“My next challenge is to find out how to recreate these dishes at 125mph!”

3 June 2026

Following celebrations to mark half a century working on the railway, Avanti West Coast chef, Mohammed Yousuf, attended a prestigious dinner at the National Railway Museum as part of the hit show MasterChef. Reflecting on the event, Yousuf shares his highlights from the night and how it felt to round off his career milestone festivities with such a special evening.

Onboard chef, Mohammed Yousuf, known to his colleagues as Yousuf, celebrated 50 years working on the railway last October at London Euston – the same building where he began his rail career as a kitchen porter in 1975.

Just when he thought his celebrations had come to a close, Yousuf was invited by producers of the hit cookery show MasterChef to join other enthusiasts from the industry for an evening of railway heritage and culinary creativity at the National Railway Museum.

The special event was part of the BBC programme’s semi-finals week, hosted in York to jointly mark 200 years of Britain’s modern railway and the 50^th birthday of the museum. Gathering in Station Hall at the National Railway Museum, surrounded by locomotives and railway memorabilia, 100 guests came together to be served dinner by the remaining eight contestants from MasterChef as part of the first semi-final of the current series.

Yousuf, said: “Being invited to attend the dinner hosted by a television show like MasterChef is something that I could never have dreamed would happen when I started work back in 1975. I feel very lucky to be able to celebrate my career in this way and feel so fortunate.

“The food we were served on the evening was very tasty and the contestants should all be very proud. My favourite was the dessert, which was a rhubarb and custard tart, but all three courses were amazing. My next challenge is to find out how to recreate these dishes at 125mph!

“I was speechless when my colleagues threw me a surprise party at London Euston in October, so having the invite to the MasterChef event on top of that was very unexpected. The railway is extremely special to me, and I have always said the best part of my role is meeting people – it was great to sit down at the dinner and meet enthusiasts from the industry and others connected to the National Rail Museum.

“I can resonate with the contestants and how fulfilling it is to be able to serve food to people and customers as well as receiving their praise and kind words as feedback. It’s what has kept me motivated for the last 50 years.”

Lizzie Power, Onboard Manager at Avanti West Coast who also attended the event, said: “Yousuf is a much loved member of our London Euston team, so to be able to attend this event with him and to honour his career milestone was really special.

“You could see how much Yousuf was taking in the evening and how special it was for him to attend. He was often lost for words, which doesn’t often happen! It was a truly fantastic way to round-off his celebrations.”

Pictures: 

Main image: Yousuf attending the dinner hosted by MasterChef at the National Railway Museum.

Second image: Yousuf discussing his thoughts of the food with producers of the show. 

Third image: London Euston colleagues celebrate with Yousuf at his surprise anniversary party in October 2025.