting and confit. Pak’s first taste of gold was the product of a lot of hard work and the strong support of his boss and mentor, Donovan Cooke.