12 Facts About Monica Galetti

Monica Galetti is a Samoan-born New Zealand chef.

Monica Galetti is a judge on the BBC competitive cooking programme MasterChef: The Professionals and was the chef proprietor of Mere in London before its closure.

Monica Galetti was senior sous-chef at Le Gavroche in London.

At the age of eight, Monica Galetti moved from Samoa to Wellington, New Zealand, and lived there with her parents and five siblings.

Monica Galetti attended Naenae College In the early 1990s she studied for a diploma in hospitality at the Central Institute of Technology, Upper Hutt.

Monica Galetti accepted the offer and moved to London in 1999.

Monica Galetti worked rapidly through the sections of the kitchen and became senior sous-chef, a position she held until 2015.

Monica Galetti was the first woman to hold such a senior position at the restaurant.

Monica Galetti was a judge on the BBC series MasterChef: The Professionals from 2009 to 2021, before she was replaced by Anna Haugh citing she felt it necessary to prioritise her family and her restaurant team, and has appeared as a presenter on other food-related television programmes.

Monica Galetti appeared in the BBC's radio programme Desert Island Discs on 31 January 2021.

In March 2023, Monica Galetti announced she would be returning to MasterChef: The Professionals as a judge, after she stepped down from the role in 2022.

In 2004, Monica Galetti married French-born sommelier David Monica Galetti, the Head Sommelier at Le Gavroche.