The MasterChefs in their own restaurant: 'Any challenge without John and Greg is easier!'

A collection of past MasterChef winners and finalists are operating their own pop-up restaurant in London and say the experience is easier, because of the absence of hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace!

MasterChef 2014 finalist Luke Owen told What's on TV: "I remember when we were doing the challenges [on TV], any challenge when John and Gregg aren't there is easier. It's quite nice not to have the cameras in your face [in the restaurant], although there are people taking pictures from the sideline, but you don't really see them to be honest, because you're concentrating so much on getting it right and getting the food out how you want it to be.

"It's a bit different, but just as stressful."

MasterChef champion Ping Coombes said: "We have the cubby holes there, so that people can actually see us working, they can look in and most of the time when I look up there'll be a few people [waving] like that and taking pictures and stuff like that. It's like I have a million John and Greggs, but with less of the criticism."

Watch the interview with the MasterChef stars, above.

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.